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The Lórien Frequently Asked Questions ListThis is a list of some of the most commonly asked questions asked by Galadhrim, or new players considering joining our culture. This is geared for the new player, so most of the questions are fairly basic, but a few of these items may well be valuable even for the seasoned player.Basic questions for prospective new players
Additional information for setting up a new character
Jobs or positions within Lorien
Basic roleplaying concepts
Travelling, adventures, and "Tinyplots" (TPs)
General Lorien Theme related questionsForeign policy - interacting with outsiders
Combat, weapons and fighting
Miscellaneous questions about Elves
Miscellaneous questions which don't fit anywhere elseQuestions about this FAQ itself
Basic questions for prospective new playersThere are a lot of questions here! What should I read first?If you are a brand new player considering becoming a citizen of Lorien, you should first start by reading the items in (this section). If you are also new to MUSHing and roleplaying in general, look at the RolePlaying section as well - it will be useful to you even if you don't choose to join Lorien.To get a better feel about life in Lorien and what you can do here, look at section about Jobs for general information, and then the sections about Theme and Foreign Policy for more details on our local attitudes. The rest of the information will be most useful after you have joined Lorien. You don't have to read it all just to join! But you are encouraged to go through all of it at some time, at your leisure.
Then next section is a good starting point, since it talks about making your character.
How can I become a Galadhrim?Well, if you are reading this, you have already made a good start!Seriously, the best thing to do is read through the questions in this
FAQ. Also, talk to the Lorien players - they are the best source of information!
How much prior knowledge of J.R.R. Tolkien's books do I need?The more you know, the better off you'll be as a starting point, but there is absolutely no requirement that you have any familiarity with Tolkien's works to come here and have a good time. There are plenty of people and online sources of information here which will aid you in learning your way around.If you get interested in reading Tolkien's books, the ones you really want to start with are "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy:
Lorien is covered near the end of the first book, so by the time you have read the first book, you'll be well set for life in Lorien! The other book you would likely want to read is the well known "The Hobbit". Although this is the most popular and widely known work, it actually has less to do with the overall theme of the MUSH than the LOTR trilogy. It is a sort of light-hearted "prequel" to the trilogy.
What can I do in Lorien?Lots of things! Basically, one of the things you will do early on as you establish your character here is take on a "job" within Lorien, and this will have a big impact on your activities. You might be a guard, diplomat, bard, healer or crafter. Jobs are covered more fully in another section of this FAQ list.The whole point of "roleplaying" is that you assume the persona of an elf living in middle earth - with all the day to day variations that you'd experience if you really were an elf living in the world of Tolkien. Most days will be fairly ordinary, and you'll interact with the other citizens in mundane ways - sharing meals, holding idle conversations, trading gossip, scheming how to gain a promotion, or whatnot. Some days can be the stuff of epic legend: the travels, the battles, the perils, the wonders. As in real life though, these aren't the norm. An accomplished roleplayer can make even these regular days fun, and if you are really good, you might be the one to set the next adventure going.
What are Local Admins (LA's)?Local Admins are those players who are responsible for the administration and maintenance of a particular culture, folks who help keep the MUSH running at a low level. Among the tasks they perform:
Click here to find out who the local admins for Lorien
are.
What other sources of information are there?There are a variety of sources of information online:For help with the intrinsic MUSH commands, use the HELP command. Elendor also has lots of locally written commands - these usually begin with a "+", and you can get help for them using +HELP. One big source of help is the NEWS command. You can find reams of information about Elendor, roleplaying, and general issues on Elendor here - probably far more than you can absorb at the onset. Lorien has its own private help system. To access it, use the command +ELF. Note: the
command only works for citizens of Lorien, or visitors within our borders, so if you go outside Lorien before joining us,
+ELF won't work for you.
Additional information for setting up a new characterWhat are some Elven names?Unlike other races, most elven names have a meaning. The best way to get an "elven" name is to look in the appendices of the Silmarillion and come up with one suitable to your character. Usually you should use the Sindaran forms rather than Quenyan forms, if you can tell which is which. If you don't have access to the Silmarillion, talk to some of the other players to see if they can help you out.You can also use the The Tolkien Translator, in Elendor's Page, to search for the elfic word of the meaning you want. To change your current name, if you are unsatisfied with it, use: @name me=newname your_password
How old can my character IC'ly be?Quite old actually. Elves are immortal, have children rarely, and are indeed a diminishing race in this Third Age of Middle Earth. Most of us have been around a long time.New players frequently want to describe themselves as young, covering their inexperience by creating a character which is likewise new and inexperienced. You are actually better off not doing this. Why? Several reasons:
Anyway, you need special aproval to have been born before the beginning Third Age, so the maximum age your elf may have is 3000 years.
Can I be a bad or evil character?Sorry, no. You can be sour, bitter, or cantankerous, but not truly evil. Elves are just inherently non-evil in Tolkien's universe. There have been a few elves in the course of our long history which have been bad in some sense, usually doing foolish things when driven by their own pride or arrogance, but these are not the norm. Indeed, they are the stuff of our legends, and our tragedies, and their actions have had a profound impact on the entire course of elven history.If you want to be bad, you should consider being an Orc, or a human in one of the "evil" cultures.
Should I be a Silvan or Sindarin elf? A Noldor?If you have any real strong preference, you can probably convince an admin to switch your "subspecies" between Silvan (wood elf) and Sindarin (grey elf). There's no real advantage to either one, the only impact it might have is on how you define your character's personal history.Thematically, Lorien is populated mostly by Silvan elves. The author expects that maybe 4/5ths of the population of Lorien is Silvan, with the remainder being Sindarin, with a smattering of Noldorin thrown in. The Sindar are probably a bit more "worldly" and "travelled" than Silvans, a more somber and industrious folk than the Silvans. Silvans would tend to be more light-hearted, less concerned with politics and the greater happenings of the world about them. As far as Noldor (high elves) are concerned, you cannot normally be one of these. Noldor are rare, especially in the East (which includes Lorien). On the MUSH, they are considered a "Feature race", which means you can only be one by special admin approval.
How do I make a history? Why?If you want to give your character extra depth, you can invent a "history" for that character - where you were born, how you grew up, past events which influenced your world-view, and so on.Making a history can help make your character "richer" and your roleplaying more "consistent". Instead of just reacting to events as they occur, you will have given some thought into what motivates your character and how you would normally react to any circumstance. For example: your character may have a deep and profound distrust of humans. But why? A history doesn't have to be elaborate. Just write up some background information about your character and keep it handy somewhere. Some people like to store this online in an attribute on themselves, but we recommend that you do not do this, because the Elendor database is quite large and it is desirable not to inflate it further.
Where should my character be from?If you are a Silvan elf, you are probably from this general area, or the north or east. All elves originated from some point in the east of Middle Earth; the Silvan elves are those tribes which never migrated westward beyond the Misty Mountains.If you are a Sindarin elf, you would come from lands more to the west, on the other side of the Misty Mountains. The Sindarin elves are those tribes which migrated westward in the early days of Middle Earth, settling at various points between the Misty Mountains and the great western ocean.
Can I have my own personal room (talan)?Players often like to have their own personal "homes" or "rooms" on a MUSH. Unfortunately, Elendor is a huge MUSH, and the size of the database is stressing the capacities of the system, so as a general rule individuals cannot have their own private rooms nor own a lot of objects.Another issue to consider is that IC rooms in the MUSH exist for the purpose of roleplaying, so unless your room would be used a lot for roleplaying purposes, there is little justification to have a personal room. There are exceptions of course - for example, an ICly important person or cultural ruler would probably have their own rooms. If you have been here a while and can demonstrate a need for your own room, you might be able to get one, but in general we simply cannot provide personal rooms. Our apologies. If database constraints weren't such an issue, we probably would be more lenient, we do realize that it's kind of fun to have your own place.
Jobs or positions within LorienWhat sort of jobs are available to me?We have several "standard" groups you can join within Lorien. These are the Galadhrim Guard (the military), the Diplomatic Corps, the Healers Guild, the Bards and the Crafters. There are also some other miscellaneous types of positions available: scribes, foresters, smiths, hunters, etc.You may have your own idea for a job which isn't listed. If so, contact a Local Admin and ask him about the position. As a general rule though, we recommend you go with one of the "defined" positions, at least for starters. Once you know your way around and have had some time to settle in, you will have a better feel for new positions to be considered. For the real details about positions in Lorien, consult the Jobs
section after reading what's here.
I want to be a scout! Can I be a scout?Believe it or not, this is probably the single most commonly asked question produced by new players when looking for a job. Probably 80 to 90 percent ask this! And this is quite understandable: it's a job which would allow you to explore the MUSH, interact with strangers, and possibly get into all sorts of strange situations.Alas though, in general you cannot be a "scout". There are several reasons for this, amongst them:
This doesn't mean we want to spoil the fun for you, it is just not a request easily granted. If you want to have some chance to travel, your best
is not to join the Lorien Culture. If you have alredy joined, then join one of the organizations which has the most excuse to travel (like the Guards or the Diplomatic Corps). When opportunities arise to send people abroad, we try to give everyone a chance to do so, rather than designating a few specific players as "scouts" and keeping everyone else at home.
What is the Galadhrim Guard (the Order of Lorien)?This is the Lorien military. The Guards are responsible for the protection of the Wood and the safety of our citizens. They patrol the forests and occasionally the surrounding countryside. They also provide much of the protective escort for citizens which travel. With their great elven longbows, and their stealth and cunning, they are a force to be reckoned with.If you have a militaristic bent, if the idea of fighting off orcs appeals to you, then the Order may be the place for you. But beware! Just like all military organizations, your job will consist of long bouts of boring duty, punctuated by brief intervals of excitement when you will wish you were somewhere else (unless you really relish the idea of being a troll's next meal). You can learn more about the guards at the Order
section.
What is the Lorien Diplomatic Corps?The Diplomatic Corps (or DC) is the group most directly responsible for dealing with outsiders, in any circumstance which isn't an obvious hostile conflict which the Guard would handle. This includes - but most definitely is not limited to - formal "diplomatic" activities, which we'd only normally conduct with the other elf-homes. It also encompasses less obvious activities: dealing with humans or other strangers as the need arrives, and maybe even controlling more mundane aspects of our outside interaction, such as the limited trade we do.If you are good with words, if you'd rather talk than fight, if you are all prepared to deal with strangers while preserving the mystery and secrecy of the Golden Wood, then the DC may have a place for you. You can learn more about the diplomats at the Diplomatic
Section.
What are the Gildain (the singers guild)?The Gwaith-i-Gildain, which means "People of Song", are our bards and singers and entertainers. But they are much more than that, for they are the keepers of our lore, the chroniclers of our great events, and the teachers to us all.Although elves certainly have a written language (indeed, they invented writing), we record much of our history and lore in song and verse, and music is part of the very fiber of our being. Indeed, elves believe the world is the manifestation of the of the song of Iluvatar (the "Father of All") and his children, the Valar (demigods), and that music is a part of all things. You can learn more about this group in the Bards
section.
What about the Healers Guild?The Healers Guild is the one in charge of taking care of Lorien wounded elves. The ways of healing vary from one healer to each other, some are more skilled in herb lore, some others in bandages and some other heal through song and tales.You can learn more about this group in the Healers section.
Basic roleplaying conceptsWhat are IC and OOC?IC means "In Character". This is you the elf, living in the world of Middle Earth, and specifically the xenophobic Galadhrim elf.OOC means "Out of Character". This is you the player, some person sitting behind a keyboard pretending to be an elf. There is a system "flag" you can set to indicate whether you are currently IC or OOC, and which others can inspect to see if you are roleplaying or just hanging out. You set this flag using the commands +SET IC or +SET OOC. If you are in Middle Earth, you should try to be IC most of the time. Setting yourself
OOC means that you are currently unavailable for roleplaying. If you are OOC, and there is any IC activity around you, you should not disturb it - watch quietly, or leave. As far as the IC players are concerned, you are just a "ghost in the machine".
I get in a situation I don't know how to handle. What do I do?If you find yourself in a situation where you don't know what an appropriate IC response is, the best way to handle it is just to ask!Try asking on the <Lorien> com channel. If it's a general thematic issue, try also asking on the <Theme> channel. Or just ask the the people you are roleplaying with, using an "OOC" question [but be careful about the answers you get from an orc :-) ].
How do I say something "OOCly" while IC?If you are IC, but need to say something which is OOC (like "Can you repeat that? Line noise garbled your message for me") then just say or pose your message as usual, preceded by the +os command.Or, also, you may just type your pose including a 'OOC' in some place of
it. This is quicker than the other command and does not lag the game.
When *shouldn't* I say something OOCly?If you are in an IC situation with people who are actively roleplaying, try to avoid OOC messages as much as possible. They are disruptive to roleplay. Only say something "OOCly" if it furthers the RP (like giving a new arrival a quick hint as to what an IC situation is). The following items occur all too often, and really should be avoided:
How do I "speak" in IC languages like Sindarin, Quenyan, Westron, etc?To speak in a language which your character ICly knows, use the +speak command. For example: +speak sindarin=Hello! Boy, that is one ugly dwarf!. Players who speak the same language will see your message, other people in the room will see gibberish instead. See +HELP +SPEAK for details.Westron is the "common tongue" of men, and is the general language of trade and interaction between species. You don't explicitly
+speak in Westron. Instead, if you are in a room with a group of people which ICly speak different languages, then all of your normal speech and poses are taken to be in Westron. In other words, plain English usually means Westron.
When should I use +speak?Use +speak when you are ICly speaking in a room where some of the other characters in that room should not ICly understand your speech. Also, if you are travelling beyond the borders of Lorien but aren't in another elf-home, you might want to use +speak, in case there are eavesdroppers nearby (you never know when a troup of orcs might be spying on you!).You do NOT need to use +speak when in the room with a group of people who ICly speak the same language. For example, if you are in a room with several other elves (and nothing else), then it is understood that your ordinary speech and poses would be in Sindarin (or other language as appropriate). Besides being somewhat cumbersome to type, +speak is a computationally expensive command, and should only be used when necessary.
When/How should I use "whisper" and "+whisper"? What's the diff?"Whisper" is a MUSH built-in command which will direct your text to another player in the same room, without anyone else seeing it. It's about the same as paging someone, except they have to be in the room with you. It has very little use for roleplaying purposes."+whisper" is similar to "+speak" - a special command used only for IC activity. When you
"+whisper" something, people in the room with you will see that you are whispering, and to whom, but they'll only see a few random words from your whisperings.
You can
When/why should I be set "findable" or "unfindable"?You can set a flag which indicates whether your general location will be displayed to anyone who uses the +WHO command. You set this flag using the following commands: @set me=unfindable - Your are unfindable
If you are within the Golden Wood, it really doesn't matter which way you are set. If you are outside the borders, you should set yourself to be unfindable. This is to protect against people using
+WHO to figure out that you are outside Lorien and using this OOC information for some IC gain (like coming and attacking you).
Travelling, adventures, and "Tinyplots" (TPs)I want to go on adventures! When can I start?There are no "campaigns" or "quests" or other form of pre-planned adventures on Elendor. Instead, you are an elf living the day-to-day life of an elf in Middle Earth. If some exciting event happens, or you end up going on a major trip or something, then that might be viewed as an adventure - but these aren't something you know about until they happen, just like in real life! Also, unlike "quest" oriented games, there's no set "end" to your activity. So you find the magic sword or the pot of gold ... in the MUSH world you also get to figure out what you are going to do with it on the next day.See the question about "Tinyplots" though; TP's can sometimes be a sort of "mini-adventure".
Can I travel to <insert name of distant realm here>?If you have some good IC reason to be travelling, then you may indeed be sent on a trip. For example, a diplomat might be sent to Amon Thranduil to help work out a trade deal with the Ndaedeldhrim. This is something that would be assigned to you by a higher ranking person, such as the Minister of the Diplomatic Corps, or Lord Celeborn himself. Just packing up and travelling to another land is not something you should decide yourself though. For you to just walk out of Lorien and travel somewhere would be just like you getting up from your desk one day at work in real life, and walking 500 miles just for the sake of doing it. Remember: it's a dangerous world out there beyond our borders, full of orcs and trolls and grumpy Khazad and scheming humans. To be out wandering for vast distances in a medieval world, with little more resources available to you than your feet and your wits, just would not make sense.
What are the borders of the Wood? Can I cross them?Normally, we regard the borders of the Wood as the area bounded by the Celebrant and Nimrodel and Anduin rivers. The north side isn't bounded by rivers but instead by a dense patch of vegetation known as the "Northern Fence".The normal entrance to Lorien is at the "Naith", which is the point of land which lies between the confluence of the Anduin and Celebrant rivers, on the south side of Lorien. From the city, you actually have to go a long ways north through the woods and then follow another long path which eventually takes you back to the south, which can be somewhat confusing. There's a guard post here, and this is where most of the junior guards can be found, busily standing watch. There are actually a couple of other entrances into the Wood. The only important one to know for starters is through the "northern fence". You should not normally venture here -- it's a maze-like area of dense woods, and it's easy to get lost here! Our borders actually extend somewhat beyond the points mentioned here, and the guard patrols occasionally go quite a ways outwards, but a citizen should not cross the rivers or go into the northern fence without a guard escort.
What is "IC Travel Time" and how does it apply to me?The outdoor locations in the MUSH often represent large areas, and moving from one "room" to the next can represent a trek of many many miles. You could walk from one end of the MUSH to the other in 15 real-life minutes if you knew the way - but in terms of IC distances that's probably more than 1000 miles!IC time runs at a speed which is three times real-life: one IC day passes in 8 RL hours. When you travel ICly, you should only move distances which are reasonable for you to travel in a given amount of IC time. If you are travelling 200 miles on foot, then figuring 20-25 miles a day, it would ICly take you 8 to 10 IC days, or approximately 3 real life days, to make the trip. You should stop along the way and "camp" to account for this time. To see a much more complete write-up on IC travel time, as well as other roleplaying issues, see "NEWS RP".
What is a "Tinyplot" (TP)?A TinyPlot is basically a plan or scheme cooked up as a major event or activity to build some roleplaying around. This might be a big festival, an archery tournament, or an organized attack by the orcs upon our fair land - anything which provides a focal point for a number of players to get involved in some activity.TP's can be large and well planned and highly orchestrated, or they can be smaller events which just develop around a neat idea which someone comes up with. They can be the nubbin of a great adventure, or they can be as simple as the upcoming wedding of a couple of lucky elves. Basically, a TinyPlot is just a plotline, where the players are expected to create the final details as they roleplay. Some TP's are thoroughly planned and do have a general expected path for people to follow and a well defined conclusion - for example, if a great orc attack is launched on the golden wood, then it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that the orcs are eventually going to be defeated - but many TP's just start with in an interesting idea, and develop as they go, and not even the originator of the TP knows how they'll turn out.
How do I go about starting a TP?So, you think you got an idea which will be the basis for a lot of fun IC activity for the next week or month? Well, if so, then what you need to do is contact the local admins and present your idea, and see what they think. If they like it, they'll probably help you set it up, and do all the coordination which is needed (for example, if the orcs were thinking of the next great attack on Lorien, their local admins would contact ours and make sure everyone was happy with it, and that they wouldn't interrupt some other major thing we've already got going).Don't be afraid to present your ideas, and don't be upset if they are turned down. Some things will be rejected if they are too out of theme (like proposing we all go on a happy little trip to the Shire), but others may simply be rejected or put on hold because they'd interfere with other activities going on at the time.
General Lorien Theme related questionsWhat languages do I speak?The standard language used amongst elves is the language of the Grey Elves: Sindarin. The High Elves (Noldor) also speak Quenyan. A few highly educated non-Noldorin might also speak Quenyan, but for the average elf, Quenyan is rather like Old Church Latin: archaic, unfamiliar, ritualistic.On the MUSH, Sindarin elves also speak Quenyan. This is a thematic botch. Stick to Sindarin. Also, Silvan elves have their own separate language, known as "Bethteur". Bethteur didn't come from the Tolkien books (and therefore may also be a thematic botch); it is actually an invention borrowed from Iron Crown Enterprise's "MERP" game. In fact, the language of the Silvans and the Sindar probably has diverged somewhat from their common roots, but not so much so as to have become truly distinct languages.
What about Westron? Do I speak Westron?Westron is the "common tongue", the tongue of Men. It is the language commonly used for trade or other interactions between groups which don't share some other common language.Unlike most characters on the MUSH, a typical Galadhrim would *not* speak Westron, or only a very few words of it! We live in our own self-contained world, rarely dealing with any outsiders except other elves, and the rapidly changing language of those pesky mortals is of little concern to us. Remember this when you travel or deal with foreigners - you probably can't talk to them! Use gestures, "pidgin" Westron, or other mechanisms in your roleplay. When players speak to you in Westron (which is to say, they use ordinary speech and poses instead of +speak), then do your best to utterly fail to understand them!
Foreign policy - interacting with outsidersWhat's our general attitude to strangers?With the exception of other elves, our general attitude towards strangers would be to be somewhat aloof and mysterious. We are a shy, guarded folk who want little to do with the outside world. Lorien is our haven, one of the few places left in Middle Earth still filled with the beauty of the world in its younger days, and free of the evil which plagues much of the rest of the world in these troubled times.
How should I react to foreign elves?Elves everywhere are our friends, and we take great pleasure in those times when we get to see our distant kin. Foreign elves are welcome in Lorien, even if rarely seen here.Note: The Galadhrim Guard will normally stop visiting elves at the border and inquire as to their business before letting them in (or out) of Lorien. This is not to be rude; they're just doing their jobs of keeping tabs of all who pass our borders. Indeed, this is as much for the safety of our guests as anything -- more than once has the guard been the first to realize something was remiss when a guest left our borders for a foray into the dangerous lands beyond, and not returned when they planned! Besides, a guard's life on the border is a lonely one, and getting the latest gossip from Imladris or Amon Thranduil breaks the tedium :-)
What do we think of those sea-faring Mithlond elves?The Mithlondrim are something of a special case. We would be just as happy to see them as any other elf we'd encounter, but the simple fact is that Mithlond is too far west for most of us to have any real knowledge about it. For the Silvan elves in particular, about all we would tend to know about Mithlondrim is that there are tales of elves which live far to the west, at the edge of the great sea. The Noldor are the only elves for which Mithlond would likely have any hard reality. For the rest of us, it's a place known only by repute, if that.
How should I react to humans?Cool at best. Although we are not hostile to humans (unless they are demonstrably evil), it is true that we have little real interest in them. Their lives are short and squalid, filled with battles and strife and petty concerns, and they are largely beneath us. Many of us have lived longer than any current human kingdom has even been around!We recognize that the world is changing, that the time of the elves is waning, and the time of Men is coming. This undoubtedly is a cause of some sadness within us. As far as interacting with humans go: they should find us to be mysterious, enigmatic folk. We are full of a deeper wisdom than they shall ever have, and knowledge far beyond theirs - knowledge which to them makes us seem to be magical, powerful, and not a little bit frightening at times. We are cautious in our dealings with them, and give little away. We do not particuarly trust them. When we do speak with them, our words are truthful, yet often ambiguous, and may well not mean what the humans think they do. Under almost no circumstances would we let humans into Lorien - we'd stop them gently but firmly at the borders.
Can I tell Dunedain from other humans?The Dunedain are the descendants of one branch of Men which has always been somewhat higher and more noble than the rest of men. Indeed, some people believe that there might be a trace of Elvish blood in their lineage, though this is probably untrue. At any rate, we do recognize Dunedain as a superior sort of Man, and are more friendly to them than other humans. Dunedain are permitted in Lorien, though we'd keep a close eye on them.To get back to the main question though: the answer is no, we would not automatically recognize a Dunedan from any other human. We might begin to suspect it from their manner and bearing, but until you get some firm reason to realize a human is Dunedain, you'd be just as distrustful of them as any other human. Most Dunedain actually can speak passable Sindarin, and few other humans know more than a couple of words in any elven tongue, so this is often a good hint. There's another point what you should be aware of when dealing with Dunedain: the Dark One would be all too glad to crush them out of existence, and they often do not reveal their true heritage to others. Even if you know what they are, don't betray that knowledge to non-Dunedain/non-Elves.
How should I react to dwarves?Dwarves! Pfah!Although dwarves are not evil, and not truly our enemies, the fact is that we really do not care for them at all. They are short, ugly, crude, and obnoxious. We believe that they are greedy, deceitful, even downright treacherous, and can certainly not be trusted. It was their greed in digging for mithril which loosed the Balrog of Moria. They were responsible for the sack of Doriath (a once beautiful elf home) in a past era, and our memories are long. They failed to come to our aid on past occasions when we sorely needed them in the fight against evil. We will not deal with them unless we absolutely have to, and under no circumstances will we let them into the Golden Wood. Of course, a lot of this is nonsense - the dwarves have had their own problems, and are actually a stalwart, honorable folk. But that is not how we elves feel - especially not us Galadhrim! To an enlightened, non-prejudiced player, such prejudice seems foolish and illogical, and it is all too tempting not to RP it. But that is wrong - as an elf, you have grown up with these beliefs, and some of the things we don't like them for really did happen (although the evil Melkor or his disciple Sauron probably had more to do with instrumenting these than the dwarves - but we don't know that). We are prejudiced against dwarves. It is not logical. It is not "reasonable". But it's how we feel. One of the great signs of the true power of the Dark One's work is in the sundering of folks who should have been fast friends.
How should I react to hobbits?Hobbits? What are those?Although not totally unknown to us, the halflings are a breed which we have not seen for ages, and indeed many of us probably don't realize they still exist. Like the elves of Mithlond, they live too far west to be anyone we'd normally ever interact with. If by some strange chance you were to encounter a hobbit, you'd probably find it an amusing, curious, but ultimately very dull creature. You'd not be hostile, and might find them charming in a quaint sort of way. They'd probably find you much the same as the average human would: mysterious, a little scary, and a little awe-inspiring. *WE* are the fairies in their fairy stories.
How about wizards (Istari)?If we knew a creature was one of the Istari (for instance, Gandalf), we'd be very respectful, somewhat wary, and perhaps a bit awed. We know they have even more power and knowledge than we, but we really don't know the depths of their knowledge or their power.The Istari usually roam the world in the guise of men - usually appearing to be fairly old (but hale) men, often with long flowing beards and bushy eyebrows. As such, we would not necessarily recognize one as anything other than a human, and unless given reason to suspect otherwise, we'd treat them as humans. Remember: just because you can do a +who or +finger and see that their species is "Istari" does not mean you ICly know this. If you aren't sure if you should know if a character is an Istari or not, page the player and ask how you should respond to them.
Can I be an "atypical" Galadhrim? - Friendly to dwarves, humans, etc?You can very somewhat in your attitudes, for example, your attitudes towards dwarves might range from outright hatred to mere minor disdain or even total disinterest. We do not require (or desire) that characters be absolutely identical. However, you should stick to the general guidelines given in this FAQ and the rest of the Lorien help information.The whole purpose of the game is for you to roleplay a character which fits within the theme as defined by Tolkien's books, not to redefine the theme to suit your own personal ideas. After you've been here a while, you'll have a better idea when it's reasonable to push the bounds, but if you are a new player (or new to Lorien) you should not push it. A common error for players is to be too friendly with outsiders. An all too commonly heard refrain when dealing with new players is "Well, I think my character would realize that <blah blah> and that I'd be more enlightened and would really be a lot nicer to <blah blah>...". Besides being non-thematic, this is usually ultimately less fun to roleplay anyways - getting into a heated argument with one of those obnoxious, stubborn dwarves can be a blast! Besides, they're expecting you to act this way, just as they're going out of their way to display their IC attitudes.
Should I tell characters I meet I'm Galadhrim?Unless you were meeting other elves, you should try to reveal as little about yourself as possibly. We're supposed to be mysterious and secretive and somewhat xenophobic. This is particularly true if you are travelling beyond the borders of Lorien.
Combat, weapons and fightingWhat's this combat system thing anyways?Elendor has a locally programmed combat system, which provides weapons and armor and the commands to make them useful. Like many conventional roleplaying games, there are a set of "Stats" which each player has, such as their strength and dexterity, and there is "training" which indicates how good you are in the use of a particular class of weapon (there is no training for armor). Characters have "hit points" which are a measure of their health, and characters who lose too many hit points are "killed".The combat system isn't just the weapons and armor and attack commands, its also includes all the other commands which relate to your stats, such as the commands which the healers would use to help a wounded player, or a mechanisms which allow you to increase your training levels (this includes training for things besides weapons, for example, languages and medicine). As a general rule, puppets used as combat objects are disallowed: it's just an excuse for "twinkism". Puppets can occasionally be used for combat RP, by admin approval, or by consent between the parties doing the roleplaying. It's largely a matter of what purpose the puppet serves, and how much gain the player controlling the object gets from using it. Let's consider a couple of examples. If a player has a pet dog, and when you attack them, their dog barks and tries to nip you, then that's probably reasonable, and can even add a lot to the roleplay. If on the other hand they have an legion of 500 soldiers come marching over the hill, ostensibly to beat the stuffings out of you ... well ... that's just being silly. Another use which players sometimes put puppets to is "spying". For example, an dwarf who wants to know if the path in front of him is safe might send his pet crow out in front of him to spy out the lands before him. Don't do this! It is completely improper and non-thematic. The dwarf is ICly no more capable of seeing through the crow's eyes than you are in real life. Basically, if it looks like someone is being stupid or "twinkish" with a puppet, they probably are. You should ask them if they have approval for it, or page an ARBitrator if you have qualms about it. Puppets used for roleplaying purposes, whether or not for combat, should only exist to enhance the roleplaying atmosphere, not to intimidate the other players or give the player using the puppet an unwarranted edge. Use your judgement: does this puppet make IC sense? Is the character just using it to avoid getting in a fight himself? Is the puppet non-thematic, or excessively powerful? Is the player "cheating" by using it? There is one special case where you will tend to see puppets/objects used for RP (particularly combat RP), which bears mentioning. This is when special creatures are controlled by players which are elsewhere, for example, a pack of wolves attacking a village, or a nasty wight capturing a trio of foolish hobbits which have wandered too far from home. In these cases, the controller(s) of the puppet is usually an Admin or Feature character, or some other person who is skilled with roleplaying, and they are operating the puppet as part of a planned "TP". These folks are doing a job for the benefit of the players in the TP, and should not be a cause for concern.
Do I have to fight? Do I have to use the combat system?Have to fight: certainly not! Indeed, as an elf, you are probably being more thematic if you are more interested in a great song than a great battle. Guards will no doubt get in fights from time to time, but that's part of their IC duty. We live in a dangerous world, and the orcs do plague us occasionally! A diplomat who's a total pacifist is perfectly valid though.As far as using the combat system goes: it is possible to purely roleplay combat. The absolute best combat is probably purely RP'd. Unfortunately, the worst usually is too. The combat system exists to be an unbiased controller and referee, and to provide a means for judging relative skill levels, training, etc between combatants. If you try to avoid using the CS because you don't think you are powerful enough using the combat system, and that you should win all the battles you get into, then you are doing it for the wrong reasons. If you are doing it because all the parties involved are having a wild roleplaying spree, and no one gives a hoot how many hit points of damage they could inflict, then you are on the right track.
Do I gain experience points and levels by fighting?No. There are no experience points. There are no levels. The purpose of the MUSH is to roleplay your interaction with others, and fighting is largely incidental to the point of the game. Indeed, an elf which really wanted to fight a lot would be an anomaly, if not downright unthematic.This is quite unlike the typical MUD or home computer game, where the object is to kill a bunch of monsters controlled by the computer, gaining wealth or power by doing so. All you get here from killing an orc is the elven satisfaction of seeing one less evil creature alive to befoul the world you live in.
Are the creatures I fight players too?Yes. Almost every character you interact with, whether good or bad, is another player. They have developed their characters just as you have. They have houses, families, cultures, jobs, history, and individual personalities -- at least, they do if the player is a good roleplayer!Remember that, when you are fighting with an orc or troll or even just having a heated argument with a dwarf -- although ICly you may hate them, your OOC job is to roleplay with them, not merely bash them. This is what "combat etiquette" is all about, which we'll talk about a bit more later.
What sort of weapons/armor are available to me?The standard weapon of the Galadhrim guard is the longbow. The elves of Lorien are amongst the best bowmen in Middle Earth. Senior officers of the guard also use longswords occasionally. Other citizens can use the staff or perhaps dagger.Typical armor for all Galadhrim is our grey cloak and cowl - we rely upon our stealth and cunning, and avoid direct confrontation when we can. Senior guards may be somewhat better armored, but even they wouldn't necessarily be going around heavily loaded on a day to day basis. Think about it ... would a bunch of people who spend their days high in the trees be going about in plate mail? Travellers might sometimes be a bit better equipped; that'll be dealt with as the need arises. Weapons and armor will be issued to you as necessary, and the exact details depend somewhat upon your position (job) within Lorien. Consult the heads of whatever organization you join for details.
How do I get set up to use the combat system?First off, you have to be a citizen of the Wood, and have gotten a job and settled in a bit before you will be considered a candidate for the combat system. We don't give out weapons and stuff until we know you will roleplay with them rather than just go out and engage in "hack-n-slash" nonsense. :-)There are several things you have to do to be registered to use the combat system. The first thing is just to read the online help information, particularly the stuff in NEWS COMBAT. Learn what the combat commands are, what "combat etiquette" is all about, and that sort of thing. We'll actually give you a little exam which you must answer and +mail back with correct response, just to prove to us you really did do your homework. It's not that hard, so don't panic! And in the meantime, don't worry about being attacked: you cannot be attacked via the combat system until you are properly registered; you are invulnerable (though you could certainly RP a fight). After you have taken our little exam and passed it, you will be marked as "combat approved". You need to do these steps next:
Note: until you are registered, you will not even be able to pick up weapons or armor.
How do I get weapons and armor?These will be given to you in due course, as part of standard IC activities - the delivery of weapons and armor is roleplayed. For example, for a guard your senior officers will make a request to the smiths to create a new longbow, the smiths will create the bow and return it to the officer, and you'll be presented with the bow, possibly in some sort of ceremony.We elves of Lorien live in what might be described as a "socialist" state. We don't really deal with money, and we don't have shops where you can go and purchase weapons and armor. Some other cultures are different in this regard. Here, things are given out on an "as needed" basis, as defined by higher members in the "chain of command."
How do I use the combat system?Read the NEWS COMBAT screens, and the +HELP for the combat commands. In particular, the following commands are the most important ones you should be familiar with:SHOOT, ATTACK, PASS, FLEE Note that unlike most of the locally coded commands, the command names do not begin with a "+".
What is "Combat Etiquette"?"Combat etiquette" is simply our established rules of conduct when involved in combat RP. The basis is simple: play fair and roleplay. For all the real details, you should read the information present by the "NEWS COMBAT" panels, but here's a quick summary:
One other thing: players have often put a lot of work into making their characters, and even though they are battling you, they don't necessarily want to be "killed". Leave someone a loophole, an out, where they can make their escape if they'd prefer not to lose that character forever. For example, if you are about to administer the coup de grace to an orc, and you know the player would rather not be killed, then you might elect to stumble on a root, giving them the chance to dive into the bushes and crawl away out of your reach.
How may "puppets" be used for combat?This is a tough question, and doesn't really have a hard and fast answer. The answer here is rather lengthy, and provided to give you some guidelines, but should not be taken to be definitive.First off, let's clarify one thing: in the context of this question, when we refer to a player using a puppet for combat, what we mean is that the player uses some object under his control to represent a combatant. The exact nature of this object could vary widely: it could be his horse, a dog, or a legion of guards at his side. In fact, there really wouldn't even have to be an actual object involved: a player could just pose or @emit the presence of other characters, with much the same effect. As a general rule, puppets used as combat objects are disallowed: it's just an excuse for "twinkism". Puppets can occasionally be used for combat RP, by admin approval, or by consent between the parties doing the roleplaying. It's largely a matter of what purpose the puppet serves, and how much gain the player controlling the object gets from using it. Let's consider a couple of examples. If a player has a pet dog, and when you attack them, their dog barks and tries to nip you, then that's probably reasonable, and can even add a lot to the roleplay. If on the other hand they have an legion of 500 soldiers come marching over the hill, ostensibly to beat the stuffings out of you ... well ... that's just being silly. Another use which players sometimes put puppets to is "spying". For example, an dwarf who wants to know if the path in front of him is safe might send his pet crow out in front of him to spy out the lands before him. Don't do this! It is completely improper and non-thematic. The dwarf is ICly no more capable of seeing through the crow's eyes than you are in real life. Basically, if it looks like someone is being stupid or "twinkish" with a puppet, they probably are. You should ask them if they have approval for it, or page an ARBitrator if you have qualms about it. Puppets used for roleplaying purposes, whether or not for combat, should only exist to enhance the roleplaying atmosphere, not to intimidate the other players or give the player using the puppet an unwarranted edge. Use your judgement: does this puppet make IC sense? Is the character just using it to avoid getting in a fight himself? Is the puppet non-thematic, or excessively powerful? Is the player "cheating" by using it? There is one special case where you will tend to see puppets/objects used for RP (particularly combat RP), which bears mentioning. This is when special creatures are controlled by players which are elsewhere, for example, a pack of wolves attacking a village, or a nasty wight capturing a trio of foolish hobbits which have wandered too far from home. In these cases, the controller(s) of the puppet is usually an Admin or Feature character, or some other person who is skilled with roleplaying, and they are operating the puppet as part of a planned "TP". These folks are doing a job for the benefit of the players in the TP, and should not be a cause for concern.
Miscellaneous questions about ElvesDo elves have pointed ears?Possibly. But Tolkien doesn't really say this. In one of his less popularly read books ("The Etymologies" in The Lost Road), there is some comment about elven ears being more leaf-shaped, but that's actually about the only hint we have on the matter. Surprise!
Do elves sleep?As a general rule, no. If we are sick or injured, we might, but normally we do not need to sleep.We do rest, and may stop for a few hours if we are really tired. Our minds need the occasional rest too, much as a human would dream, but we can do this while moving and active. We might appear to be in a sort of half-aware trance when we rest, but we're at least still partially cognizant of the world about us. We may meditate to enhance our resting.
Do elves get drunk?Not normally. We have an (ahem) inhuman tolerance for alcohol.Our elven wines are more potent than those produced by the other races. If we worked hard at it, we could get drunk on our own elixirs. We could no doubt get drunk even on regular liquors imbibed in prodigious quantities, but this would be quite unusual behavior for an elf. Elves are creatures of spirit as much as of flesh, and they have a great mastery over their physical forms. They are not prone to the typical weaknesses of the flesh which plague mortals: lustfulness, wanton behavior, drunkenness, sickness, et cetera. This is not a "moral" stance of elves, so much as it is just a difference in their physical being.
Can elves see in the dark?Yes. We can't see in total darkness, but our race was born in an age before the sun existed, and we can see quite comfortably by the light of ordinary starlight. We might still use lanterns in dark places, but we have little need for such things on the whole. Our eyesight is also sharper than that of mortals.Our other senses are also keener than the senses of most mortals. It may be that orcs have senses of hearing and smell which match ours. They also can see by dim light; indeed, they are incapable of seeing well in the bright light of day.
Do elves have magic?Not in the sense of the showy magic of the stage magician, or in the sense of casting spells. Elves do have a certain magic about them, indeed, they are somewhat magical creatures in their own right, but it's a very low-key sort of magic. WE do not think of ourselves as magical. What we do is no more magical to us elves than a microwave oven is to you in real life.Elves are old, they have learned much, and the things they do certainly can seem like magic to the other races. If we weave a fine grey cloak, doing our best to imbue it with our own natural essence, putting a bit of our spirit into our creations, then we are just being good craftsmen and taking pride in our work. A human finding such a cloak, and realizing that it has camouflaging properties far beyond that which can be accounted for by its obvious color, would consider it "magical", but we as elves don't even hardly understand what a human means when they say "magic". Magic is just a word used by others to describe what they don't understand ....
Are elves psychic?No, not really. Perhaps the most powerful Noldor are, perhaps not. We *are* creatures whose being is partly on another "plane" of existence than this realm of mortals, and there are things we perceive that they cannot. For example, we probably do have a certain sense of the "goodness" or "evil" in another being, and things like the Nazgul or wights, which are more creatures of spirit than physical substance, would be readily evident to our senses, no matter what disguise they bore in the material plane.It is true that we are old and wise, and that by combining our knowledge with our innate sensitivity, that we might appear to be uncannily, preternaturally, aware, and non-elves might mistake this as a sort of "psychic" ability.
Miscellaneous questions which don't fit anywhere elseWhat are OOC credits?OOC credits are a MUSH mechanism used to regulate building. Since the average player on Elendor does not have the priviledge to use the building mechanisms, this will have little relevance to you.Every time you issue a command, a small "fee" is also assessed against your OOC credits. The more computationally expensive the command, the more it can cost. This cost is so tiny that you'll probably never even notice it, and the MUSH periodically gives you more credits anyways. This mechanism is mostly a protective mechanism for people who practice MUSH coding and get something stuck in an infinite loop. Bottom line: OOC credits haven't got anything to do with RP, and you can disregard them. They *aren't* money used for IC purposes.
How do I get money, goods, etc?
Questions about this FAQ itselfWho is responsible for this FAQ?The FAQ was created by Haldir, in June 1996.There's no present responsible for the FAQ.
What things are planned for this FAQ which haven't gotten here yet?This FAQ is continously being developed and expanded, and this current version is essentially a first pass "beta" version, which still needs much work.Here are some general areas not covered yet that we'd like to add:
How can I try to get a new question added to the FAQ?You should contact one of the Local Admins and let him know about your question.
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