Do you ever get observation exp from looking at room keywords, or is it just items and mobs?

For example, there are lots of places that have many of the same keyword. Identical beds in every room and so forth. Generally when I'm trying to get a character observation exp I do look at every keyword I know about in the rooms as well as all the exits, even when I know there's nothing interesting (after the first 2 readings) to see.

I know you're not interested in giving a step-by-step guide to min-maxing your observation exp by rote, but right now I have no idea if I'm actually forced to look at every boring keyword in the world or if it's entirely wasted of time.

As a player, I already know all of khadrath's conjectures by heart, and if I don't have to spam exa <keyword> for keywords I've looked at a million billion times (true story) all over the place I would rather not. Of course, if those keywords are a source of observation exp I will keep merrily scrutinizing every bed post I come across.

Technically, the answer is you don't get observation experience from looking at keywords in a room. However, in practice, you can get observation exp from looking at extraneous keywords due to the way areas are written.

When you walk into a room and see that paragraph of text, you generally can pick out interesting keywords (desk, crevice, etc) and look at them. The area writer has a choice between making this crevice just a keyword to look at and writing an extra description for it, or making it an object in the room. However, if he wants to make the crevice an object and doesn't want it to be super obvious, he'll make it so you can't even try to pick up the crevice even if it's sitting on the ground (which it technically is) and he'll remove the description you would see of it when you walk in the room. For someone not looking at the code, there's not really a way to tell the difference.

You could get observation exp for looking at the crevice if it were an object (even if you can't manipulate it and don't see it sitting on the ground) but not if it were just an extra description in the room.

I don't know if that helps, maybe? Generally, however, you aren't going to get observation exp for looking at every single keyword, especially if it's something that's duplicated in every room. It's keyed to interesting and more unique things. When we write areas, we're asked to think about the following when assigning observation/explore xp: Is it interesting, does it give some information crucial to understanding the area's quest/story, is it hidden/layers deep, and is it difficult to get to?

Hopefully that helped, a little?

>Hopefully that helped, a little?

Yes, that was very helpful, thank you.

Heh. I had no idea you could get observation xp from looking at random objects. Maybe I should start looking at my armor.

Legendary awareness is usually a decent way to tell I think. Not sure, but I think at times you do get obs xp for looking at legendary items. Maybe some famous and noteworthy ones as well, but can't say for sure.

This is helpful but I have one question. What is the difference between an object and an extra description? Could you give a trivial example based on an in-game room?

Extra Descriptions: Provide another block of text when you type look/examine at one of the keywords for it. They are always non-obvious in that they do not show up like most pieces of armor/equipment or mobs/characters do when you walk into the room.

Objects: The most common objects, of course, are pieces of equipment/food/treasure. The area writer has the option of making these able to be manipulated (picked up, or whatever) and to make them obvious or non-obvious. Observation xp can be added for looking at objects, but not at extra descriptions.

From the Academy:

The Warrior Guild Hall
This room is clearly dedicated to warriors and the art of combat. The
walls of this room are covered with all manner of arms and armor. Each
weapon has been blunted for practice, and the armors are all padded just
enough to protect you from the worst bruises you might receive in training.
A dirt pit lies in the center of the room and there are two aspiring warriors
practicing under the watchful eye of the Guildmaster. Looking back, you see
the passage that you came from has disappeared, which seems to be the standard
practice of the Academy. The only way out of this sparring and learning room
is through the gate to the north.

The Guildmaster will answer some simple questions about the things that
can be trained within the Academy, but you must speak to the Guildmaster
directly (example: SAYTO Guildmaster What should I train?).

There is an inscribed sword bolted to the wall.
There is a bronzed plaque emblazoned with inscriptions mounted on the wall.
A sign hangs above the fighting pit.


The Guildmaster of Warriors is here to help you practice and train.


You can look at the sword, plaque, and sign for more information but you can't pick them up. They might be objects or just extra descriptions--the only reason I can think of to make them objects would be to give observation xp for looking at them, but there's no way for someone that isn't looking at the code to know.



civilized <97%hp 100%m 90%mv 1584tnl (54.74%)> lo
A Quiet Cellar
Here, a rope ladder has been affixed along the western wall, leading up
to a stone panel which fits snugly into the ceiling. The walls here are
moist with condensation, leaving a damp, cloying odor that hangs in the
air, and it is clear this place sees little use. Along the eastern wall,
a small wooden chest has been secured to the floor with sturdy bolts.
Despite that precaution, the owner seems to have forgotten to close or
lock it.


A huge, muscular war beast is here growling at you.

civilized <100%hp 100%m 100%mv 1584tnl (54.74%)> exa chest
This small wooden chest is in surprisingly good condition, given the dank,
stagnant conditions of this place. Made of what looks to be a dark
mahogany, it blends in well with the shadows of this room. Only an
observant eye could pick it out.
When you look inside, you see it is fairly empty.
A small wooden chest contains:
a small stash of copper
a pair of fine leather gloves


In this room, the chest is an example of a non-obvious object that you can't manipulate. There are a ton of similar containers in the game (bookshelves, crevices, trunks, etc) that you can look in only after reading the room description and noticing it mentions it. Any of these containers has the potential to have observation xp, but you could just as easily have a non-obvious object that isn't a container that would give you observation xp. The easiest example I can think of of one of those would be the portals in Khardrath's Planar Sanctum.

And just in case it's not clear what I mean by non-obvious...the red fungus in the newbie academy is non-obvious (but you can pick it up). It doesn't show up in the room, and if you pick it up and move to a different room and drop it, you won't see it (though you can pick it up again by typing 'get fungus').

Thank you, that was very helpful.