Ldesc

A long description, ldesc for short, is a fully fleshed out, detailed description of an object, NPC, or playable character. While short descriptions are primarily referenced in code echoes and in emotes, long descriptions print when you look at a thing. When a player types look <keyword>, they will see the long description of an item, with an additional line automatically appended to the bottom detailing the item's quality. When looking at a player, they will see the long description appended with the currently visible equipment on that character.

Long descriptions can be as thorough or as brief as you wish them to be, but you won't be able to change them without staff assistance and a good reason (such as an obvious injury). As such, during character generation, you should take care to make sure you're satisfied with the level of detail you've provided. Most playable characters will have ldescs of between six and ten sentences, but mileage varies considerably based on player preference.

Note: There is a natural page limit in Rhizome, so if you get extremely carried away (think an ldesc several times longer than this helpfile), players may have to enter a carriage return to see your whole look -- which breaks up the flow significantly. Keep this in mind when writing an Opus Magnus of a long description.

You set the long description of your character during character generation. You can modify crafted items long descriptions as part of item customization.

Much like with short descriptions, you should not use any authoritative descriptions in your ldesc. Specifically, you shouldn't inform the viewer of their own feelings: how attractive they find your character, how much they desire to possess an item, how frightened they are of your character. Rather, describe objectively the things you think would get that across to the 'average' viewer, and let people make up their own minds.