== FAQ ==================================================== Updated: 99/02/20 ==

                   TerraFirmA Frequently Asked Questions


Q: "What's the idea of the game?"
A: The basic idea of the game is to amass 200 thousand experience
   points as well as 100 thousand credits to become an Apprentic Untouchable. 
   You can gain experience points by killing mobiles and completing quests. 
   Credits are dropped by certain mobiles when killed. Quest points on the 
   other hand are gained by completing quests only. Once at Apprentice the 
   Morphing System should then be used to finish ALL the quests and advance
   through the levels of the conclave. They may then become an Untouchable.

Q: "What are quests?"
A: A list of quests can be found by typing Quests or Q for short. Quests
   are puzzles that a player can solve to gain Quest points and experience
   points. These puzzles may involve killing or quick thinking. The difficulty
   of quests are measured by the amount of quest points gained by completing
   them. For example, Farm is easy and set at 1500 points where as Hamelin is
   one of the most difficult and set at 13,000 points. Some quests have other
   rewards as well as the experience points. You may recieve a fatal weapon or
   tough armour. Quests may be done many times by the one player but quest
   and experience points will only be credited the first time it is completed.


Q: "How do I do a Quest?"
A: To find out more about a certain quest, you can type QINFO <quest>.
   This will give a brief description of what needs to be done. From there,
   you can find clues. As an example, QINFO FARM gives you information that
   you need to start the tractor. From there you can explore to see what is
   wrong with the tractor, and so the quest continues. Many players miss clues
   as they do not read the descriptions. These often point out dangerous rooms
   or hidden objects in a room. There are certain mobiles that can give other
   quest hints in exchange for credits. These are The Bards in the Turfe 
   Taverne and the Old Seadog Inn.


Q: "What is a reset?"
A: A reset is when all the objects, mobiles and locations return to 
   their initial starting places and states. So pitted treasures return to 
   the same place. Dead mobiles are brought back to life and start in their
   original starting place. After a reset, all quests are set to be done 
   again. A reset occurs every few hours. If you are playing, you are 
   perfectly entitled to object to a reset. When a reset is called, you will
   be asked to object then. If there are no objections, the untouchable will
   gather everyone about, usually beside a pit and a reset is done. If no 
   untouchables are on, a player can reset the game on their own. In the 
   shady clearing, there is a reset stone. Once all players are in this 
   location, a player can hit the stone and reset the game. hitting the stone
   will only work if all players are in the same location.


Q: "What is a mobile?"
A: A mobile is a non-playing character, or a computer controlled
   character. All have varying degrees of intelligence and are capable of
   doing different things. Some will simply ignore you, Others may be 
   freindly, and some may attack you.


Q: "What are pets?"
A: Some of the mobiles in the game can become your pet. If a mobile
   chooses to be your pet, it will join your party and follow you almost
   anywhere. Pets are usefull as well as fun. You can give them instructions
   which they will perform. Simply tell it what to do, type: Tell Ottimo Jump.
   ottimo will jump where he is. Some pets can look after your inventory and
   some pets are good fighters. However, pets can not regenerate their strength
   by sleeping and they can die like any other mobile.


Q: "What happens when I die?"
A: There are several ways to die. When you die from being killed by 
   a mobile or lost strength then you will loose your equipment, 12 percent
   of your experience points and be taken to Silicon Heaven (or hell as 
   apropriate). Once in heaven then you can move about. After a short time, 
   you will be taken to the emergentcy ward in the village hospital. To avoid 
   being killed, you can flee. You will only lose 3 percent of your experience 
   points and get time to restore your health. Deathroom deaths are different. 
   When you die in a deathroom, your equipment is lost until the next reset 
   and you will be taken to Silicon Heaven or Hell. You will not loose any 
   experience in a deathroom.


Q: "What are the Roguesuit and Rogueblade?"
A: Players below level 4 maybe entitled to equipment called the
   Roguesuit and the Rogueblade. These are excellent armour and weapon to help
   a beginer out the first few times. You may ask an Untouchable for these
   items, but remember that they are a gift and not a right. As you increase
   levels, The Roguesuit and Rogueblade will become weaker and so it is
   important that you explore and look for other armour whilst you have these
   items. When you reach level 5, you will not be granted with the Roguestuff
   and will have to fend for yourself. see info roguestuff for more information.


Q: "How can I tell how good my weapon or armour is?"
A: When you wield a weapon or wear any armour, you can check them by
   typing EQ. EQ gives you information on where you wear your amour, If the
   items are damaged and, of course, how good the items are. Weapons are
   measured in terms of damage done, from weak to fatal.  A fatal weapon is
   one of the best weapons available. Armour is measured in the same way,
   Basic to Awesome. You need to be protected all over your body. An awesome
   pair of boots will only protect your feet where as the rest of your body
   is exposed.


Q: "My weapon/armour is damaged, How can I repair it?"
A: Armour and Weapons can be repaired for a price in any of the
   stores. When in the store, you can type: Repair <armour> and the
   storekeeper will repair it and take the credits for it. When you try and
   sell damaged items, the storekeeper will complain about the state of the
   object and pay a reduced sum. He will repair the item himself and sell
   it in his shop. The next person to buy the item will get the fully repaired
   one.


Q: "How do I get my strength back?"
A: There are three main ways of getting your health back. The easiest
   and slowest way is to sit in a location. Eating food will give you strength
   back depending on what type of food, some are better than others. The third
   method of regaining strength is to sleep. This will heal faster than sitting
   but as you are asleep, you can not see what is going on around you, and you
   can not type commands without waking up. It is possible to eat food whilst
   fighting.


Q: "Where can I find credits and what do I need them for?"
A: Credits can not be found unless someone drops them. You can gain
   credits in different ways. When you kill a mobile, they will almost always
   drop their credits. The tougher the mobile, the more credits they will
   carry. Other methods are selling items. You can take them to the
   storekeeper in any of the six stores on TerraFirmA, you will be given 
   credits as payment. Credits are needed to advance through the levels and
   are used as payment throughout TerraFirmA. They can be used to buy items 
   from stores, get hints from bards and to get past tollkeepers. Credits can
   be stored in the bank when you want to leave the game.


Q: "How do I use the shop?"
A: When in the shop, There should be a scroll, a list, a menu and a
   note. Each of these contain different types of objects. The scroll will
   show Armour objects. The list has weapons, The menu contains food and 
   all other objects can be found on the note. All items found on the notes
   have the price that you buy them for. If you wish to buy something you 
   found in anyone of these notes then you can type: BUY <object> if you 
   have enough credits then you will be given the object and the storekeeper 
   till take the credits as payment. You can also sell objects by typing:
   SELL <object> and the storekeeper will pay you for the object. The price
   of all objects increase with more people playing the game. 


Q: "How do I use the bank?"
A: The four banks of TerraFirmA are used to store credits when you 
   wish to leave the game. When in the bank, you can use three commands. 
   Balance, Deposit and Withdraw. Balance gives you a current balance of your
   account. Deposit <amount> You can deposit an amount of credits you are 
   carrying. Withdraw <amount> You can withdraw an amount from your account. 
   It is best to deposit credits frequently when playing. Credits are used 
   throughout the game as well as part of the leveling system. It is for these 
   reasons always good to have a healthy balance.


Q: "What are tournaments?"
A: From time to time an untouchable from the court will organise a 
   tournament. At a reset, all players who wish to join the tournament are
   asked to log on as a temporary character with a four letter name. The 
   object of the tournament is to get as many points as possible by killing
   and doing quests. Player killing is encoraged and thus gives higher  
   points than completing quests and killing mobiles. After the tournament
   is finished, the winner is rewarded, often with credits or a quest hint.
   Please note that the temporary character is not related to your main 
   character and any deaths will not count. See info tournament for more
   details.


Q: "I have found a bug, Who should I report it to?"
A: TerraFirmA is a computer program and unfortunately bugs can arise.
   If you find a bug then it is better to ask a member of counsel who are on
   They will often find out if there is a bug and consult a higher power. If 
   you find a bug which stops you completing a quest and the untouchable is 
   quite sure that it should have been complete then you may be granted that 
   quest. If it is just a spelling mistake, you can report it by using the 
   typo command. type TYPO and on the same line, say what is being mispelled
   and where you found it. It will be reported automatically.

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