Here's a question I have directed at the IMMs.
I was a CF veteran mostly pre-purge and a year after ..around ..'94/'97?? I've been away busy with real life and i wouldn't mind starting up again. I'm not a newbie in the truest sense. I rp well (when i want to) and everything else. I just don't know the new lands, eq, and in general the skills/pro and cons. Basically, in the beginning i may seen like a total idiot - like telling people I'm on my way to balator ..but it takes me an entire day to get there cuz im' finding my way ...

So the question is this: How would you react to a player who rp's but doesn't quite yet know the layout/lands/eq of the mud. If I need to 'know everything' before i start gaining favor of the IMMs (cabals/empowerment/etc)then i may not play. I don't have THAT much to time to kill.

Oh, and Nepenthe .. we were cabal mates back in the day
cheers

>I just don't
>know the new lands, eq, and in general the skills/pro and
>cons. Basically, in the beginning i may seen like a total
>idiot - like telling people I'm on my way to balator ..but it
>takes me an entire day to get there cuz im' finding my way
>...

It sounds to me like what you need is to roll up an exploration character. A lot of people do this, and it would likely help you quite a bit. IMHO, an assassin is functional for the bread and butter exploration you need to do (as well as being just a good class to play in general) of the core lands. Other stuff can most assuredly come later.

>So the question is this: How would you react to a player who
>rp's but doesn't quite yet know the layout/lands/eq of the
>mud. If I need to 'know everything' before i start gaining
>favor of the IMMs (cabals/empowerment/etc)then i may not play.

You don't. Most religions focus on RP'd personality. Only a few concern themselves with area knowledge. I can't think of any empowerment issues that concern themselves with exploration.
Cabals generally matter insofar as ... do you know how to get to your cabal home and the cabals of the enemies? I don't think you'll have a tough time with this.

RP is what matters. PK skill is secondary, and I think you'll be fine with that anyway. There are many new things to learn concerning skills, spells, and tactics, but I'm sure you'll pick it up. We're a much better mud now than we were back in the day, too

I'm real new to CF and am currently playing my 3rd character. I got my character ranked to hero and have been inducted into a cabal. I know my noobiness has to be glaringly apparant to my cabal buddies, but fortunately they take it in stride and are a really great asset in helping me learn the game, areas, how to use my skills, and everything. My first two characters were fun too, but not nearly as much fun as my current one and I have to say that it's entirely because of the cabal-mates I have, they are great!

So since you are already somewhat familiar with the game, I would suggest that you don't hesitate to try for a cabal or religion if that's something you think would be fun.

If your alignment good/neutral and get into a friendly cabal (not that battleragers aren't friendly, but don't) like Sylvan or Dawn, you'll have a great time. Being new means you don't know what your missing when you get a large set of unique gear. Once people teach you how to find the basics, you'll be flying about learning at an accelerated pace

People in these cabals really do want to increase your ability to play, less as a benefit for them but more for your own benefit. (Dawn promotes peace and friendship, sylvan does a similar idea with a natural twist. More enemies to test your metal against).

I had a wood-elf bard, back in Priolith's days in Sylvan. I didn't even know the leader of Sylvan was the same class/race as me, I just went with it because it was easy to rp-out. I was awful in pk, and even got slaughtered in a bard vs bard fight near hero. Yet, I had a role model to teach me all the class tactics, sylvan role-play and everything. I almost did become a priolith-clone without the pking ability. Can't say that was a bad thing at the time!

From this experiance I learned how to run about Thera without touching a city or road. I learned where to get supplies without shops, the basics without cash and even how to take down big mobs solo using hit-and-run tactics (and chameleon!). I can seriously say I miss those days despite dying repeatedly, loosing all the happy gear my hero allies donated towards me.

Choose an easy RP character, stick to that RP hard and it will grow. Thats what gets you places, growing and learning, just like real life. Eventually, you'll learn to kill, but that was always second to me. Want to really learn to get to grips with pk life? Try playing an assassin. They can hide and you can pick+choose most of your fights. Simple tactics can develop into long, complex ones. Always focus on RP + ranking up, not on 'clearing out your range for fun'. Its the best way to play!

Good luck.

Just speaking for myself... knowledge of the game has never come up in an interview with an applicant to my religion... not when I'm watching him, not when I'm talking to him, ect. To me, good roleplay, if consistent, negates any lack of game knowledge. Things change, skills change, areas change, whatever... good roleplay can be a constant. And that's what's truly important to me.

For cabals, it's a bit different. Some game knowledge may be needed, whether it be location of enemy cabals... backstory of your prospective cabal, ect. But it's all stuff that's fairly easily learned.

Hope that helps a little,
Intronan

>Here's a question I have directed at the IMMs.
>I was a CF veteran mostly pre-purge and a year after ..around
>..'94/'97??

Welcome back!

>So the question is this: How would you react to a player who
>rp's but doesn't quite yet know the layout/lands/eq of the
>mud.

Our focus is really more on the roleplay than the gameplay knowledge when characters are still lower level. It's a lot like riding a bicycle, though. Once you've learned it, the learning curve is that much easier the second time around. I expect that you'll sound a lot like a pro once you get into the mid levels when you would be doing things like earning tattoos or questy things.

> If I need to 'know everything' before i start gaining
>favor of the IMMs (cabals/empowerment/etc)then i may not play.
> I don't have THAT much to time to kill.

Most cabals do not involve immortal induction. You just have to convince a mortal leader. Empowerment is definitely about the roleplaying rather than the game knowledge. If you don't know where the god's shrine is, you can always seek out an appropriate spot, pray, and see if you get guidance as to where the true place of worship is.

We've got a lot of new things to help newbies these days. Take advantage of them while you're relearning the ropes, and I think you'll find you get back into the thick of things easily.