Alter Aeon FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

FAQ Section 5 - Combat and fighting

Question  5.1  - Where can I go to kill things?

You can attack nearly anything, but the odds are good that you'll pay for
it if you attack things in the camp or in major cities.  It's always a
good idea to use the 'consider' command on things before attacking.

When you start out in the various new player areas, you will be directed
toward areas that are safe for you to fight in.  In the newbie quests,
there are a lot of monsters in the fields and graveyard.

Question  5.2  - What happens when I flee?

When you flee, your character runs away from something (usually a fight.)
There is no penalty for fleeing, and it can often save your life to run
away from something that isn't smart enough to follow you.

Flee early, flee often!  It will help you stay alive.

A good rule of thumb is to consider fleeing when you drop below one third
or one quarter of your total hitpoints.  (For blind players, watch out
when you get to 'pretty hurt'.)

If you drop much lower than that, your character may try to automatically
flee.  The automatic flee works all the time and may save your life if
your network connection breaks in the middle of a fight.

(You can turn off automatic flee with the 'wimp' command.)

Question  5.3  - What happens when I die?

Dying happens a lot on Alter Aeon, and isn't a really big deal.  When
you die:

- You appear back in your recall point with all your equipment.
- You leave behind a corpse and lose some of your gold.
- You lose some of your experience, typically half at low levels.
- You lose some of your knowledge of one of your skills.

You might want to visit a bank before going somewhere dangerous, so that
you're less likely to lose gold if you die.

The amount of skill knowledge you lose is pretty small, and at low
levels the amount of experience is quickly replaced, often simply
by getting revenge on the thing that killed you.

Question  5.4  - What does "You feel sick" mean?

"You feel sick" usually means that you've been poisoned.  Poisons at
low levels generally wear off quickly, and don't require any treatment
beyond perhaps sleeping for a little while.  For bad poisoning, you
can buy poison removal from certain shopkeepers, or you can simply
heal yourself and sleep it off.

Question  5.5  - What is a kaoken?

This is a rare but extremely powerful type of freak backstab.  High
level thieves can occasionally do tremendous damage with kaoken
attack backstabs.

Question  5.6  - How does AC and armor work?

AC and armor protect you from blows by reducing damage when you are hit.
A higher armor score is better, for example 200 armor is better than
0 or 100.  Negative armor is very bad, and makes you more vulnerable
to damage.

For ARMOR equipment, you want the Ac-Apply to be high.  9 Ac-Apply is
better than 5 Ac-Apply, sometimes a lot better depending on where the
item is worn.

On magical items, a positive ARMOR Affect is also good:
Affects: ARMOR by 8 is better than Affects: ARMOR by 3.  Note that it
is possible to have negative armor, which will actually make you more
vulnerable to attacks if you wear it. Avoid items with negative ARMOR
effects.

Question  5.7  - How do I regen my hit points faster?

Sleeping is the best way to improve your hitpoint regeneration (healing.)
Resting also helps, but doesn't heal you as quickly.  Clerics may also
use healing spells or skills to heal more quickly, at the cost of mana.

You may also find items that increase your hitpoint regeneration and
allow you to heal more quickly.

Question  5.8  - What do I do when it says "You are too exhausted"?

When you are too exhausted, you are out of movement.  Rest for a while
to let your movement rebuild, or if you are a cleric use the 'refresh'
spell to gain back movement.

Warriors and fighters often run low on movement when fighting, as combat
skills require movement to perform.