You were on your way back to Athens (Gamlebyen was just getting too cold) when BLAM! you find yourself in a room -- a very strange room -- with no description, no exits, no nothin'! Loki must be up to his old tricks again!

Or maybe your problem is more mundane...perhaps you're just having trouble baiting your hook at the old fishing hole and need some assistance. Well, you certainly wouldn't handle that the same way as the problem above. Would you?

Let's go over the different ways you can get help when you need it.

Help
The most obvious way to get help is to use the HELP command in the game. Just type HELP and then the subject you want help on. For example, HELP ME WITH MAGIC, or if you like, just HELP MAGIC would do the job. You can also use HOW, WHY, and WHAT to get information. For example, HOW DO I CAST A SPELL, or WHY IS MY IMPUDENCE SO HIGH, or WHAT IS A MERCHANT.

A list of HELP topics can be brought up by typing HELP LIST.

Advice
The ADVICE verb is another source of help. Using ADVICE will walk you through the basics of the game, helping you to understand your character, helping you to find your way around and get the equipment you need, etc.  Just type ADVICE to see what advice the system has for you.

Mentors
The mentors are player volunteers who go through rigorous training to do their best to help new people adapt to the new things they encounter when they play our game as well as to help the older players when they run into a problem. The mentors should be your first line of contact when you have a question that you cannot find an answer to in this documentation or in the help files in-game.

You can find the mentors in Athens by typing DIR GUIDES. The mentor garden is located just north of the Peiraic (West) Gate and is the place you ended up when you left the character manager to start the game. You will find a bell there that you can ring to summon a mentor, but be aware that there will not always be one available. Mentors are players too, and need time to play. It could be that none are online as well, so please be patient if you can't get a hold of one right away.

Mentors will help you adapt to your new environment, but they aren't there to play the game for you. Asking them to take you to a trainer or to pick a box for you is not what they are there for. If you are really having trouble finding someplace, they may join your group and let you lead them to give support and tips, but they are not a taxi service and they are not a dating service.

GameHosts and GameMasters
If you are having technical problems in the game, then type ASSIST. The ASSIST verb lets the staff onduty know that you are having problems and need help. A Game Host will respond as soon as he or she can, but bear in mind that requests for assistance are answered in the order they are received.  You might have to wait for a short time before a Game Host is available to respond.

Check the ONDUTY verb to see if anyone is onduty to answer your assist.  You should also be told which position in the queue you are in so you will have some idea how long you may have to wait. Do keep in mind though, that even if someone is onduty and you are told you are next in queue that the staff member may be in the middle of helping another player through a long assist, so be patient.

GameHosts can help you with most simple problems, and they can tell you about a lot of the basics of the game. If they can't handle the problem you hand them, they will refer you to a GameMaster for help. You don't have to do anything special if they refer you, they simply put your name and a brief description of your problem on the referral list, and as soon as a GameMaster is available, he or she will respond.

Bugs and Typos
Please do not assist or report just to report a bug or typo unless it is a really nasty bug that is causing a heap of problems and needs attention right away. That's what the BUG and TYPO commands are for. If you run across anything of the sort, please use these commands to report them to the staff. Please report these when you find them, don't try to abuse them to gain an unfair advantage. You'll likely be rewarded for your diligence, and more than likely get in trouble for the abuse. If you are caught abusing a known bug you will run the risk of being reprimanded.

Reporting
Reporting is used only in the case where you find a really nasty bug in the system or in an emergency. Anything else should be handled with an assist or the bug and typo verbs. An example of an emergency might be a player harassing you, but be sure to read the conflict section of this documentation first to know when that harassment has reached the stage where you need to report. Another example might be a bug that allows you to sell grass to the pawnshop for 100 dinars, or a room with no description.

You should also report to respond when a GameMaster sends a message to you. Don't be afraid to use it in the right situations, just be careful not to use it for insignificant things.

Other Help Available Outside the Game
Outside of the game itself, there are web pages and message boards that you might find useful. The web pages contain this documentation and various other news and special announcements that are good to be aware of. You will also find links there to player web pages, many of which have helpful guides on nearly every aspect of the game.

The forums are one of the best places to get help and advice. You can post questions there, and the staff and other players will come to your rescue with lots of answers. Of course on many subjects, everyone has their own opinion, so take what you read on the forums with a grain of salt. Be careful to post your questions in the correct topics and avoid flame-wars. The forums can be a heated place where opinions fly like bullets, and sometimes we can get a little carried away and then feelings get hurt. Just be respectful of your fellow players.

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