Table of Contents
AweMUD is a MUD engine. MUD's are online games, in which multiple people (anywhere from several to hundreds or thousands) explore and adventure a fictional world. AweMUD is an implementation of a MUD; it is not, however, a game by itself. Variations to the rules and guidelines provided here may exist in AweMUD based games, as the builders and coders for a particular MUD may introduce any number of changes.
AweMUD is text-based. Some MUD's are graphical, including both two-dimensional and three-dimensional games. However, text-based games offer a form of flexibility that graphics, on today's computers with the limitations imposed on artists and manpower, simply cannot match. Where a single action, such as the waving of a hand, must be animated at a great cost of time, the words to perform the action, along with an infinite amount of flavour, can be done in minutes. Complex actions such as crawling through a narrow crevice, climbing a rope, or riding a horse require a vast amount of artwork and animation in a graphical game; text-based games need only a few potent words.
The flexibility moves beyond just players into the world itself. Non-player characters can react different to spoken words, a fight breaking out in front of them, a wave of a hand, or a tap on the shoulder. Magical wards can flare to life at a spoken command. The entire geography of the area can be altered by an h-bomb. There is no limit to what words can do. Given a talent at writing and a potent imagination, a MUD builder has no limits.
AweMUD is currently in development. As such, the engine is not yet fully operational. Here is a list of current features.
There are many, many more features planned for AweMUD in the future. Some of these features follow.
Table of Contents
Characters are comprised of a set of attributes. These attributes include race, age, profession, skills, phsyical/mental abilities, and more. At character creation time, a number of options can be chosen for creating these characters.
AweMUD allows a number of races to be chosen for characters. A race decides a number of things about the character, including physical/mental abilities, age, appearance, available professions, available home towns, and more. Some common fantasy races follow.
Pretty much just like the real life version. Humans have a short life span, in comparison to many of the other common races. As such, they tend to live their lives much more quickly, in more of a hurry. Striving to achievement as much as possible in as short a time as possible, they tend to learn more quickly.
As humans are the defacto standard race, they have no special abilities.
Elves are elegant, graceful beings who closely resemble humans. Generally taller and thinner, the elves are noted in appearance for their angular features, pointed ears, brightly colored eyes and hair, and usually beautiful features. The elves are more graceful and dexterous than humans, although usually less sturdy and weaker. Their cultures as nearly as diverse as that of humans. However, elves have a much stronger bond to nature than humans. Where human try to conquer the wilderness, elves live in harmony with it. The elven people live far longer than a human, enjoying near a millenium of life. Elves seldom rush to complete their goals, as a result, and live their lives are more slowly than a human.
Elves have bonuses to speed and agility, while suffering from less fortitude and strength. Elves make excellent casters, and decent warriors, so long as the plate mail and great axes are avoided.
Dwarves also resemble humans. They are shorter, usually around four-and-a-half feet, but broader and stockier. Both dwarven males and females sport a beard; the females often repulse human or elven people. Generally living underground, they are know for their mining and wondrous abilities at the forge. Preferring muscle and ingenuity to grace or cunning, the dwarves are far more a warrior race than the elves. Living about 400 years, the dwarves, much like the elves, do not rush through life as do humans. Dwarves have been known to work for years on a single piece on the forge, only to sell it once completed, and use the funds to begin another project. While dwarves hold no love for war or senseless bloodshed, when the call to battle comes, dwarves are among the fiercest and most potent warriors around.
Dwarves are very strong, and have far more physical power than a human. However, dwarves tend to lack the capability for intricate thought, making them very unsuitable as casters. A dwarven warrior is something to be feared.
Like many other role-playing games, AweMUD uses the concepts of classes and levels. A class is a set of skills, or a profession. For example, "fighter" is a class. The fighter class comprises a set of combat skills, and little else. As a character gets better as being a fighter, her "level" in fighter increases. Thus, the higher the level, the more skilled the character, in that class. The following are some basic classes.
The fighter concentrates solely on the arts of martial skills. Skilled in most weapons and armor, a fighter is capable of astonishing warrior feats. Unfortunately, there is little else a fighter can do.
The thief lives in the shadows, stealing from the rich, and likely the poor as well. Thieves are not made for combat; although capable of defending themselves, they will find that combat against a fighter of similar skill levels a sure loss. However, the thief has a vast set skills useful to the adventuring life, including the ability to find and disarm traps, pick locks, hide from sight, and scale walls.
The mage is a arcanist dedicated to the study and application of magic. Their lives consist of little beyond their studies, and their adventures to increase their skill. A mage would be easily slaughtered by a figher of even considerably lower skill levels. However, noone can match the mastery of the arcane arts that a mage achieves.
Stats, short for statistics, measure a character's abilities. For example, the Strength stat measures how much the character can carry, how hard she can hit, and more. The Spirit stat represents the strength of the character's connection to the divine beings, affecting the power of divine spells, and more. The six core stats follow.
Strength represents how strong a character is physically. Higher strength increases damage caused in melee combat, increases the non-encumbered carrying load of the character, assists in opening jammed doors, and so on. Warriors of all types will want high strength.
Agility measures the ability of the character to perform slights of hand, as well as reaction time of the character. Higher agility allows the character to dodge attacks better, perform nimble acts such as lock picking, and climbing. All characters will usually want high agility, if for the dodge bonuses alone. Rogues will want this as their highest stat, as agility directly affects their important skills.
Fortitude affects how much damage a character can take before dropping, as well as how much stamina the character has. Fortitude is important for warriors, who generally take damage for groups. Arcanists, such as mages, may also want high fortitude, as it can help reduce the effects of shock imparted by more powerful spells.
Intellect measures the mental capabilities of a character. Intellect affects a great number of skills. Arcanists and other casters will want lots of intelligence, as it is a requisite for complex rituals and spells. Extreme intellect (both high and low) can also affect the amount of experience earned.
Spirit measures the connection a character has with the spiritual energies of the world. Divine casters benefit most from this stat. As spirit also plays into account at character death, and when fighting undead/horrorific monsters, this stat can also be useful to any adventurer.
Charisma is a measurement of the personality of a character. Not so much how kind or funny a character is, charisma measures more the "aura" the character throws off. High charisma characters are more naturally liked, and have a stronger resistance to effects such as charm, fear, or other trickery.