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New Player's Guide
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Welcome to COSRIN! This guide is intended to let new players know the different forms of help
and documentation that are available to them, as well as letting you in on a bit of COSRIN culture.
The Game Manual
----------------------
The COSRIN Manual is indispensable for players who wish to spend time in the lands. What you are
reading is in no way intended to take the place of the Game Manual or the already existing help files.
Some wish to visit COSRIN to see if they like it, and would rather walk around without having studied
the manual. That is quite fine. However, COSRIN is a very large game, with many different commands.
Likewise there are many different choices for your character, as well as many different paths for
their advancement. You cannot expect to have a good career in COSRIN without knowing the different
commands and features of COSRIN. To learn them, you MUST read and study the Game Manual. To get
the game manual, do the following:
1) Type KEYWORD: COSRIN to get to the COSRIN title screen (if you're already in the game,
just click on the "?" Question mark icon and skip to #3
2) Click on the button marked INFO
3) From here, click on the option DOWNLOAD MAPS AND HINTS.
In here, you will find many files that you can download. Among these will be several copies
of the Game Manual. Find the format that best matches your word processor
and download it. Go to that word processor and open the file.
You will likely need to read over the COSRIN manual a several times to get all the information that your
character needs to be successful. Of critical importance, after becoming familiar with the different
commands in COSRIN, will be reviewing and becoming familiar with the different SKILLS and SPELLS that
COSRIN offers. For those that wish to invest time in developing a character, it will be important for
you to find which SKILLS and possible SPELLS you should invest your build points in. You will find
yourself referring to the game manual often in the beginning, don't feel bad. Everyone does.
Maps
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COSRIN is a huge land which is continually growing. Maps to many places can be found in the INFO section,
where copies of the game manual are located. Just follow the steps above and instead of clicking on the
"Download..." Option, click on the "COSRIN Maps" option.
For many of the hunting grounds, however, maps remain unpublished. Finding your way around in the
dungeons and areas of COSRIN is part of the adventure, so don't expect the maps section to provide
comprehensive answers. Many of the dungeons are designed to protect their secrets from the casually
wandering adventurer. To unlock the secrets of an area, you will have to search carefully for hidden
things, keep an ever vigilant eye out for the unique, and most likely create your own maps.
Now that's not to say that you can't have fun just wandering around COSRIN. You certainly can, and it's
a great way to get a feeling for the Lands. However, when the lands start to become overwhelming and
you can't find your way around, don't get discouraged. It's just time to break out pencil and paper
and start mapping.
Getting Help
---------------
You'll likely need help in COSRIN early on. It's a big game, and it takes a while become familiar with
all of it. Thankfully, a number of avenues exist for you to receive help. First of all, typing the
HELP command while in the game will take you to an online HELP menu. Typing HELP MAGES GUILD DIRECTIONS for
instance will give you directions to the mages guild in Moorgate. Many of the questions you are
likely to have while playing are contained in the online help menus. Take a few minutes and look
through it.
Clicking on the "?" Question Mark icon in the game will take you to the INFO section outside the game.
Here you'll be able to look at portions of the manual or other help files that the COSRIN staff has
compiled for you. Again, most of the questions you will have will be answered here.
With hundreds of other players on simultaneously, there's never any shortage of help right around you.
Many of the other COSRIN members are happy to answer questions that you may have (the New Adventurer
Nights are just a sign of that!) If you're standing in a room with others, or even by shouts, other
players are often the most convenient and quickest form of help. Be careful with this however (please
see the Role-playing/Shouts/OOC sections below). Inside COSRIN, you're playing the game, and pretending
to be someone native to COSRIN. You are encouraged to seek help from others, but without turning the
Lands into an online chat room about the manual and COSRIN commands. Read below for how to do this.
Finally, you can seek help from the COSRIN staff (Immortals and Heroes). They are there to oversee
COSRIN and to make sure that things run smoothly. They're also there to monitor game play and to
reward those who role-play well, as well as helping those that have problems with the game. Please
see the section titled WISHes for information regarding seeking help from the staff.
The following is an explanation of some things integral to COSRIN, including the culture surrounding
them and things COSRIN players should and should not do.
Quests
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Quests are an integral part of COSRIN. You can walk the lands, looking for monsters to kill, but if that's
all you do, you're missing out on one of the COSRIN' richest and most comprehensive systems. Quests.
Quests are varied in their purpose, but always offer some sort of reward when competed. Nearly all
offer experience. Some offer gold, some offer items in return for another, some alter (charge) items,
some give you build points to spend on learning skills, and some even teach skills themselves! To
complete a quest, you must first find the location in which the quest is being offered. Many times,
you will know of a quest when you enter the room because you'll see a person or object offering a quest,
and you'll be prompted to type SHOW QUESTS to see what it is. However, many powerful quests are not so
easily found. You may have to find hidden entrances, chant phrases, manipulate hard to see objects just
to get to the area where the quest is offered. And, some quests are hidden, even when you enter the
square in which they are offered. You won't even know a quest exists there, unless you type SHOW QUESTS
and see the quest description (as such the prudent adventurer often types SHOW QUESTS in every square of
a new area to see if they're walking over any hidden quests). After arriving at a quest spot and typing
SHOW QUESTS, if you feel you have the right answer to the quest, you will wish to OFFER the answer.
Many times, the correct offering is an item that the quest asks you to seek. To offer the correct item,
be sure it is in your Right hand, and then type OFFER - . Some quests will require that you slay a
certain creature. At such locations, no object is needed since the system looks to see if you've indeed
killed that creature (type KL to see a listing of all the creatures you've killed in your lifetime.
Note that once you offer a creature to a quest, you no longer have credit for that kill....you have
offered it away). Just type OFFER, and you will receive your reward.
There are currently almost 1000 quests in COSRIN now, and the number of them is increasing frequently.
To give you an idea as to the power of quests, Kali recently posted near the end of January that if a
person were to do every quest in the lands, and kill every monster but only ONCE, they'd be level 59!
It would take you months of killing and hunting to get there without doing quests. Course, it could
easily take just as long to figure out all of those puzzles, and that's what makes COSRIN so fun.
Sometimes you can do quests only once. Sometimes they can be repeated. If you cannot receive credit
for repeating the quest further, the system will tell you. Also, many of the most powerful quests in
the lands are series quests. One quest gives you the key to do the next part, and that part gives you
the object you need at the next. The rewards from these serial quests are usually quite lucrative, to
compensate for the fact that they're usually more tricky to figure out.
If you see any unique or odd looking item, it is most likely a quest item. It is good to save these
even if you don't know where they go, because you'll more than likely stumble onto the quest for it
at some point later on.
Now, something very important about quests. Quests are sacred to the lands, designed by the Creators
to award players' perseverance in figuring them out. They are also one of the most rewarding aspects
of the lands. The knowledge and wisdom that your character obtains from finishing a quest doesn't
come from its completion, but rather the struggle in figuring out the answer. Because of that,
telling others the answers to quests are expressly forbidden. You can expect to be punished by the
gods for giving them out, if they see you. Those punishments can range anywhere from warnings, to
death, loss of role-playing points, loss of levels, and even more. Likewise, asking for the answers
to quests is also forbidden and punishable as well. Asking for or providing answers over the shouts
is the definitely the fastest way to get yourself in trouble.
Now, despite that, you will often find times that you need help with a quest, or find someone who needs
help. It is the asking and giving of Answers that is forbidden. Help is not. However, the help that
you seek or give should only be the minimal amount to help you or another along. If you give someone
exact or almost exact directions to a place, then you've taken away the challenge of finding it. Give
only the vaguest of clues when you need to, and ask that others give you only clues. Any time you
offer or ask assistance do it in person, not over shouts. The reason for this is because what may be
a clue to you may be a dead giveaway to another. If you shout a clue over the shouts, you could very
likely be giving away answers to people who didn't want to hear them, and you've spoiled the quest for
them. Keep talk of quests to a room only and make sure there's not so many people around that you may
be spoiling their experience. TELLs are the best forum for this.
Shouts
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The use of the SHOUT command is similar to the SAY, but when you SHOUT it is heard across the realms by
everyone (except those who have turned them off using NOSHOUTS). The shouts are a great way to interact
with others in the lands. When you shout, you shout in a voice compared to your level in the game.
You don't notice it when you shout, but when you hear others shout, you'll hear everything from a timid
voice to an incredibly loud mind shattering voice, to the bellow of a Legend. The louder the voice, the
older the player. To see how loud your voice is, simply type the word STATS, and see it along with many
other relevant pieces of info about you.
While the shouts present many opportunities to players, it is important that the shouts are not abused.
Anything you SHOUT is something that your character says. Because of that, shouts should always remain
In Character (see In Character/Out of Character below). As I put in the Quests section, you should not
shout for quest answers or hints or respond to those who do. Likewise, you should not shout about
role-play points (RP s).
One of the most common uses for the shouts is for people to say that they need assistance. And that
is encouraged. With 400 people in the lands sometimes and only a handful of gods, mortals seeking
the help of other mortals is always your best course of action, before filing a WISH (see Wishes).
However, when you seek that help through the shouts, remember to keep that shout in character.
Shouting, "What's the command for mounting a horse?" is OOC. Your character knows nothing about
commands. Try shouting, "Can someone tell me how to mount my horse? " The second part
of that, appending your name is very important. Only Legends and gods see the names of who's shouting.
The others only see a voice. If you don't include your name, the only way for them to help
you is over the shouts, and by being out of character themselves. If you include your name,
you'll likely receive help through TELLs, and no one has to be out of character. If you see
someone shout for help and they don't give a name, just shout back and ask for their name,
"Who seeks help with their horse?". When they give it, reply by a TELL: Tell
'if you type MOUNT - you will now ride your mount." Now it's certainly a lot easier
just to shout back the answer, but its OOC to give commands over shouts, and ruins the
atmosphere of the game. You're likely to see a lot of this going on as you listen in, but please
resist the urge to do it. If you keep the shouts in character, then it increases the chances that
others will too.
Wishes
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WISHes are a command that lets you seek assistance from the gods. By typing WISH , you will
send a message to one of the gods currently in the game, and they will come to you when they can.
If your wish isn't immediately answered, please be patient. Many times the gods have many pending
wishes, and it takes time to get to new ones coming in. Now, adding the text to the wish is very
important. If you do not tell them what you are WISHing for, they will ignore it.
Be very careful about using WISHes. The gods will only help those who WISH because they are having
problems with the game itself. If there's command in the game or something technical to the game
you don't understand the gods will likely speak with you. The important thing to know here is that
players are NOT to use WISHes to put them above being mortal. The gods will not bring you back from
the dead from a wish, because death is part of being mortal. The gods and heroes will not take you
to a different place. They are not taxis. The gods will not give you gold, items, skills, rps,
bps or anything from a WISH. WISHes are not for this purpose, and sometimes you will even be punished
by the gods for abusing the WISHes for these purposes. However, if you lost an item accidentally,
the gods will often at least consider your WISH, though they are not bound to do anything. The
gods are there to help when you truly need it, but your being stuck on something doesn't constitute
need. Always remember to WISH with discretion. The gods have long memories for those that abuse
them over and over.
Player vs. Player (PvP)
--------------------------
COSRIN is a land of cooperation. Doug and Kali, the creators of COSRIN, decided long ago that
players wouldn't be able to attack other players. If you want to see their comments type HELP PvP
in the game. The basic reasoning here is that PvP gives stronger players opportunity to harass and
take advantage of younger ones. Not allowing PvP prevents that from happening. Some people really
enjoy PvP. If you spend some time in COSRIN, I think you'll find that the lands are very fun
without it. If, however, your mind is set on player vs. player, you may need to look outside of
COSRIN. Doug and Kali have stated repeatedly that there will never be PvP in COSRIN at any time.
Not on an ongoing basis nor in tournaments. That will never change.
Role-playing
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Role-playing is everywhere in COSRIN. If you're not used to online role-playing games, it's very
different than other fantasy interactive games. Instead of you merely running around questing and
killing monsters, you are actually a part of COSRIN. You interact with other live people, who in
turn interact with you. But the genre is important here. You the player are different than the
character you play. You are an actor in a very large fantasy play here, with others doing the same.
Each of you pretends to be a person native to the lands of COSRIN, in the genre of fantasy.
As such you need to develop your character. You can just run through here hacking and slashing, but
that's only half the fun of role-playing games such as COSRIN. Take some time and think about your
character. Find their likes and dislikes. Think about their family and background. How you came to
be in COSRIN. Give yourself habits, peculiarities. The more time you put into defining your character,
the better role-player you'll be.
When you wander the lands of COSRIN, make every effort to stay in character. Say and do things that
only your character would do and say, not things that you as the player know from being in the real
world but don't exist there. From time to time you will need help with commands and other things in
COSRIN that require you to be out of character. TELLS are the realm of OOC. GTELL allows you to tell
everyone in your group a specific message. Try your best to keep your out of character comments here,
and out of open areas.
Another thing to spend some time thinking about is your name. While it might look cool to have the
name Mega-warrior, that's not a name. That's a title, if anything. Titles exist in the lands, that
can be bestowed by Immortals/Heroes or by Guildmasters. And no one would name their child Mega-Warrior
anyway. Spend some time coming up with a name, and once inside, you can earn the right to be known
as unique titles.
Role-playing points (the RP command) are one of the most unique aspects to COSRIN. The RP commands
give you the right to reward others for good role-playing. They do, however, also provide the
opportunity for abuse. RPs are to be awarded for good role-playing only. They are not to be
bargaining chips in trades, to be bought or sold. Trading RPs just for the sake of it is also
outlawed. If you publicly ask for RPs or offer them in exchange for something, especially over
shouts, be prepared to be punished by the gods. It will be swift. More likely than not, you'll
either have RPs taken away from you or be killed. If you spend some time developing your character,
you'll find that role-playing isn't that hard, and you can be rewarded rather easily.
Now, what do RPs do? You accumulate RPs each level and when you gain a level, RPs help determine
how many health points, spell points, and build points you gain. If your total RPs are at least as
high as the level you're approaching, you will have an RP modifier of 1 (so you get 1 extra hit
point, spell point and build point.) If your RPs are between half and 100% and 150% your RP
modifier is 2. 150-200% gets you a 3 modifier. 200% and over will get you a 4 modifier. As
you will find as you play the game, build points are very valuable, and that 4 modifier is worth a
lot. It is worth your time not to race through levels but to role-play and get those RPs.
In Character/Out of Character (OOC)
---------------------------------------------
Staying in character is an important part of COSRIN. That means that staying within the role of
your player, and not making statements or doing things that disrupt from the fantasy genre (OOC,
Out of Character). Now some things are obviously OOC: talking about the super bowl, asking if
anyone saw the latest episode of the X-Files, shouting that you're happy because the pizza man
just arrived, etc. But that's only part of OOC. Many times, OOC comments and actions will be
about things that every member of COSRIN is concerned with. Talking about "Lag", or slow system
response is certainly something that everyone faces, and no one enjoys. However, it is also
something that no one from COSRIN has any knowledge of. Speaking about Lag is OOC and should
be avoided. Likewise, asking someone what level they are certainly might be a topic of interest,
but it is also something that none of the COSRIN players know. Levels are something specific to
game mechanics, they're not a role-playing term.
If you think about it however, you'll soon realize that almost every OOC term can have a
role-playing description. For example, if the game gets slow due to lag or it freezes, many players
will refer to it as "bad weather" or "fog". It conveys the same information and also stays in
character. Many people refer to their level as how old they are (even though the characters have
a COSRIN age) or how many birthdays they've had. Some might refer to it as seasons or the like.
I even heard someone refer to it as the Circles of Knowledge, and yet another who'd told me they
were level 15 by saying he was proud to have made the pilgrimage to the Tents of Wisdom fifteen
times so far, and was hoping to do it again soon! Spend some time thinking about it and I'm sure
you'll find suitable ways to explain almost anything, and remain in character. If you must speak OOC,
then please use the CHATS command. This was made just for this purpose and can be turned off by those
not wishing to see OOC comments. SHOUTS are meant to be used for IC reasons only.
Gaining Levels
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Gaining levels are some of the most exciting parts of COSRIN. When you gain one, you'll get more
hit points and spell points. You'll also get build points that you can use to train in skills and
spells to become more powerful. The number of build points you get each level is based on a random
component as well as your role-playing modifier (and the guildluck and favour if you have them).
Some years you will have many build points to spend, others you will have few. However, if you
role-play well, you will usually have more than someone who doesn't.
You can learn skills in one of two ways: either by learning them from a guild or shop in the
lands or by learning from another player. Though it's often easier to learn from another player,
take great care with this option. While learning a skill from another player seems attractive
because it is not only convenient, but doesn't cost gold, it does cost an extra build point for
each skill you learn from another player. In the end, build points are much harder to come by
than gold, and if you research your guild choice carefully before joining, you'll find almost all
your skill/spell needs satisfied within those walls. Many who opt for learning from players due
to its convenience regret it later on.
That is not to say that there aren't valid reasons for learning from other players. It is possible
that your guild will not offer the skill you want to the level you wish to train in. If no other
shops outside your guild offer the skill that high you will have to pay the extra build points and
learn from another player. However keep in mind that you will not be able to gain access to all the
rooms in your guild in the beginning. Some rooms, behind portals will only become open to you as you
gain additional levels. Make sure that you really need to learn from another player before doing so.
Likewise, keep in mind that you cannot learn a skill from another if you do not have any knowledge of
the skill. You must have at least one rank (apprentice) in a skill to learn from another. Also,
players can only teach you to a maximum level 2 levels below their own skill. Thus, even a player
who knows a skill to maximata (the highest rank for a mortal), can only teach to two levels below that.
Lastly, you cannot learn spells from another. Only skills may be taught. If you see the name of
a spell in parentheses by a spell name: Haste (Sloth), for example, that means that sloth is a
prerequisite to Haste. For all prerequisites, you must have at least 3 ranks in that spell (to novice)
before you can learn the next step. For many of the most powerful spells, the prerequisites are
chained together. For example, if you want to learn to resurrect dead players, the minimum that
you will have to do is the following:
Have at least one skill rank (apprentice) in Naturalism Spell use
Learn Light Shards at least 3 ranks (novice)
Demon Shards at least 3 ranks
Dragon Shards at least 3 ranks
Raise dead at least 3 ranks
After that, you may then train in Resurrection.
There are many skills and spells that you can have in COSRIN. Enough that a person who tries to get
everything will master nothing. I would strongly encourage you to spend some time learning what skills
are essential to your player's strategy and then concentrating on them before branching out too much to
other things.
Guilds and Temples
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In COSRIN you can become a member of a professional guild and a temple. Everyone becomes a member of
the Adventurers Guild, and that doesn't constitute a professional guild. Currently you may choose
between the following guilds:
Fighter Guild
Monks Guild
Wizards Guild
Thieves Guild
The Guild you chose should ROUGHLY reflect your profession. A berserker won't find much of value in the
Wizard's Guild. Beyond that, all guilds are a personal choice. Despite the pride that you will find
people taking in their guild, no one guild is better than the rest. All have advantages and
disadvantages, but under the eyes of the staff, all are equal. However one thing is important for
you to remember: Once you join a guild, it is VERY difficult to leave. The gods will allow you to
transfer guilds under only extreme circumstances (such as a new Guild opens up that you didn't have
access to before. However, even in that case, you must make a good argument for going to that guild).
If you join one by mistake, you will not be allowed to leave. You will have to start over, and select anew. Because of this, it is very important that you choose wisely. Seek out respective guildmembers and learn about guilds before joining them. Inside each guild there are many things you can do, and guild levels which you can climb. Advancing guild levels gives you more respect within the guild, a better chance at being granted a title by the GuildMaster, and more votes when elections are done. By setting the GUILDTITHE amount, you decide how much of your experience you allocate to advancing guild levels and how much to personal levels. Checking GUILDSTAT will give you an overview of your standing in the guild and information about the guild itself. Typing GUILDRANK will tell you the highest ranking members of your guild. Typing GUILDLUCK will tell you which guild has the luck. Guildluck is purchased by the GuildMaster and his/her Lieutenants with experience tithed by the members.
There are a large number of Temples that you may also join. Joining a temple means that you become a
follower of one of the Immortals in COSRIN. As with the Guilds, Temples are a personal choice. No
temple is better than any other in the eyes of the Gods. However, temples follow the same rules of
membership as the Guilds. Once you join one, it is for good. Players who break the rules of the
Temple or wish to leave can expect to see the disfavour of their Immortal. Within the Temple,
players can ask for or be assigned Temple quests to prove their devotion. If followers do well,
and serve the Lands and their temple, they can be promoted within their Temple by their Immortal.
Some Temples even have positions of management (Priests) within their ranks that take on some of the
administrative tasks of the Order.
Typing HELP DEITIES will give you a listing of the different Immortals and what they stand for. You
will want to spend time learning about all the Deities before you choose. Ica would not be happy to
hear one of his followers suddenly decide they like Indus better.
Within the guilds and temples your possibilities are only limited by your desire to become involved.
Some players seek an active role, some do not. Know however, that these roles are ones of responsibility,
not title. Serving as a leader in both a guild and a temple, I will say firsthand that the
responsibilities can at times be taxing. Guild/temple leaders often find themselves advancing more
slowly then their friends who do not have such responsibilities, because those responsibilities take
considerable time. I would encourage all that seek to serve and help out to consider such a position.
Such positions are not for those who seek them as an accomplishment, title or honour.
Reports
---------
Reports are a function by which you can report thievery to the staff. You do this by typing
REPORT . Now, having said that, I'm about to spend considerable time qualifying that
statement. The Report is for the sole purpose of Reporting thieves and abuse of game mechanics.
If you are killing a monster, and someone comes in and takes its treasure without contributing to
the kill, then that is a valid reason for reporting them. If someone uses the GET ALL command to
take an entire room's treasure during an invasion, then that is a valid use of the Report command.
Reports are NOT for getting even with someone because you had a disagreement. They are not for
punishing someone because they wouldn't help you, or because you don't like someone. They are
also not for getting back at someone who has Reported you. If you abuse the Report feature for
these reasons, you can expect to be SEVERELY punished by the gods, who are forced to take the time
to investigate the abuse.
What Reports do, are to effectively log a complain against a person's actions. When that person
levels, if they have a number of reports, the reports act like negative RPs and lower the amount
of health points, spell points, and build points they get each level. Now, if you should happen
to be reported don't go berserk. One report in any given level will have absolutely zero effect
on you. Once you level, your Reports are cleared, so if you get one at level 5, it will not be
around during level 6. Likewise, as you get older, the number of reports you can have without it
affecting you will increase, but VERY SLOWLY. Even a Legend who has 5 reports will be sorry they
did.
If you are being REPEATEDLY Reported by someone abusing the Report command, an Immortal/Hero will
likely investigate the matter for you. The Gods will not adjudicate every Report that comes in,
so it will be fruitless for you to file a WISH on every Report you may accumulate.
The BEST defense against being reported is to just be nice. Even evil aligned characters can keep
from being reported by not pushing your luck. Even those who abuse this function don't Report
someone unless another have given them at least marginal reason. If you are cognizant of this,
there's no reason in which you should ever have problems during your advancements due to the Report
feature.
Teamwork
-------------
COSRIN is a land designed around cooperation and teamwork. It is simply impossible for someone to
have a career in COSRIN and not need the help of others at some point in time. You will find that
many of the hunting areas and quest are designed with the thought of teamwork in mind. Rather than
seeking your own fortune, it is in your long-term best interests to find others near your age, and
quest and hunt together.
Teamwork and sharing come naturally to friends who've traveled together for some time. However,
even when you're traveling with people you don't know, teamwork and politeness should be adhered to.
Treasure and goodies should be shared as equally as possible. Normally, the leader of a group grabs
all the gold and uses the SPLIT command to split it equally between the group. A member that always
seeks to have things first will usually find themselves forced to hunt alone. Especially when it
comes to quests, two heads are better than one, and those that think primarily of themselves will
often find themselves trailing behind those that band together.
Conclusion
-------------
I think that you will find COSRIN to be a challenging, entertaining place. In the first level or two,
where it's complete hack-and-slash, you can get a feel for the combat system of the game. After that,
the monsters get a tougher, and will have to travel around more as you start relying on quests more
and more for your experience. That requires you learning more about the game as well as the Lands
themselves. It's natural for people to get frustrated after the first level or two, when you're
faced with the natural boundary of being lost or not knowing the system that well. Don't get
disheartened by this. It was built into the system to be exactly that way. You can spend an
hour or two in COSRIN just wandering around, getting a feel for the Lands. But beyond that,
you will need to study the manual as well as start mapping the lands to become familiar with them.
I hope that this has been beneficial to you in explaining some of the cultural and beginning
aspects of the game. If you have questions or comments look for me in the lands. Likewise,
there's hundreds of other players in the lands that will be happy to help you. Welcome, and good luck!
Lord Roachmill
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