GM Guide

The operator's manual for Game Masters: how GM powers are granted, all GM commands, and how to read and set player progression and combat values.

For how the underlying systems work from a player perspective, see the rest of this wiki. This page covers the admin side.

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Becoming a GM

GM powers are gated by an allowlist of character names (Game:GmNames). The flag is re-derived from this list at login — it cannot be set in-game, cannot be persisted from a previous session, and cannot be toggled. Change the allowlist, then disconnect and reconnect.

A non-GM receives I don't recognize that command. for every GM verb — identical to a typo, by design.

Launch method	How to set GmNames
Visual Studio	launchSettings.json → Game__GmNames__0
run-local.ps1	-Gm YourName parameter
appsettings / env	Game:GmNames array, or PHOENIX_GM_NAMES (comma-separated)

Confirm with /showplayer self (GM-only) or check HELP — the GM help category only appears when gm == 1.

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GM command reference

All GM verbs start with /, are case-insensitive, and are gated by GM status. Most act on your current room or yourself unless a player name is specified.

Player management

Command	Aliases	Description
/showplayer <self\|player>	/inspect	Full player sheet: level, exp, TP, stats, HP, mana, silver, skills
/set <self\|player> <field> <value>	/setplayer	Set a player field — see §Set fields below
/award <self\|player> <exp>	/grantexp, /giveexp	Grant experience (negative removes); runs normal level-up + TP grant
/levelup <self\|player> [n]	/advance	Advance n levels (default 1; negative de-levels)
/heal <self\|player>	/restore, /revive, /raise	Fully restore HP + mana, clear all effects/recovery, raise if dead
/reroll <self\|player>	/remake	Preview a character re-roll (destructive — see below)
/reroll <self\|player> confirm	—	Execute the re-roll (wipes items + silver, resets to level 1)

Player moderation

Discipline live players. See §Moderation below for the details.

Command	Aliases	Description
/smite <self\|player> [kill] [reason]	/wrath	Call down a thunderbolt on any online player from anywhere: bare, it leaves them at 1 HP and prone; kill slays outright through the normal death path
/timeout <player> [minutes] [reason]	/jail	Confine a disruptive player to the timeout room (a Warded Cell, room 9000, pre-built and pre-wired) — only quiet verbs work until it lifts (default Game:TimeoutDefaultMinutes). Survives a relog. Repoint with /config timeoutroom <vnum>
/free <player>	/untimeout, /unjail, /pardon	End a time-out early and return the player where they were pulled from
/ban <player> [perm\|Nd\|Nh\|Nm] [reason]	—	Ban an account (default permanent); persisted + enforced at login; an online target is disconnected at once. Refuses you and bootstrap-GM accounts
/unban <player>	—	Lift any ban on an account
/banlist	/bans	List every account still under a ban (lift time or "permanent", plus reason)
/kick <player> [reason]	/disconnect, /boot	Drop an online player's connection — no ban, they can reconnect

World/room manipulation

Command	Aliases	Description
/goto <room vnum>	/teleport	Teleport yourself to a room (e.g. /goto 1007)
/goto messages	/teleport messages, /goto message	Preview your teleport messages privately. Set either with /goto messages depart <text> or /goto messages arrive <text>; {name} inserts your name. Saved to your GM character profile, also editable in Worldbuilder. One line of up to 500 characters. /goto messages reset [depart\|arrive] restores one or both defaults
/spawnmob <nameKey> [qty]	/spawncreature, /spawnenemy	Spawn 1–10 mobs from template into your room
/spawnitem <nameKey> [qty]	/spawnobj, /spawn	Spawn 1–10 items onto the ground here
/spawnbox [tier]	/makebox	Spawn a random treasure box (tier 1–10, default 3)
/spawnpick [material]	/makepick	Spawn a lockpick (copper…starsteel, default steel)
/spawnarmor <slot> [group]	/makearmor	Spawn wearable armor (slot = head/chest/legs/…; group = cloth…plate)
/deleteobj <name\|id>	/delitem, /delobj	Delete an object and its contents
/track <item\|guid>	/whereis	Locate an item: current location, owner, drop history
/alter [POCKET\|DEEPEN\|SEAL\|WEIGHT\|LIGHTEN] <item> [n] [n]	/tailor	Re-cut one spawned item at the alterer's bench: POCKET cuts pockets into it (an enabled Inside slot plus IsContainer — the only thing that separates a coat that holds things from one that doesn't), DEEPEN grows them, SEAL sews them shut (refuses while anything is inside), WEIGHT/LIGHTEN change what it weighs. Bare /alter <item> inspects. Capacities take -1 for "no limit". Reach is your hands, then the room — take the garment across the counter. Instance-only: the template and every other copy stay as authored, and the change is saved as it happens
/dragon	/flyover	Demand a dragon flyover: a three-beat staged sky event starting within ~20s, seen from outdoor rooms (indoor rooms catch a shadow or sound at most). Natural flights run every 45–100 min of real time — Game:Environment:Dragon
/ferry [go]	/ferries, /boat	List every timed NPC boat (where she is, seconds to the next leg); /ferry go ends every boat's current leg on the next tick (~10s) so a full crossing demos in under a minute. Ferries are room data (ferry.* vars); kill switch Game:Ferry:Enabled=false
/event [kind\|stop]	/events, /sky	Status of the sky, or force a world event for a demo: storm, heatwave, coldsnap, meteor, comet, aurora (begins within ~20s, eligibility skipped so it plays under any sky); /event stop ends the active one. Natural events roll on their own — tune live with /config events (on/off) and /config eventgap (mean minutes). Cold snaps slicken ice, meteor showers drop forageable sky-iron, the aurora quickens outdoor recovery

NPC configuration

Command	Aliases	Description
/makecaster <mob> <words>	/spellmob	Flag a room mob as a caster with specific incantation
/makevendor <npc>	/makeshop	Flag an NPC as a general merchant
/makegemshop <npc>	/makegemseller	Flag an NPC as a gemshop (premium gem pricing)
/makementor <npc> <WORD>	/maketeacher	Flag an NPC as an element word mentor
/makecleric <npc>	/makepriest	Flag an NPC as a temple cleric: dead bodies in their room stop decaying and get the paid CONFIRM raise offer (fee = 100 + 30×level silver)

Diagnostics

Command	Aliases	Description
/debug <guid\|phrase>	—	Dump entity identity, flags, all vars, container slots, scripts (your room only)
/boxes	/listboxes	Audit all treasure boxes in the world
/afflict <self\|target> <effect> [args]	—	Apply timed effects for testing (see §Afflict below)
/killself	/die	Run the real death/respawn path on yourself (death-rest + DEPART, the grave-chill, region respawn at half HP)
/regions	/region	List the realm's regions (anchor, resting place, room count, seams) and which one you stand in

Live settings: /CONFIG

/config (aliases /settings, /gameconfig) reads and writes runtime game settings. Writes persist to the DB-backed game_settings store, which overrides appsettings.json at boot (it's added last in Program.cs CreateHostBuilder, so it always wins) — an override survives every restart until you delete it.

Form	Effect
/config	List every curated setting with its effective value — * marks live-apply, the rest take effect on /reboot — plus any overrides saved outside the curated list
/config <key\|alias>	Show one setting in full: description, type, live/reboot, aliases, running value, DB override
/config <key\|alias> <value>	Set it. Booleans take on/off, true/false, 1/0; numbers are validated. A live setting applies in-process immediately; the rest are saved and wait for /reboot
/config delete <key>	Remove the override (reset and clear are synonyms). The appsettings default returns on the next /reboot — a live setting's running value is not rolled back in place

The curated list is not a whitelist: /config sets any config key, curated or not. An unrecognized key is stored verbatim and applies on the next /reboot — which also means a typo'd key quietly becomes an inert override (it shows under "Other overrides" in the bare listing; /config delete it). Restart with /reboot now — bare /reboot only warns.

The curated settings — live applies in-process the moment you set it, reboot waits for the next restart:

Key	Aliases	Applies	What it does
Game:DebugTimestamps	timestamps, timestamp, ts	live	Prefix world-event output with [HH:mm:ss.fff]
Game:DebugShowIds	showids, ids, guids, itemids	live	Append each item's GUID in world output (GM debug aid; off so players never see GUIDs)
Game:PlayerSaveSeconds	playersaveseconds, saveseconds	reboot	Save-on-milestone flush cadence in seconds (2–120)
Npc:Gossip:Enabled	gossip	reboot	Ambient NPC gossip lines (the news feed stays on regardless)
Npc:Gossip:Chance	gossipchance	reboot	Per-tick chance an opted-in NPC voices a rumor (0–1)
Npc:Narrator:Enabled	narrator	reboot	The chronicle narrator's rare private milestone lines
Nlu:Enabled	nlu	reboot	Fuzzy natural-language fallback for unknown commands
Game:SummonCinematicAlways	summonfull, cinematicalways	live	Force the FULL summon cinematic every time (demo mode)
Worldbuilder:BaseUrl	wburl, worldbuilderurl, editorurl	live	Worldbuilder base URL for GM /edit deep links
Game:SummonFullCooldownMinutes	fullcooldown, summoncooldown	live	Minutes before a pet's FULL summon cinematic replays (0 = every far summon)
Game:IceHazardScale	icescale, icehazard	live	Percent scale on icy-room slip difficulty (100 = as authored, 0 = off)
Game:RegenScale	regenscale, regenspeed, recoveryscale	live	Percent speed of body recovery — HP/mana/spirit/stamina (100 = reference pacing, 200 = default double speed; 10–1000). Exp absorption has its own expscale
Game:ExpAbsorbScale	expscale, absorbscale, expabsorbscale	live	Percent speed of the field-exp absorption clock only (100 = reference ~60s pulse, the default; 10–1000). Slow drain = the hunt-fry-rest rhythm
Game:CommandQueueLimit	queuelimit, commandqueuelimit, queuecap	live	Maximum actions waiting for recovery; default 3, whole numbers 0–20. Zero disables queuing and clears waiting commands
Game:RespecEnabled	respec, respecenabled	live	Temporary free full character rebuild at an inn; off prevents new rebuilds while allowing an existing rebuild to finish or cancel
Game:DarknessEnabled	darkness, dark	live	Dark rooms blind the unlit (carry a light.source lantern or cast 2244 Lanternseed); off = darkness is scenery
Game:WorldEventsEnabled	events, worldevents, skyevents	live	Staged world events (storms, heat waves, cold snaps, meteor showers, comets, aurora)
Game:WorldEventGapMinutes	eventgap, eventminutes	live	Mean minutes between natural world events (jittered 0.6×–1.4×; min 5)
Game:ArmorHindranceScale	hindscale, armorhindrance	live	Percent scale on armor spell-hindrance (100 = as designed, 0 = armor never hinders casting)
Game:MobPopulationTickSeconds	mobtick, mobpopulationtick, spawntick	live	Seconds between mob population director ticks (respawn + region top-up; 10–600)
Game:RoomAmbientFloorSeconds	ambientfloor, roomambientfloor, noisefloor	live	Seconds a room must stay quiet between ambient lines, whoever's turn it was (0 = no floor; 0–300)
Game:TimedScriptSpreadEnabled	scriptspread, spreadscripts, pulsespread	live	Spread each pulse's timed ambient scripts across the pulse (off = all fire at once)
Game:MobScalingEnabled	mobscaling, mobscale, popscaling	live	Scale a region's live-mob budget with the players present (off = authored baseline only)
Game:MobEmptyFloorPct	mobfloor, mobemptyfloor	live	Target mob population of an empty region, as % of baseline (spawn-only floor; 0–100)
Game:MobScalePerPlayerPct	mobperplayer, mobscaleplayer	live	% of baseline added per extra player in a region (1 player = 100%, then +this% each)
Game:MobScaleMaxPct	mobcap, mobscalemax, swarmcap	live	Per-area budget ceiling: most a region's target may reach, as % of baseline (300 = 3×)
Game:MobSpawnBurst	mobburst, mobspawnburst, spawnburst	live	Most mobs the director spawns into one region per tick (refill-rate ceiling; 1–100)
Server:MaxConnections	maxconn, maxconnections	live	Total telnet connections the TCP listener accepts (8–5000; reaches the TCP process within ~15s)
Server:MaxConnectionsPerIp	maxperip, maxconnperip, periplimit	live	Telnet connections allowed per source address (1–1000; raise for a load-test swarm, then drop back)
Game:DeedBaseCost	deedbase, deedcost	live	Deed offering base value, before level/deed scaling (shrine rite)
Game:DeedCostPerLevel	deedperlevel	live	Deed offering cost added per character level
Game:DeedCostPerDeed	deedperdeed	live	Deed offering cost added per deed already banked
Game:DeedMax	deedmax, maxdeeds	live	Most deeds a player may bank at once
Game:LootBoxDefaultChance	boxchance	live	Default % chance a searched corpse yields a locked box (loot.box.chance overrides)
Game:LootJewelryDefaultChance	jewelrychance	live	Default % chance a searched corpse yields jewelry (loot.jewelry.chance overrides)
Game:LootCurioDefaultChance	curiochance, rarechance	live	Default % chance a searched corpse yields a wand/scroll/oddity (loot.rare.chance overrides)
Game:VendorCashDefault	vendorcash	live	Silver in a merchant's till (vendor.cash overrides); bigger payouts become promissory notes
Game:VendorNoteFeePermille	notefee, vendornotefee	live	Tenths of a percent a merchant shaves off a promissory note (vendor.note.fee.permille overrides)
Game:FlareChancePct	flarechance, flarescale	live	% chance a flaring material (embersteel/rimesteel/stormsteel/thrumsteel/…) procs on a landed blow
Game:TimeoutRoom	timeoutroom, jail, jailroom	live	Room vnum the GM /timeout verb confines players to (0 = unset) — see §Moderation
Game:TimeoutDefaultMinutes	timeoutminutes, timeoutdefault	live	Default /timeout length in minutes when the GM doesn't name one
Game:TravelStepMs	travelms, travelstep, travelspeed	live	Milliseconds between TRAVEL auto-walk steps (clamped 100–5000)
Game:SwapRtMs	swaprt, swapms	live	Recovery in ms for SWAP (hand-to-hand item trade); 0 = instant. Clamped 0–10000
Game:WearRtMs	wearrt, wearms, removert	live	Default recovery in ms for WEAR/REMOVE; body_slots.wear_rt_ms overrides per slot (accessories are 0); 0 = instant. Clamped 0–10000
Game:SearchBodyRtMs	searchbodyrt, searchbodyms, lootrt, corpsesearchrt	live	Recovery in ms for a SEARCH <body> that finds loot; 0 = instant. Clamped 0–30000
Game:SearchBodyEmptyRtMs	searchemptyrt, lootemptyrt	live	Recovery in ms for a SEARCH <body> that turns up nothing; 0 = instant. Clamped 0–30000

In the bare listing, the value shown is the DB override if one exists, else the running value where the engine can read it ((default) where it can't).

This table mirrors the KnownSettings registry in GameEngine/Commands/CoreCommands.Config.cs — when a setting lands there, add its row here.

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/set: setting player fields

/set uses the real progression helpers so derived values stay consistent. Target is self/me or an online player's name.

/set self level 10
/set self mgt 90
/set self skill.edged 40
/set self skill.lore.fire 25
/set self profession Wizard
/set self mana.cur 999
/set Nitefallz silver 5000

Field reference

Field	Value	Notes
level	1–100	Sets experience to that level's threshold; grants all missing Training
exp	≥ 0	Sets permanent experience; re-derives level and Training grants
training (training.points)	≥ 0	Available Training
silver	≥ 0	Currency
mgt vig fin grc res att ins pre	1–100	A raw attribute. Recomputes Mana, Spirit, and Stamina; does not retroactively change Health or already-granted Training.
hp.max	≥ 1	Max HP. The fitness cap is 150; /set allows higher for testing.
hp.cur (hp)	1..max	Current HP. Won't drop below 1 — use /killself for death.
mana.cur (mana)	0..max	Current mana. Raise max first if needed.
skill.<name>	≥ 0	Skill ranks (e.g. skill.edged, skill.lore.fire, skill.harnesspower). skill.harnesspower recomputes mana.
profession	calling name	Recomputes Mana; does not refund spent Training or re-apply ancestry modifiers.
stance	assault/press/ready/brace/guard	Combat stance
posture	standing/kneeling/sitting/prone	Body position

Delta notation

Any numeric field accepts +N or -N to add or subtract instead of setting:

/set bob exp +5000        grant 5000 exp (level-up and Training grants run normally)
/set self mgt +5          raise Might by 5
/set self skill.edged +3  add 3 ranks
/set bob silver -100      confiscate 100 silver

Important constraints

• Health is derived. A /set attribute edit deliberately leaves a GM's explicit hp.max override alone. Adjust Conditioning to re-derive Health, or set hp.max directly.
• Maximum Mana is built. Setting mana.cur only tops up the current pool; to give more capacity, add Channeling, magical control, circle/Wordcraft ranks, or the casting aptitude.
• Level is derived from experience. A hand-set level var is overwritten on the next award. Use the level field above or set exp to the desired threshold.

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/afflict: applying test effects

/afflict applies temporary effects without touching base stats. Target is self/me or a living mob in your room (you cannot afflict another player).

/afflict self stun 2              stun yourself for 2 rounds (10 seconds)
/afflict self bleed 5             5 HP per pulse bleed on chest
/afflict self buff as 30 60       +30 Attack for 60 seconds
/afflict kobold debuff ds 20 30   −20 Guard on the kobold for 30 seconds
/afflict self clear               remove all effects on yourself

Syntax:

Sub-command	Args	Effect
stun <rounds>	rounds × 5s	Stun effect
bleed <hp/pulse>	HP drained per 6s tick	Wound at "chest"
buff <channel> <magnitude> <seconds>	channel = attack guard focus resolve mgt vig fin grc res att ins pre	Positive timed modifier
debuff <channel> <magnitude> <seconds>	Same (magnitude forced negative)	Negative timed modifier
clear	—	Remove all effects on target

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Moderation: smite, time-out, ban, kick

Tools for disciplining live players. Unlike /afflict and /heal (which touch only creatures in your room), these reach any online player by name from anywhere. All refuse to act on a fellow GM, and /ban//kick//timeout refuse to act on you.

/smite <self|player> [kill] [reason]

Calls down a pillar of divine fire. Bare, it takes the target to 1 HP and leaves them prone (a scare, not a death). Add kill (or slay/dead) to slay them outright through the normal death path — the grave-chill, chapel respawn, and all. A trailing reason is whispered to them.

/smite Griefer                     thunderbolt — 1 HP, prone
/smite Griefer kill last warning   slay outright, whisper the reason

/timeout <player> [minutes] [reason]: the in-game time-out

Whisks a disruptive player to the timeout room and confines them there. While the sentence runs they can only look, say, check their sheets, and wait — moving, fighting, casting, and everything else is refused. The sentence is stored on the character, so relogging doesn't dodge it, and it self-expires: the moment it's up they're freed in place and can walk out.

• Default length is Game:TimeoutDefaultMinutes (5). /free <player> (aliases /untimeout, /pardon) ends it early and returns them where they were pulled from.
• The cell is already built and wired: A Warded Cell (room 9000), a still pocket apart from the world with a single warded door north back to the Town Square (1007), flagged Safe + NoMagic. Game:TimeoutRoom defaults to it — no setup needed. Repoint it at any other room with /config timeoutroom <vnum> if you'd rather.

/timeout Griefer 10 spamming say   ten-minute time-out
/free Griefer                      release early
/config timeoutroom 1099           (optional) use a different cell

/ban, /unban, /banlist: account bans

/ban <player> [duration] [reason] closes the realm to an account. It's persisted (players.banned_until) and enforced at login, so it outlives a restart; an online target is disconnected immediately. Duration is perm (the default when omitted), or Nd / Nh / Nm (days/hours/minutes); a bare number is days. /ban refuses you and any Game:GmNames bootstrap-GM account.

/ban Cheater perm botting          permanent
/ban Griefer 7d spamming           seven days
/unban Griefer                     lift it
/banlist                           who's banned, and why

Temp bans self-clear on the first login attempt after they expire.

/kick <player> [reason]: drop a connection

/kick <player> disconnects an online player without a ban — they can reconnect at once. Use it to break up a scene or bounce a stuck session; reach for /ban when they shouldn't come back.

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/reroll: resetting a character

/reroll <player> re-rolls an existing online character: resets them to level 1, wipes all items and silver (a carried pet is spared), and routes them through character creation again. The name is kept.

Two-step: /reroll <player> previews what would be lost. /reroll <player> confirm performs it.

The character stays in the world during re-roll. A disconnect mid-creation rolls back cleanly.

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GM recipes

Make a level-10 melee fighter ready to swing:

/set self level 10
/set self str 90
/set self skill.edged 40
/set self skill.dodge 20
/set self hp.max 200
/spawnitem broadsword

Then GET broadsword.

Make a test caster with sufficient casting competence:

/set self profession Wizard
/set self level 10
/set self aur 90
/set self skill.harnesspower 25
/set self skill.lore.fire 25
/showplayer self    (confirm mana max > 0)
INCANT BOLTAR IGNAGA kobold

Test the lockpicking loop:

/spawnbox 6                 tier-6 box (likely locked, likely trapped)
/spawnpick starsteel
/set self skill.lockpicking 30
/set self skill.disarmtraps 30
SURVEY box
DEFUSE box
PICK box
OPEN box
LOOT box
/boxes                      audit all live boxes

Spawn a caster mob:

/spawnmob kobold
/makecaster kobold BOLTAR IGNARA
KILL kobold

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Server console keys

When the GameServer runs with a console, single keypresses control the live world:

Key	Action
S	World entity stats
N	NPC vitals (room, drives, behavior)
R	Reload scripts
W	Dump world snapshot to JSON
P	Toggle world clock auto-pulse
M	Fire one manual clock pulse
Q	Graceful shutdown
H / ?	Console help

P then M steps the clock one tick at a time — useful for testing time-of-day events.

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Notes and limitations

• No PvP. Combat cannot target players; only hostile mobs are valid.
• /afflict cannot target another player (only self or a room mob).
• gm flag is always re-derived at login: it cannot be set with /set and will not persist.
• Profession changes via /set recompute mana but do not re-apply race stat mods or refund TP.
• Attack/Guard use attribute bonuses, not raw values. The combat snapshot converts each raw attribute to floor((raw − 50) / 2) before feeding Attack/Guard, so stat.mgt = 86 contributes its +18 bonus, not 86. An absent attribute reads as a neutral 50 (bonus 0). Creature offense inputs — Might and weapon ranks — are additionally floored to 6 + level.
• GM commands bypass the stun lockout. You can always /heal, /goto, or /set your way out of an uncontrolled test state.