Getting Started

Welcome to Rhizome!

This helpfile serves as a quick-reference lookup for players both new to Rhizome and to MUDs themselves. Underlined text in this helpfile are clickable links which will take you to relevant additional helpfiles for more information.

0. INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS AN RPI MUD?

Multi-User Dungeons (or MUDs for short) are one of the oldest form of multiplayer videogames. The first MUD ever was, predictably, called MUD (later MUD1) and was launched in 1978. MUD1 was co-founded by Richard Bartle, a professor and game researcher who would go on to describe four archetypes of players and how to best entertain them in a multiplayer game space. MUDs can be considered the forerunners of traditional MMORPGs that occupy the gaming zeitgeist today.

Unlike modern MMOs, MUDs do not present an elaborate graphical front-end; with few exceptions, their front-end is mostly text made up of alpha-numeric and ASCII characters. The action, be it slaying foes, forging weaponry, or simply sitting around a tavern socializing, is presented through descriptive paragraphs generated either by the game (via coded mechanics), or by the players themselves. While graphical MMOs are often restricted to the set of animations the character models are rigged to animate, MUDs allow anything parsed via text to be conveyed within the game.

Due to this flexibility, MUDs continue to enjoy popularity amongst both the nostalgic and new players that appreciate the medium of creative writing. If playing a graphical MMO is like watching a movie, then playing a MUD is like reading a book -- one that you get to expand upon collectively with other players as you go along, and one where the game's code reinforces the decisions your character makes.

Many MUDs, including this one, are Roleplay Enforced; the versatile medium of text is a natural one for roleplaying, where players can fully flesh out and describe their characters appearances, motivations, actions, and words in as much or as little detail as they wish to type. When playing a Roleplay Enforced MUD, references to the real world are avoided (within reason), and players strive to have their characters behave in a way that is believable and true to the setting.

Roleplay Intensive (RPI) MUDs take this a step further and strive to create a simulation in which players can thrust their in-character personas. Backed by elaborate mechanics, RPI MUDs simulate thirst, hunger, stamina, injury, disease, distance, language, and a myriad of other whirling systems up to and including permanent death of characters, adding intense drama to every play session as real consequences loom over the decisions characters choose and are forced to make.

If you've read this far and think this sounds cool: you're in the right place! Rhizome is a RPI MUD! Here's what you need to know to get going:

1. REGISTERING YOUR ACCOUNT AND RULES

The first thing you should do is register your account. A link will be emailed that will register your account with us and give you immediate access to the game.

While you wait for that, please read the rules. Registering for the game means you have understood and agreed to these. They're the code of conduct we expect everyone to follow to maintain a healthy atmosphere in the game, and failure to do so can result in sanctions up to permanent banning.

2. CONNECTING TO THE GAME

Rhizome can be played directly in browser. In addition to the browser mounted webclient, there are a number of bespoke MUD programs available. A few are recommended here.

3. CHARACTER CREATION

Character generation can be done both from the in-game menu after logging in, or can be done in browser. Both methods are interchangeable. During character creation, you'll select your character's name, race, height and weight, age and short/full descriptions. You'll additionally select attributes and skills that will set what your character is capable of to start, though these will grow and expand over play. Once you've done all that, and have submitted your character, you'll be able to log in and start playing.

4. BACKGROUND

Once your character is submitted, you can set an optional background for your character. This can be done immediately or any time after starting play. As a new player, it's likely you won't have a super strong idea of how your character fits into the world, so holding off on your background until you know what you want your history to be is completely fine! A primer to the setting can help iron out the details.

5. CORE MECHANICS AND MANIPULATION

Before you get too far, you'll need to learn how to interact with the world.

First, basic commands will list the basic manipulation commands of the game, and will expand as we add new systems, so is worth keeping an eye on even after you've read it through.

Next, check out how your inventory and worn equipment work.

Finally, check out combat. Not everyone has to be a combatant, but the consequences of getting into a fight without knowing the commands can be pretty severe. Better to be prepared in case you need this.

6. HEALTH, STAMINA, HUNGER, AND THIRST

Because Rhizome is an RPI, we simulate the needs of your character as well, which manifest as four primary axes: health, stamina, hunger, and thirst. Check their individual pages for more detail, but the gist is this:

You lose health when you fall off cliffs, get hit in combat, suffer envenomation and a myriad of other things. When you run out of health, your character will die, so... avoid that as best you can. Health recovers more or less slowly depending on your behavior once injured.

Stamina is consumed by walking, running, swimming, climbing and doing other energetic things. If you run out of stamina, you can't do those things until it comes back with rest. Not a big deal if you ran out carrying sacks of flour between your cart and your front door... but it's a bigger issue if you run out when trying to climb a cliff or swim in deep water for obvious reasons, or when you run out midway through fleeing from a hungry bat with a twenty-five foot wingspan.

Hunger and thirst deplete over time and can be topped up by eating and drinking, obviously. Hunger and thirst won't outright kill you, but they will make everything else you do much, much harder to the point where at extreme levels of starvation and dehydration, you'll be failing even basic tasks, so keep an eye on them.

7. ROLEPLAY

Roleplay is the very core of Rhizome -- all the mechanics in the game are in place to make your character feel alive and give their actions meaning.

In order to get the most out of your roleplay, check out the following helpfiles:

Emote: Describe what your character is doing!

Communication: Verbal language of your character -- whispers, yelling, speaking, talking.

Organizations: Groups with shared purposes, led by both NPCs or other players, that you can join -- or even start one yourself.

Death: The ultimate fate for you, me, and incidentally, all of our characters.

8. MISCELLANEOUS:

There are many, many systems and features in Rhizome. You can learn as you go, pick them up from other characters, or peruse the helpfile index for more. Some good places to start, in no particular order, are:

Gathering, Crafting, Item Customization, Item quality
Shops and Economy, Knowledge Discovery and Learning

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE!