Player vs Mobile Combat

You will begin your life in Solace by learning to fight against various mobiles. A 'mobile' is a creature or character controlled by artificial intelligence rather than a human. They are also known as NPCs (Non-Player Characters) or MOBs. When you wish to fight a mobile, you may initiate combat with it simply by attacking it with whatever ability you choose to use, or with the kill command. Some mobiles are aggressive and will attack without you starting combat.

Once you have attacked a mobile it almost certainly means a fight to the death has begun. A few creatures, like humans, will flee before a killing blow is dealt. Usually a mobile will continue to attack you until either it begins to panic and runs away, or until you or it is dead. Be warned that mobiles are not merciful, and won't hesitate to kill you. The reward for killing mobiles is, of course, experience and sometimes gold. Furthermore, a handful of very powerful mobiles will drop magical or rare, potent artifacts.

When mobiles attack you, the effect might range from a simple punch to more devastating moves, magical spells, and so on. There are hundreds of mobile attacks used in Solace, and great care must be taken when facing the more dangerous creatures.

Player-Killing Combat

Unlike the relatively uncomplicated manner of dealing with mobiles, player vs. player combat is an entirely different and challenging affair. Because of the huge amount of information that is available about our combat system, and because of the complexity of it, we will talk about it here in only the broadest of strokes.

Combat against another player cannot be initiated with the 'kill' command. 'Murder' must be used instead, as an attack against another player will almost certainly result in death, wounded pride and a long-standing grudge. You must be ready to accept such troubles if you are willing to attack!

It can be difficult to fully describe player combat, as there are so many different approaches to it. Some players fight for the death of an opponent, crippling of an opponent, the shining items of an opponent, or even just as a demonstration or lesson after an insult or slight. Each class has a different style of fighting, fighters relying on brute strength, thieves and assassins with fast fleeting tactics, spell-users with violent magic power, clerics with sapping maledictions, rangers with the aid of powerful mobile pets of their own, and more.

For many offenses, there are defenses, and for many defenses, there are methods of removing the defenses. There are many afflictions (the general term for anything that affects you in a negative way aside from damage), ranging from the classic blindness spell to paralysis, to disease, to wasting curses which if not healed will literally dissolve the body in a brutal death.

Despite the hundreds of spells and skills used in player vs. player combat, there is usually only one way to kill an enemy; to reduce their hit points to below zero, resulting in their death and your survival. Upon death, a player's soul returns to their hometown temple, and their corpse and possessions are left at the scene of battle, usually to be looted by the victor as the spoils of war.

It is important then to survive that you must remain healed and at full strength as much as possible. There are many ways to heal yourself, the most common being to sleep.

Resting and Sleeping

Restoration of health and mana may be accomplished by sleeping. 'Sleep' will put you to sleep, 'wake' will wake you up, 'rest' will cause you to rest on the ground, less effective than sleeping but it allows you to remain alert for danger. In Solace you may also find various rugs, mats, sleeping bags and beds that will increase the rate at which you recover health while sleeping. These are the most basic methods of healing, but they are not really sufficient for an experienced adventurer, as they are slow and require that you do not do anything else while performing them. In addition, most illnesses and diseases will prevent successful sleeping, and sleeping alone will not cure many ailments.

There are many other ways of healing. They include abilities in various skills, potions, pills and spells. Indeed, sometimes the only way of effectively curing a disease or curse is to visit a suitable healer and pay gold for their services.

Final Word

Combat goes much, much deeper than the few things mentioned here. It is, however, up to you to discover its full breadth and depth. The successful combatant is the one who has practiced, practiced, practiced, and who has investigated every ability, in every combination possible. Considerably more information on combat may be found in the help files in Solace, and probably the best way to learn is to dive in, start fighting, and ask questions of your comrades or the Immortal staff when you don't understand something.