Ishar

Encyclopedia : I : IS : ISH : Ishar

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For other uses, see (disambiguation)}}}.

Ishar is a free Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) game that is available by telneting to ishar.com on port 9999. Ishar has been in operation since May, 1994, and as of June, 2005, typically has about 25 players online during peak hours.

Ishar is available to people all over the world in every country, and is completely free of advertising, mandatory donation, or fees. Within Ishar, a person takes on the virtual form of what is popularly called a "char", or character, with their own gender, race, and class of adventurer.

Ishar is set in a fantasy world, with a sword-and-sorcery theme. Players are free to interact with each other, free of moral laws and rules. However, the only general rule of Ishar, released by the Gods, is "Don't make the game less fun for others."

Gameplay

Introduction

Players will start out as a lowly level 1 character with only a single experience point in one of two cities - Mareldja or Cadain. From there they must battle against mobiles, or "mobs" (computer-created characters within the game) to gain experience points. Periodically their total will reach the required number of XP needed, upon which they can level up. Spellcasters can learn new spells with each level they gain, whereas warriors and thieves can gain new skills. The number of XP required to level doubles each level.

Players are given health points (HP) and movement points (moves), both of which are recovered slowly as the game goes on. If a character's HP goes to 0, they are stunned but will recover; if the total goes below 0, death will follow. Movement points allow characters to move from room to room, taking movement points depending on their load and the terrain. When the total goes to 0, characters cannot move again until they recover. Spellcasters will receive spell points as well (mana) which allow them to cast spells. The points taken depends on the spell used - for stronger spells the cost will be higher and for weaker, it will be lower. The cost of all spells will decrease as the player levels.

At the beginning of their quest, players must specify which class, race and gender they wish their character to be.

Classes

In playing Ishar, characters can choose one of five different classes of player. No class is better than another as they all have their own strengths and weaknesses.

• Magicians

The magician has the weakest physical capability of any class. This weakness is more than made up for by the Magician's plethora of offensive spells (e.g. Magic Arrow, Flaming Hands, Frostbite, Lightning Bolt and Fireball) and stat-increasing powers (Armor and Strength). This the class with by far the greatest magical power.

• Clerics

As the Cleric's power is supposedly of divine origin, his physical power is much better than that of a Magician. The spells of a Cleric tend to be based on defence rather than offence; Clerics learn many healing spells, which can replenish HP and cure poison, blindness and paralysis and disease, and offensives such as Flamestrike and Harm.

• Necromancers

Necromancers have more physical ability than Magicians but less than Clerics. Their spells tread the thin line between offence (e.g. Bone Shards) and defence (Empower and Rigor). Their special abilities are based around the use of corpses, which they can resurrect to use as their slaves.

• Thieves

Unlike the previous three classes, Thieves do not have magic. Their skills are suited to their class as they learn how to pick locks, backstab people and climb to hard-to-reach places. They can steal money from other players and mobs, but this is taken in a dim light when discovered.

• Warriors

The most powerful physical class, Warriors learn a range of combat skills from Kick and Bash to Rescue. They are usually the backbone of any strong group as they can take (and deal) the most physical damage. Warriors are the easiest class to raise thanks to their offensive abilities.

Races

Players may choose one of several races:

• Human (+1 vs. Disbelief)
• Elven (+2 vs. Spells, +2 vs. Disbelief)
• Half-Elven (+1 vs. Spells, +3 vs. Disbelief)
• Gnome (+1 vs. Spells, +2 vs. Petrification)
• Dwarf (+1 vs. Petrification, +1 vs. Poison)
• Hobbit (+1 vs. Spells)

Commands

As it is a text-based game, players must enter typed commands to order their character to perform actions. Most commands can be abbreviated to their first three letters, but this takes time to become proficient.

Basic Commands

• N, E, S, W, Ne, Se, Sw, Nw, Up, Down - These commands order characters to move to the first room in that direction.
• look - Without a target, it redisplays the room description; with a target, the player is given a description of that object or a list of that person's equipment.
• wear - Orders the character to wear a piece of equipment on any part of their body, although some things can only be worn in certain places. Without a body part supplied, the system wears it on the most suitable position.
• remove - The opposite to 'wear', this command makes a character remove a piece of equipment.
• equipment - This gives the player a list of what their character is currently wearing in terms of equipment.
• inventory - This gives a player a list of what their character is currently holding in their inventory.
• score - One of the most important commands, it gives a player a list of information about their character, including their level, class, race, alignment, current XP total, XP needed to advance to the next level, the amount money on their person, the amount of money in their bank and any spells currently active on them.
• cast - Allows a spellcaster to use any spell of their choice on a target, as long as they have sufficient mana to allow it.
• sleep - When sleeping, a character recovers HP, moves and mana faster than at any other time except for when a Heal spell is active on him. However, it blinds characters to the room they are in, allowing other players to steal the contents of their inventory or attack them.
• rest - In this state characters will recover at a slower rate, but they can still see and perform many actions.
• stand - Orders the player to come out of sleep or stop resting.
• eat - If a character is hungry, he will recover HP more slowly, so eating something is usually a good idea.
• drink - If a character is thirstly, he will recover movement points more slowly, so drinking some water from a container is useful.

Communication

• say - If a character says something, what they say will be heard by everyone in the same room as them.
• address - Allows a character to say something to a specific person who is in the same room as them, although everyone in that room will hear what is said.
• whisper - This must be said to someone in the same room as the character, but only they two will hear what is said.
• tell - Allows a character to communicate with anyone in the game privately, as long as the target is not deaf (sleeping or in a deaf room.
• reply - Responds to the last person who spoke to you.
• gt - Allows everyone in the same group as you to hear you. Only when grouped and using gt can you communicate with people who are deaf.
• yell - Allows everyone in a nearby room to hear what you are saying.
• shout - Allows every character currently on Ishar to hear you, as long as they are not deaf.
• NB: To prevent people from spamming other players and flooding their screen with text, communication points are used. The number of points that is taken depends on the number of people who hear what you have to say, although say, tell, reply and gt are unlimited in their usage.

Combat

• kill/attack/hit - This command will open combat with either a mob or another player. Combat will continue, with the system performing it automatically turn by turn until one of you dies or flees. Each turn you have the opportunity to use skills (e.g Bash) or to cast spells (e.g Bone Shards).
• flee - If you wish to leave combat, flee will attempt to make your character do this. It will not always work, and if you are stunned or bashed (i.e. lying on the floor) you must stand before you flee.
• consider - This will give you some idea of how strong your opponent is and how tough the battle will be.
• * You ARE mad!: Mob is five levels or more above your level.
• * Are you mad?: Mob is four above your level.
• * Do you feel lucky, punk?: Mob is three above your level.
• * You would need a lot of luck: Mob is two above your level.
• * You would need some luck: Mob is one above your level.
• * A worthy opponent!: Mob is your level.
• * A pretty worthy opponent: Mob is one below your level.
• * Fairly easy: Mob is two below your level.
• * Easy: Mob is three below your level.
• * Probably a waste of time: Mob is four below your level.
• * A waste of time: Mob is five below your level.
• * Do you LIKE tormenting helpless things?: Mob is six or more levels below you.
• wimpy <%> - The system is set so that when you hit 25% health, you will automatically try to flee from combat. This command allows you to set what percentage you wish to flee at, or, if no number is specified, to turn off wimpy completely.
• loot - When your opponent is dead, you will wish to relieve their corpse of their money and possessions.

Socials

These are a great many different social commands on Ishar, ranging from slap to sing . Feel free to experiment with these.

• emote - This versatile command allows you to create your own socials. For example:
• * You type: emote turns into Shirley Bassey! People will see: turns into Shirley Bassey!

Renting

To prevent casual players from using Ishar occasionally, a rent system is in operation. Players must earn money by killing and looting and use this to pay for food, equipment and rent. Innkeepers are found all over the world of Ishar, some more expensive than others. The amount of rent you pay depends upon what equipment you have and what level you are.

Commands

• offer - In the presence of an innkeeper, this will tell you what you rent will be per day and for how long you can rent on the coins and treasure you have.
• rent - When in the presence of an innkeeper mob, this will disconnect you from the system.
• quit - This will disconnect you from Ishar no matter where you are, but you will be automatically rented half an hour later at an increased price.

Popularity

Although the cost to rent with any particular piece of equipment is set, if many characters have it, the equipment may incur a popularity charge. This will increase the cost to rent with it by a certain percentage. The extra charge will depend upon how many other people have the item and what level they are. If you have obtained a piece of equipment that is popular, the extra charge on that item will increase for everybody that has it. To encourage players to seek out different items, the charge for the person who has added to the popularity is raised more than it is for everyone else. It will decrease back to everyone's charge in time.

Immortals

The game is continuously created, run and policed by the Immortals, who come in many varieties. In their role as administrators of the game, they help those who need it, and in times of great need, smite the wicked who prey on the innocent. They can come in many varieties: The Immortals, Eternals, Forgers, Artisans, and of course, the Gods. At present, there are only a handful of immortals, and only one God. In order to qualify, a player must go through the game and reach the final level, proving themselves worthy of immortality.

External link

• http://www.ishar.com/

 

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