The Official Carrion Fields FAQ

1. This FAQ has been compiled by the Immortals of Carrion Fields. It is hoped that it will serve to answer the basic and recurring questions people ask in the game and via e-mail.
2. There are no quest answers, geographic locations, item specifications or the like in the FAQ. This information should be obtained by your characters as part of the development of their respective roles.
3. The FAQ will be updated as needed. If you have any questions related to the FAQ or would like to see something added, email Pico.

1. Races and Classes
1. What is a good beginner race/class?
1. Probably a human warrior or a human thief, for which there are no experience penalties. You can hold your own at the lower levels, and you can generally use a simple role. As you become more familiar with Carrion Fields' realm of Thera, you can experiment with the other class/race combinations. If you must have magic, try one of the hybrid classes like a ranger or anti-paladin. You can have a taste of both worlds. It is probably best to leave of mages and communers until you have a real grasp of CF.
2. Cabals

Please note: Cabals are not for everyone! They may not even be for most people. They are a privilege and not a right.

1. Which cabal is the best? Which one should I join?
1. Each cabal is the best, depending on who you are. You should choose the cabal that best fits your character's role. In is obvious that most people define their roles with a certain cabal in mind. It is the challenge of the exceptional player to craft a unique role in a very structured environment.
2. Why are Tribunal so corrupt?
1. We will answer your question with an even greater question -- Why are people so corrupt?
1. Imagine trying to conduct an interview based almost solely on character, conveyed only through text. Imagine if you were an interviewer for the FBI (or whatever national police force your country of residence has) and the only tool at your disposal is an advanced chat room. Then once you have your force chosen, try monitoring them and keeping them in line.
2. Now take that force, which is made up mostly of a strong core of dedicated Tribunal. Put them in an environment where literally EVERYONE breaks the laws. You got yourself one heck of a big job. The Tribunal is made up of Therans. In general they do their best to have a good time and play their role like the rest of us. Unfortunately there are a few who will cheat, and abuse their power. We do our best to limit it but it happens.
NOTE: The immortal staff does not concern itself with Tribunal and any real or perceived corruption. Tribunal is a cabal just like any other in this respect and any complaints should be addressed to the immortals of that cabal.
3. What should I do if I can't get into my cabal of choice?
1. If it is part of your character's role to be dedicated to the concepts of the cabal you are applying for then you should continue the character's role. For instance, if you believe in the ways of the BattleRagers, then continue to roleplay your desire for physical combat and your hatred of magic. There's nothing to stop the role from being played if you're not part of the Battle cabal.
2. You should not drop the ideals of your intended cabal and take up the beliefs of another. People who get turned down by one cabal and immediately apply to another will be met with contempt. For instance, if Arbiter turns you down because you're a ranger, then don't expect a quest to change your ethos so you can join Sylvan -- it's not very likely to happen.
4. What should I do if I get uninducted from a cabal?
1. This is generally the same advice for someone who is can't get into their cabal of choice -- you should, in most circumstances, still roleplay the ideals of your old cabal. Most people are uninducted from a cabal because they betray the ideals of that cabal (i.e. you screwed up). If your character's role evolves to the point where it no longer fits within the cabal and grows to an appreciation of another cabals ideals, then it's reasonable to expect induction into another cabal and/or a quest to change your character to represent its new role. However, don't expect a quest to become chaotic so you can join Entropy if you were just anathematized by the Empire -- it's not likely to happen.
3. Items & Equipment
1. What are the stats for this item?
1. Don't ask this. If you want to know there are a number of web pages that list them. You can also make a character with the identify spell, or perfect the lore skill. Do not get caught identifying things for your other characters or for OOC reasons. This is considered multi-charring and you will be punished when caught.
4. Spheres, Religion, and Empowerment
1. What is a Sphere? Which one should I be?
1. The divine energy of the cosmos that lies within the hands of the Immortals is the collective power of the godhead. Following the War of the Immortals the amorphous aspect of the godhead was severely limited as pockets of divine energy were greedily collected and apportioned into what are now called the Spheres. As with all acts of the gods, the re-manifestation of divine power in the form of the Spheres altered the fatalistic influence of the cosmos on mortal life; the resulting influence being that the character of those "born under" a given Sphere is shaped by the qualities the Sphere itself embodies. The character/personality of a mortal is determined differently depending on if they are born under a Sphere of the World or a Sphere of the Heavens. The Spheres of the World involve Nature and Magic and mortals identified with those Spheres will find themselves drawn/attuned to those aspects of the World, though the effects on their personality will vary. Those that are born under the Spheres of the Heavens are more clearly defined by their "sign", their motivational core developing under the influence of that Sphere. That is not to say that someone born under the Sphere of Greed will be a two-dimensional character of that quality; the Sphere of influence will merely define the core qualities of their nature.
2. Spheres are role playing aids. They do not offer any additional power, or abilities. However, a well-played sphere can find you in a god's good graces and might give you something. You should choose a sphere that fits your character's role. You have from level 1 through 10 to figure out what you want it to be. Spheres are the perfect way to truly round out a character.
3. For more detailed information on the Spheres check out the Spheres in detail.
2. Does a character know his own Sphere? Is it a choice he made in life, or as fated as his sex and race?
1. Yes. Although we give players the choice (for freedom of roleplaying), consider it the same as being born under an astrological sign.
3. Is a Sphere a character's motivation? If so, if a character finds that for IC reasons she is no longer motivated by her Sphere, how hard should be for her to change it? Why?
1. That it's determined at birth (IC) it cannot change. This assumes that a character has some primal core instinct that motivates their life. They can betray that instinct, but that often leads to bad karma. You're swimming against the River. However, changing the character outside the Sphere is easy. An evil bastard with the Sphere of Combat can still become a good bastard with the Sphere of Combat and still be considered a "changed man" with no ill results.
4. Is the Sphere the source of power for empowered chars, or is it the god? If the god, why bother having Spheres? If the Sphere, why tie it so closely to the char's religion?
1. The Sphere is a source of the god's power, the god acting as a conduit of power from the Sphere to the empowered character. It's not either-or.
5. How do I get empowered by god(dess) "X"?
1. First, Read Help Empowerment on the web page or in the Game.
2. Post a note to the deity you seek with your basic philosophy and why you think you should be empowered. Then visit their shrine regularly to pray. In between prayers, adventure. Build your character. Assume your god is watching you.
6. I have done all of the things I am supposed to, now what?
1. Just stick to it. If you truly are worthy of being empowered, you will be.
7. Why don't the Immortals just post office hours so we know when to be IN THE GAME?
1. Mostly because none of us have such structured lives that we can guarantee when we will and will not be on. Also, because this would not promote role-laying since people would generally turn up the rping when it is their god's officehours.
8. Where is (pick-any-immortal)'s shrine?
1. Don't ask this. If you want to know:
1. Read the help file for that god(dess).
2. See if they have a priest(ess).
3. Once you have a clue, go look for it yourself.
5. Descriptions and Names
1. How do I write a good description?
1. Read the helps on description.
2. Limit your description to the physical appearance as much as possible. A good way to do this is in the order you notice new people you meet in real life -- generally notice eyes, hair and face, then move on to physique, height, and weight. Finally, try to get a sense of someone's demeanor. Now, if a person has a very striking attribute, that would be what you might notice first, then move on to the rest.
3. Try to stay away from actions in your descriptions. The main reason is that they become completely repetitive. For instance. Jack the brute draws his sword every time someone looks at him. That means Jack does nothing but draw his sword and he has to notice everyone who looks at him, which is not true nor has anyone noticed him put it away. It looks stupid and can be easily avoided.
4. The earlier you have a description, the better. One of the things to do while you're in the Academy is to spend some time and write it. You can always go back later and add a few things, this might even be a good idea as your character ages.

If you don't have a description by level 20, expect an Immortal to intervene.

2. Tips and Tricks
1. Write your description in a text editor or MUD client if you can. That way you can read it over and correct any mistakes you made. When you have what you want, type 'description +' in front of each line and copy and paste it into your client. This gives you much more creativity when doing your description.
2. Format your description like some of the better mob descriptions in the game.
3. I just got my name disallowed, and was wondering why.

Here is SOME wisdom on avoiding a "lame name":
1. Always err on the side of strictness when reviewing the name questions at character generation. Do not look at a name and think, "Well, it is in the dictionary, but it is such an obtuse word no one will mind." Odds are we will.
2. Do not be ethnocentric. You would be amazed at the international clientele of CF. So using a word from another language will get you denied. Also, in reality, the word probably is in a dictionary. Not Webster's but still a dictionary somewhere.
3. Do not be "clever." In other words, don't try making a name out of a word spelled backwards. Don't make a name by switching an "i" with a "y" in an existing word or something. This will probably get you denied.
4. Names from mythology or other well known works of literature (especially fantasy literature) are discouraged. It's not a 100% guarantee you'll be denied, but after Rand the D-Elf thief and Beowulf the gnome transmuter, you ought to save both the immortals and yourself the trouble by making up your own name. Spend two minutes and be creative, you'll be better off in the long run.
5. Finally, keep in mind why CF has name rules: names are part of roleplaying. Your name should fit the medieval/fantasy realm of Thera and consequently should be something a person would be called from birth.
6. New Developments and how they affect Thera
1. When will the (insert new feature of the MUD) be implemented?
1. Short Answer:
1. When the code is written, properly tested, and meets the approval of the immortals.
2. Long Answer:
1. There are a number of things being worked on at any one time. Some changes are small fixes, others are huge overhauls. There are also many ideas in the queue ready to be worked on as imps time is freed up. Each new idea is chewed over in detail, based on how it fits into the medieval/fantasy world that is CF, how it will impact the game balance, how hard is it to code and many other criteria.
2. Generally there is a lag on things around the same time we see the player count drop. (i.e. exams, vacation time, summer). We will not give out specifics. You may get a taste of things to come on the forum or in notes. If you do, asking about it every few days won't make it come any faster; be patient and we'll let you know when it is ready.
7. Pfiles and Game Mechanics
1. How do I connect to the game?
1. Use must use a telnet client or mud client to connect to the game. Connect to the address carrionfields.com (216.19.209.34) port 9999.
2. Why doesn't my password work?
1. The most probable reason is that your pfile is corrupt. First, read "help pfile". There you will find out that to fix this you should post a note to Balgrimnr. It may take a couple of days to get it fixed depending on their availability. If it ends up being more than a week, post another note. DO NOT PRAY!!! Praying about it just takes the other imms away from their jobs to deal with you. They are just going to tell you to read the help file and/or post a note. Do us all a favor and do what the help file says.
3. What can I do about lag?
1. There are two types of lag -- game lag and net lag. We will address both here:
1. Game lag is when the server running the mud, or the actual program itself hangs up. This can be caused be a number of things. Be assured that any game lag becomes a very high priority as soon as it is noticed.
2. Net lag is lag somewhere between your machine and the machine running CF. We have no way of controlling this. If you would like to understand more about net lag, go get a book on TCP/IP and start reading about routing tables and all kinds of boring stuff. Your best bet is to try reconnecting. If the lag persists you might try a new ISP.
4. I want to write an area for CF. What do I?
1. Only Immortals of CF write areas. CF prides itself on having almost an entire world of unique areas. If you wish to write an area, you must first become an immortal and then write a new area.
5. What type of computer and operating system does CF run on?
1. Carrion Fields currently runs on a dedicated Sun Cobalt RaQ4i. It resides at a co-location facility to provide the maximum availability for our players.
8. Additional Stuff
1. How can I keep from dying all the time?
• Try this: Enter Thera. Take notes, log the session if you can. If you get playerkilled, write down every spell and skill your opponent used on you. Write down where you were, and what you were doing. Write down every spell that was on you before you were killed.
• Now, look back on that information. Think about what you could have done to survive. Did you get plagued? Get some pills from Udgaard for next time. Blindness? Keep a potion of negation in your inventory.
• Poison? More pills. Didn't know the area very well, and didn't know where to run? Keep a potion of return in your inventory. There is a cure for every malediction you can receive. You just have to learn how to deal with them.
• Stay in groups, preferably one whose members are more knowledgeable than you. There really is safety in numbers.
• Generally the attacker wins, so don't stick around if you're attacked.
• One final comment: learn the areas. If you're running away from someone and have to keep backtracking or stopping and looking at a printed map because you don't know where you're going exactly, this gives your pursuer time to catch up or summon you back.
  On a related note, this means if you're not leading a group, PAY ATTENTION where you are.
• Read Help Tips or Scarabaeus Sacer's The Beginner's Handbook
2. How do I become an immortal?
1. These won't guarantee becoming immortal, but are good guidelines to follow:
1. Roleplay well;
2. Get to level 51;
3. Apply to the immortals asking for immortality;
4. Convince a current imm that you deserve to become an immortal
NOTE: It is generally considered bad roleplaying to power-level to 51 just to apply to become an immortal. The basic criterion is: did you contribute to the MUD in your mortal form? It's rather difficult to contribute when all you are doing is getting xp.
3. Am I cut out to be an immortal?
Only you can know for sure. We won't turn down players because your cabal has "too many" imms or because there's already a god with your sphere. We don't mandate that you have to know how to write an area or code. We will turn you down if you're not what we're looking for. What we're looking for is people who are:
• willing to learn,
• able to devote time to developing the game and not just playing it,
• capable of being judicious and objective in their treatment of players and the game,
• knowledgeable about the game (you're not expected to know everything, but keep in mind people will be coming to you with questions)
• Also, all applicants for immortality are required to apply with their primary character after reaching level 51. The support and recommendation of a high level imm, (usually your deity or cabal patron), is recommended.
  
  What we're NOT looking for are people who:

• keep a low profile, never talk to people
• whine; constantly pray or write notes to all and/or the imms about minor issues
• Going OOC in public conversations
• Switch between characters frequently - if you want to imm, you should play that char almost exclusively
• Spend more time spamming spells/training on mobs than interacting with others
• Have a description that would get them kicked out of an English class
• Have constant mudsex
• Cheat, in any way shape or form with any character
• Equip their real-life friends with gear for no RP reason
When you become an immortal, you incur responsibility -- it is no longer "just a game." However, being an immortal makes up for these extra responsibilities with some privileges (such as writing an area). Do not apply for immortality unless you have some concrete idea of how you will contribute to Carrion Fields beyond just roleplaying or "offering suggestions".
4. Can I use the web page's graphics or mirror your website?
No. We do not give permission to use any of our web pages or graphics found therein for other web pages. All the information contained within this site is copyrighted and it is expressly prohibited to distribute this information without written consent. If you wish to seek such consent, or would like to see one or more features added to our site, email to our Webmaster and/or the IMPs and we'll consider it.