- Be sure to read "Help Tips" (Helpfile 84). It offers some fundamental tips on exploration and how to avoid being pk'ed.

- Play a diplomatic character - uncaballed and neutral has worked for many in the past. Be assertive at making allies, as people are less likely to pk you if you establish yourself as a ally. Most players don't want to pk *so* aggressively that they cut themselves off from potential groupmates. The healer is a good suggestion save for that empowerment can be a difficult endeavor for a new player.

- Many people tend to find characters with concealment abilities easier to play if they are getting pk'ed often while trying to explore the game. Rangers and assassins are perhaps the most popular, as both these classes are fairly resiliant in combat yet also have concealment and utility abilities. If you give one of these classes a try, don't be afraid to run and hide at the first sign of trouble!

And the staff does frequently address the difficulties newbies experience in the game. We know we're a challenging MUD, and we take pride in that, but at the same time we are constantly working out methods to ease up the learning curve. Just in the past week, several affordable maps of newbie-appropriate areas have been made and put up for sale at local map shops, and we plan to add more newbie-friendly content of this nature in the future, both on the website and the MUD itself.

Most importantly, hang in there and have fun!