Worlds
Alatia allows you to travel from a central, common world to others via a central portal. To reach each world you have to earn a key that will be given to you as an additional reward for certain quests. Of course it is not possible to take futuristic weapons like a laser gun into the world of dinosaurs or magic realms as such. Each world stands for itself, offering areas, treasures and quests for you to solve and having its own specific properties that you might experience.
Currently, there are three worlds on Alatia but others are being constructed by our wizards.
Alatia is a universe of connected worlds, each with its own unique character and style. Through the exploration of the worlds, you will come to know and understand its nature, perhaps develop friendships with those you meet in your travels, and maybe, just maybe, you will survive to meet the ultimate challenges that await you on your journey.
So pick up your feet, adventurer, and move off into that great unknown.
All the best on your travels.
Velaria
Velaria is Alatia's main world. It is a fantastic land of beauty and danger. Nestled within Velaria are many wonderful denizens. Many live in the central city known as Celest.
Celest is a beautiful city of medievel proportions. While in town you can stop at the pub and have a drink while relaxing from the rigors of an adventurers life. Venture upstairs in the pub and enjoy a game of Uno, Darts, or the slot machine. You can even stop by the guild and read the latest news, or just chat with friends. Life is safe and easy inside town.
But should you venture outside Celest, your expected lifespan decreases dramatically. Velaria, while beautiful, hides many dangers. Living within the world are dragons, giants, orcs, trolls and many other legendary creatures.
Should you decide to travel this world, stay on your guard and be prepared for excitment...and danger.
Shadow World
Welcome to the Shadow World!
This world connects the common world to the plane of the Negative, which we hopefully never need to enter! Therefore the shades, immaterial as they are in the common world, take a solid form in this world. Mortals from other worlds are material, too, and may die here.
Although the Shadow World and its inhabitants are foreign to the visitors that come from the common world (and have prejudices due to malevolent influences,) it is not evil in general. On the contrary, the powers of evil always try to overrun this world and separating it from the common world. Their main objective is to enter the common world by the Shadow World gate, for the common world's gates would allow them to spread all over the realms.
The presence of evil and darkness is somehow tolerated and partly supported by the rather cold-minded and neutral attitude of the inhabitants here. However, no evil power has been able to raise to more than a local danger, as far as it is known to the sages.
The main danger to visitors still lies in the nature of this world and its natural predators like the shadow mastiffs.
The special nature of this world is revealed in its weakness to withstand the effects of light. Of course, the foreign traveller will be wise if he brings some light sources with him, but if there is too much of light, the surroundig parts of this world may disappear or do worse. One has to remember that good-aligned from outside shed a certain light, enough to illuminate the area around. Vision therefore is also different to that in the common world. Travellers from outside will need some time to get used to this.
Most visitors enter the Shadow World through the gate that is sited near the top of a great cliff. There is a small semi-civilized area around it, called The Gate. It consists of a small town and its surroundings as well as a, probably less civilized, forest. The wise visitor may find some of the ways that lead deeper into this realm but may decide not to follow them unprepared.
Mythos
Venture into Mythos and discover a realm where truth is forever lost beneath fanciful legends. Deception is woven into the very fabric of Mythosian culture and danger has become a way of life. Mythos is not for the faint-hearted and you will need all of your myriad skills to survive its tests.
Yet none can resist the lure of Chaos. As the world falls from the Balance once held secure within the grasp of the Gods, Mythos has decayed beyond the margins of Reality. Fiction has blended with the lives of the Mythosians and a new age has found a foothold in the nature of imagination. One will never understand it, but through exploration and study, perhaps...
...you may survive. :)
Quests
In order to advance beyond certain levels you are required to solve some quests. For each solved quest you are awarded some quest points. The "quest" command in the adventurers' guild will tell you how many quest points you get for each quest listed and how many you will need to advance beyond certain levels. It will also tell you which quests you have already solved. You will gain additional experience points as a reward for solved quests.
Although Alatia is a very social MUD, and there are friendly people who would be pleased to help you solve a quest, please keep any "hint gathering" to a minimum. Furthermore, if you are a player who has solved the quest previously, please help us to preserve the thrill of questing by keeping your hints generic, if you choose to give any.
Thank you!
How to quest
Quests are a particular form of adventure on the MUD, usually structured rather narrowly around one specific adventure or area. Quests generally take the form of either combat quests, where you need to go and kill lots of monsters, or puzzle quests, where you need to figure out which actions to perform in certain locations in order to fulfill the requirements for completion. The best quests - the ones that are the most fun to do - generally incoroporate both combat and puzzle elements.
A description of the various quests available can be found in the Adventurer's Guild. Each quest that you solve gives you a certainamount of quest points. Every fifth experience level, you will have to have amassed a certain number of quest points in order to advance to the next level. Many new players have trouble understanding the purpose and logic behind quests. This document will attempt to clarify these matters.
Quests are a method of ensuring that players periodically explore new areas and try new things. Some players, after getting over the initial newbie difficulties of learning to find basic equipment and getting a little money, find a few areas that they can do and enter a rut, always killing the same monsters, getting the same items, doing the same things. While they may find this enjoyable, it is not the kind of play that the admin wish to reward; hence the requirement for quest points to advance past certain levels. Getting these quest points will mean that the player will have to explore areas with which they are not familiar, and learn techniques and skills that they may not have encountered before. Most players find the process of exploring and finding the secrets of a new area to be a quite enjoyable one, and it generally leads to more skilled play, more fun, and a better understanding of the MUD universe. Embarking on a quest is far simpler than it might seem. Generally you do not need to 'sign up' for a quest; simply doing everything the quest involves, in the correct locations, will be sufficient. You will also know immediately when you have successfully completed a quest; the Guild will announce your success on the cons chatline.
The logic behind quests, particularly puzzle quests, often gives new players some trouble, so as an example of a possible quest, and the types of things players might be required to do in the quest, let's imagine a quest where a princess is imprisoned in a magical castle and the quest is to rescue her and destroy the castle. How would one go about doing this quest? The first thing is obviously to find where the castle is; one can't very well do the quest wandering around in town or idling in the church. In general it is a very good idea to explore the MUD as much as possible and find out where the various areas are; this also lets players compare various quests and focus on the ones that seem to be going well. So, suppose we've wandered around some, found the castle, and maybe explored a little of it. Now what? Well, remember we're supposed to rescue the princess and destroy the castle - and the first step in finding her is finding where she isn't. So, we wander all around those parts of the castle that we can get into, we make note of all the strange little objects that might be lying around, and the various monsters that live in this castle.
It's important to notice as many details as possible during this initial exploration, because many of these objects or monsters may end up being important later on; or maybe some of the rooms will be important. For instance, there may be a tapestry on the wall in the staircase, that we can't do anything with when we first find it - but it keeps giving us leading messages; for instance, when we type 'pull tapestry', it says, 'The tapestry seems to be caught.' whereas in most rooms it would simply say 'What?'. Things like that probably mean there's something that can be done there, we just need to figure out what, when, and how.
Once we've done some basic exploration, found various interesting things, and know our way around the castle, we'll probably manage to find the princess. But she's locked in a dungeon cell. Since the door is locked, we probably want to look for objects that might help us open the lock. Swords and other weapons probably aren't any good. There is a rather simple logic here; objects found in adventuring areas are typically useful in only one or a few simple ways. Weapons and armor rarely help solve puzzles.
So we want to look for other things; strange, apparently useless objects, that might serve some purpose in solving the puzzle. If we find something strange, like a piece of twisted wire, it would be a good idea to try to open the lock with it. But suppose we don't; suppose instead we find a little monkey, hanging from a chandelier, playing with a key. Since we've only found one locked door - the dungeon cell - it's safe to assume the monkey's key is the cell key. But how do we get it from him? We can't kill him, he's on the chandelier, out of reach. Well, again, there is a rather simple logic here; if a monster has something you want, there's almost certainly an object *somewhere* that the monster wants. So if you find a banana, you know what to do.
Often, if you have several problems - for instance, puzzles that makes no sense, objects that seem useless, or things along these lines - the problems can be made to solve each other. Apparently useless objects will often found to be useful in rooms where it seems like you should be able to do something, but can't.
Now, back to our castle-and-princess example. You've freed the princess, and she's following you wherever you go, even outside of the castle. But nothing more seems to be happening; you haven't gotten any special messages, and the quest is still marked as unsolved in the Adventurer's Guild. This is because you haven't done everything required to solve it; you haven't destroyed the castle yet. So you will need to go back to the castle and figure out how to do that.
Destroying the castle might be tough. An obvious course of action might be to find some dynamite and blow the building up; but we don't have dynamite, and it's not likely that we're going to find any in a swords and sorcery world (though certain twisted wizards might put in a fake dynamite object as a decoy, or might actually make you use a dynamite object). Far more likely is a magical or simple physical method - such as, removing a keystone from a central arch, or digging out some tunnels underneath the castle so that it collapses; or killing the evil wizard whose magical power has kept it standing throughout the centuries.
In any case, the specific method needed to destroy the castle should not be too hard to figure out, once we think about all the objects, monsters, and actions we have available to us; and once we've done that, we've completed the quest!
Of course, not all quests will resemble this example in style or substance. But the general thought process required, the method of approaching the various puzzles presented, will often be very similar from quest to quest. Low-level quests - usually, the ones that give only a few quest points in reward - are typically much easier to solve than the higher-level ones, and once a few have been done, the logic behind quests often becomes clearer.
Summary of Quests
These are the available quests.
1: Doethan needs help finding his wicker basket. (5)
Doethan, a young boy, has lost his wicker basket. It is unfortunate that he did because it is an important tool for his berry picking. When his mother grew ill a few years ago, his father ran out on the family, leaving him and his sister to care for their mother alone. His only means of supporting his family is through selling the berries he picks. If you could find his basket, he'd be as grateful as his poor soul can.
2: Restore the unicorn's heart (10)
Once Long ago, a very powerful wizard was out trying to catch the unicorn. He lured her to a secluded little alcove and cast a powerful spell over her separating her soul from her body. He trapped her body in a beautiful statue and left with her soul. After many years the wizard died and the heart was lost. Until the heart is found again, she will never be free.
3: The CloudMaster seeks an adventurer with battle experience. (15)
The CloudMaster Arkazar requires the assistance of a battle hardened adventurer so that he may continue the construction of his sky fortress. Seek him out near the town of Celest.
4: The druids of Calwin need your help. (15)
Larry, the default druidmaster of Calwin has a problem. He has accidentaly trapped his order and himself in their tree home. He needs your help before he goes insane. You don't need to bring your sword, just your mind.
5: Help the gnomes (15)
The gnomes in a nearby village seem to have a problem. Even the youngest of adventurers should be able to handle this one. Can you help them out?
6: Help the monks (15)
The monks have fallen into a rut and can't seem to get out. Sad monks are walking around the monastery not tending to their work. Figure out what their problem is, and see if you can help them out, before their order falls apart!
7: Slay the ancient giants of Velaria. (20)
The ancient giants of Velaria reside inside a hollow mountain protected by others of their kind. Only the most powerful adventurers will be able to do battle with them. Are you mighty enough for the challenge?
This quest is intended only for the highest levels of adventurers. Minimum recommended level: 43+ or maximum stats
8: Return the orc slayer to Leo! (20)
Retrieve the Orc slayer from the orc shaman and give it to Leo! But since the wizard Gorf built his tower next to the orc valley things don't seem to be like they were before...
9: Help the Brotherhood of the Disciples. (25)
The Brotherhood of the Disciples is hiring a mercenary to do a minor task. Volunteers please report to the inn by the sea shore.
10: Help the shepherd, he seems to have lost something. (25)
A little east of the great open plain you can enter the Sheeplands. Look for the shepherd's shack and find out how to help him out of his despair. There's no need to fight, just use your brain. 8)
11: Find Padrone's walking castle and return it to him. (30)
Padrone is sad. He built a beautiful walking castle, but a gang of pirates stole it and now he cannot find it any more. Help him to get it back! You don't have to be big and dangerous to solve this quest, but it's always a good idea to bring a weapon and some armour...
12: Explore Captain Greybeard's secret. (35)
Find the house of the old Captain Greybeard, and try to explore the secret of the shadows. There's often more than meets the eye, and sometimes it even is a pleasant surprise.
13: Loot Kantele's snake pit. (40)
Just as the line says.
14: Help Eric to stay in his beloved Union of Knights. (45)
Eric The Unready, newest member of the Knights Union Local#704, has not been very lucky on his last few attempts to prove his worth, to become a real Knight and to lose his Apprentice-state. The next time he fails, he will be banished from the Union and will never get another chance by the rule. Now he is bitterly in need of someone who can give comfort to him and ... but, go and talk to Eric by yourself and see what you can do for him.
15: Help Xanlith's son change the present (45)
Bring proof to the son of Xanlith the warrior that you have changed the present by defeating the evil ruler of the past.
16: Rid the professor's mansion of spiders. (50)
A professor from a local university has a spider problem; a BIG one. He needs your help to exterminate them from his mansion.
17: A hidden valley in the shadows lives in fear. (55)
The valley of Mudra has fallen on hard times. The powerful wizard protecting them is gone. The people live in a constant state of fear; can you help them?
18: The secret police have a mission for you to fulfill. (65)
The secret service needs some heroes to join. Apply to Otto von Bruto, Chief of the Secret Police.
19: Free the Kessic Knight. (65)
The last of the Kessic Knights is held captured in a temple within the shadows. Free him, and he will be able to continue his fight against the Shadow Lords.
20: Journey into A Midsummer Night's Dream and foil Puck's plans. (70)
Deep in the heart of Shadow World lies a magical realm of beauty and splendor. The shadowy inhabitants of this place are called shadowsprites and are now in great danger. The faery queen Titania has fallen in love with a human named Rama who lives in Midsummer forest. In a jealous rage, her husband sent Puck the mischevious faun to deal with Rama. But as usual, Puck isn't even capable of handling the smallest tasks correctly. Now a big green dragon is haunting the village of the shadowsprites. The dragon burns their crops and forests. The shadowsprites are in great danger and need to be freed from that plague. Maybe you find a solution and can make undone what Puck has done?
21: Help the priests bring glory to the temple of Ahnold. (70)
Decades ago, Cassandra Ajaxaxe, wife of the mad Overlord, commissioned a shrine to be built under the northern mountains. The shrine would be dedicated to the worship of Ahnold the Mighty and would gather the champions of power and magic. However, some of the priests did not believe in magic, and thought pure strength and muscle was the way to go. They rebelled and took over the shrine, causing more damage in the process.
Your mission is to find out what happened to the priests of Ahnold, and to find a way to restore the balance of power. This quest used to be the level requirement for HLP.
22: Father Time needs your help! (95)
Many years ago, Father Time ruled over a large and peaceful land, where creatures of all walks of life romped and played in harmony. A great evil force invaded this happy land. The kingdom was split into four parts, and each part became forever frozen in time, one in each of the four seasons. The carefree inhabitants changed, most becoming bitter and twisted caricatures of their former happy selves. Father Time, for his own safety, has sought refuge in the house of the infamously insane wizard Songbird, which, since her magic is less than perfect, can occasionally be seen through a weird rift in time and weather patterns. Find Father Time, and bring him proof that you have rid all the land of evil, and at last reunited the Seasons.
23: Save the worlds from the Vampire Lord. (100)
Rumours have it that an evil vampire lord is plotting to conquer the Shadow World and use its portal to invade all the worlds of Alatia. Minimum recommended level: 25+
24: Investigate the intrigue of the eastern island. (110)
The island home of a scholarly wizard has become the center of much intrigue and strange events. With the influx of Royal Guards into the area, rumors have been circulating of great magic and a renegade mage. Perhaps if you are experienced and skillful enough, you can investigate and discover the reasons behind the ominous stories.
25: The world of Mythos awaits you.... (115)
In Mythos, deception is a way of life and Chaos looms. Will you be one who thwarts the malicious designs of its peoples or one who assists in the moral decay of the world and the destruction of Reality itself? Janiver, the mayor of Nexus, can set you on the path to the first of your trials.