Intro to Communication

Emoting

Emoting is the way you show what your character is doing in the game. We saw before than you can emote within the look command. You can also emote without using almost any other coded action. Your sdesc (short description, like "the tall, one-eyed man") will automatically appear at the beginning of the emote. You can either type >emote <the action you want to describe> or use a colon : instead of the word emote. So you could do either:

Both produce the same result, shown to others in the room as:

The tall, one-eyed man squeezes through the crowded tavern, looking for an empty seat.

Taverns, Tables, and Sitting at the Bar

>l tables
At 1) a narrow stone ledge protruding from the wall are:
      the scarred, emerald-eyed man, and one empty seat.
At 2) a plain stone table are:
      a few empty seats.
At 3) a broad table of scarred baobab wood are:
      some empty seats.
At 4) a rough sandstone table are:
      a few empty seats.
At 5) a lengthy, ceramic-topped table are:
      some empty seats.
At 6) a lumpy, dragon-carved stone table are:
      some empty seats.
At 7) a long, scarred bar of agafari wood are:
      the tall figure in a hooded, brown military aba,
      the scrawny, red-haired woman, and a few empty seats.

In Armageddon, taverns are the main gathering places in all major outposts of civilization. It's where you go to meet job recruiters, make deals with traveling merchants, flirt with attractive strangers, contract with assassins, and start bar brawls. It can be useful to >look tables to see where there are seats available.

As you can see, As you can see, >look tables doesn't necessarily mean they're all tables. General tavern etiquette suggests that you not sit at a table that's already occupied, unless invited by someone sitting there. But anyone can sit at the bar, and most people usually do.>look tables doesn't necessarily mean they're all tables. General tavern etiquette suggests that you not sit at a table that's already occupied, unless invited by someone sitting there. But anyone can sit at the bar, and most people usually do.

>sit bar
>sit at 7
>sit (pulling up a barstool) at 7

Also, if you >look bar or >look table you can see what kind of seats are pulled up to the table (chairs, cushions, barstools, etc.) as well as see anything that has been placed on the bar or table.

Tip:>look tables (with 's' at the end) will show you all the seating areas in a room. >look table (without the 's') will show you the first object with the keyword 'table' in the room. In the above example, you could look at other tables by typing >look 2.table (for the second table) or >look sandstone.table (using a specific keyword).

Talking at Tables

When you're sitting at a table, you'll want to use the When you're sitting at a table, you'll want to use the >talk command to communicate with other people at your table. You can target another person in any emote by using ~keyword.>talk command to communicate with other people at your table. You can target another person in any emote by using ~keyword.

>talk Hello there.
>talk (glancing to ~military) That a T'zai Byn aba? I been lookin' for a Byn Sarge so's I can join up.
At your table, the tall, one-eyed man says, in southern-accented sirihish, glancing to the tall figure in a hooded, brown military aba,
   "That a T'zai Byn aba? I been lookin' for a Byn Sarge so's I can join up."

(This is what everyone at your table sees.)

At a long, scarred bar of agafari wood, the tall, one-eyed man speaks, glancing to the tall figure in a hooded, brown military aba.

(This is what people who aren't at your table see.)

Tip: In general, only people at your table can hear you when you use >talk. However, players who have the 'listen' skill can attempt to hear what people are saying at other tables.

Tell

If you want to speak to someone who isn't sitting at your table, you'll want to use >tell along with one of the person's keywords.

>tell elf Don't stand so close to me!
>tell dwarf (peering down) Hey, stumpy, yer in my way.

Before you talk to someone, you might want to >look at them by targeting one of their keywords. You can also add an emote to this command.

>look military (glancing up and down)

Say

And if you're not speaking to anyone in particular, you can use >say or simply >'

>say (to no one in particular) Is there anyone here from the T'zai Byn?
To no one in particular, you say, in sirihish,
   "Is there anyone here from the T'zai Byn?"
>'There's a templar executing an elf down the street, anyone want to come watch?
You say, in sirihish,
   "There's a templar executing an elf down the street, anyone want to come watch?"

Keywords and Targeting

the lithe, auburn-haired woman
the short, auburn-braided woman
the lithe, black-braided woman

>tell lithe.auburn Hello!

Pronouns in emotes

There are also times that you'll want to target someone without using their full short description, by using pronouns instead.

Where you appear in the emote

You can also make your sdesc appear somewhere besides the beginning of the sentence by using the @ symbol.

>emote trudging in from the street, @ is covered in a fine layer of gritty sand, which she pauses by the door to brush off.
Trudging in from the street, the lithe, auburn-haired woman is covered in a fine layer of gritty sand, which she pauses by the door to brush off.

There are also additional ways of emoting. pemote is a possessive emote, and is used when you want to attach 's to the end of your sdesc.

>pemote boots leave a trail of sand and dust on the tavern floor as she walks across it.
The lithe, auburn-haired woman's boots leave a trail of sand and dust on the tavern floor as she walks across it.

Hemote and Semote

Then there are >hemote and >semote.

Hemote is a hidden emote, something that wouldn't be seen unless someone is looking at you very closely, perhaps with the >watch command. It could be something you're doing under the table, or a minute detail that wouldn't be apparent to everyone.

Semote is a silent emote, for actions that have no sound. Semote is only visible to those who can see you, so it is often used by players who are hiding, or magickers.

As you can see, the possibilities are nearly endless, but it's fine if you don't want to use the advanced ways of targeting right off the bat. They're there if and when you want them.

What Should I Do Next?

Your journey through the land of Zalanthas is entirely your own, but we do have some recommendations for further reading.

In the Gameplay Section we have more specialized guides to things your character can do. Of particular note are the following:

Shops will show you how to get different equipment for your character. Skills will teach you the basics of what characters can do. Combat or Crafting pages are helpful for players who plan to engage in these activities.

Often the best method of getting more help is to contact one of the Helpers.