THE SUD
Rules of the SUD. Read this before beginning your SUD adventure.
The SUD
The SUD has a very MUD-like look, from its font to the rooms. However commands are not typed in, rather they are selected from a pull down menu. These include movement commands, such as north, south, east and west, action commands, such as open jar, kill worker and others. Like a MUD, it has no real objective except for the player to have fun. This fun may come from anything between killing lots of stuff or doing quests or just exploring the SUD. Another difference with a MUD is that you have to keep track of your characters statistics instead of the MUD doing it for you. So keep pencil and paper ready, or leave a notepad window open and toggle between that and your browser window. Examples of data that you will need to keep track of: Your characters hitpoints, money, skills etc.
Movement
Movement is extremely simple. All possible ways in which one can move out of a room are listed in the pull down menu, so you only have to choose the direction in which you wish to go and click on the 'Enter' button next to it. Some common movement choices: north, south, east, west, northeast, southeast, northwest, southwest, up, down, enter. This list is by no means comprehensive, so look out for other movement options that may bring you to new places.
Your character
First give yourself a MUD name. This could be anything from your real name to a nick people call you. Examples are: Sapphire, Fireball, Mystique and Raul. Your character has these stats: Strength, Constitution and Dexterity. All of them start off at 0, but they can be trained up. Like your stats, you also have numerous skills. They are: Hand to Hand, Blades, Daggers, Staffs, Maces, Pistols and Rifles. Be sure to record these down on your piece of paper or Notepad window. Your character also has a hit point value which starts of at 50 and a maximum of 50. When you take damage during combat, you will lose hit points. Once your hitpoints reaches 0, you die.
Stats
Stats determine how powerful your character is. They are each described below:
Strength: Determines the strength of your character. During combat, your strength acts as a damage multiplier. The higher your strength, the more damage you do. The extra amount of damage done is determined by one tenth of your strength multiplied by the base damage done, then rounded to the nearest whole number. e.g suppose you have a strength of 4 and you deal your enemy a base damage of 6. Therefore the total damage done(excluding other damage bonuses) is 6 + 6 x 0.4 = 6 + 2.4 = 8.4 = 8(rounded off) Strength also affects the amount you can carry. You can carry an addtional item for every point of strength you have. Strength can be raised by going to the strength trainer(which you have to find) and paying him a fee.
Constitution: Determines how much stamina your character has. For every point of constitution you have, your maximum hitpoints is raised by 5. Raising your constitution does not raise your current hitpoints though. Constitution can be trained by locating the constitution trainer and paying him a fee.
Dexterity: Determines your agility. In combat, you may avoid damage from time to time if your dexterity is higher than a certain value. Dexterity can be raised by locating the dexterity trainer and paying him a fee.
Skills
Listed below are all the skills that are available:
Hand to Hand: Determines your ability to fight barehanded(i.e without a weapon). the higher your hand to hand score, the more damage you deal your enemy when attacking him barehanded. The total damage that you will deal out while fighting barehanded is the sum of the base damage and 1 tenth of your hand to hand, rounded to the nearest whole number. e.g. suppose you have a hand to hand score of 7 and deal 3 points of damage to your enemy. Therefore the total damage done is 3 + 0.7 = 3.7 = 4(rounded off). Note that this bonus is considered AFTER all multiplier bonuses(such as the strength damage bonus). Your hand to hand starts off at 0, but can be raised by paying the trainer a fee. Record it down as a skill.
Daggers: Determines your ability to fight with daggers. the higher your daggers score, the more damage you deal your enemy when attacking him with a dagger weapon. The total damage that you will deal out while fighting with a dagger weapon is the sum of the base damage and 1 tenth of your daggers score, rounded to the nearest whole number. e.g. suppose you have a daggers score of 6 and deal 8 points of damage to your enemy. Therefore the total damage done is 8 + 0.6 = 8.6 = 9(rounded off). Note that this bonus is considered AFTER all multiplier bonuses(such as the strength damage bonus). Your daggers score starts off at 0, but can be raised by paying the trainer a fee. Record it down as a skill.
Blades: Determines your ability to fight with blades. the higher your blades score, the more damage you deal your enemy when attacking him with a blade weapon. The total damage that you will deal out while fighting with a blade weapon is the sum of the base damage and 1 tenth of your blades score, rounded to the nearest whole number. e.g. suppose you have a blades score of 6 and deal 8 points of damage to your enemy. Therefore the total damage done is 8 + 0.6 = 8.6 = 9(rounded off). Note that this bonus is considered AFTER all multiplier bonuses(such as the strength damage bonus). Your blades score starts off at 0, but can be raised by paying the trainer a fee. Record it down as a skill.
Staffs: Determines your ability to fight with staffs. the higher your staffs score, the more damage you deal your enemy when attacking him with a staff weapon. The total damage that you will deal out while fighting with a staff weapon is the sum of the base damage and 1 tenth of your staffs score, rounded to the nearest whole number. e.g. suppose you have a staffs score of 9 and deal 2 points of damage to your enemy. Therefore the total damage done is 2 + 0.9 = 2.9 = 3(rounded off). Note that this bonus is considered AFTER all multiplier bonuses(such as the strength damage bonus). Your staffs score starts off at 0, but can be raised by paying the trainer a fee. Record it down as a skill.
Maces: Determines your ability to fight with maces. the higher your maces score, the more damage you deal your enemy when attacking him with a mace weapon. The total damage that you will deal out while fighting with a mace weapon is the sum of the base damage and 1 tenth of your maces score, rounded to the nearest whole number. e.g. suppose you have a maces score of 3 and deal 4 points of damage to your enemy. Therefore the total damage done is 4 + 0.3 = 4.3 = 4(rounded off). Note that this bonus is considered AFTER all multiplier bonuses(such as the strength damage bonus). Your maces score starts off at 0, but can be raised by paying the trainer a fee. Record it down as a skill.
Pistols: Determines your ability to fight with pistols. the higher your pistols score, the more damage you deal your enemy when attacking him with a pistol weapon. The total damage that you will deal out while fighting with a pistol weapon is the sum of the base damage and 1 tenth of your pistols score, rounded to the nearest whole number. e.g. suppose you have a pistols score of 3 and deal 5 points of damage to your enemy. Therefore the total damage done is 5 + 0.3 = 5.3 = 4(rounded off). Note that this bonus is considered AFTER all multiplier bonuses(such as the strength damage bonus). Your pistols score starts off at 0, but can be raised by paying the trainer a fee. Record it down as a skill.
Rifles: Determines your ability to fight with rifles. the higher your rifles score, the more damage you deal your enemy when attacking him with a rifle weapon. The total damage that you will deal out while fighting with a rifle weapon is the sum of the base damage and 1 tenth of your rifles score, rounded to the nearest whole number. e.g. suppose you have a rifles score of 1 and deal 2points of damage to your enemy. Therefore the total damage done is 2+ 0.1 = 2.1 = 2(rounded off). Note that this bonus is considered AFTER all multiplier bonuses(such as the strength damage bonus). Your rifles score starts off at 0, but can be raised by paying the trainer a fee. Record it down as a skill.
Items
Throughout your adventure you will come across objects of different sorts. Most of these objects you can keep. You can only pick up an object and add it to your inventory if the SUD tells you to, or if you are getting objects from a corpse. Objects can be wielded or worn, or may have other properties such as hit points restoration when consumed, improved fighting abilities for one fight, etc. You have a maximum carrying capacity of 15 objects(including worn or wielded items), but this increases by 2 for every point of strength you have. Thus a preson with a strength of 4 can carry a maximum of 15 + 2 x 4 = 15 + 8 = 23 objects. Objects can also be destroyed, usually in the middle of combat.
Armour
Armour decreases the amount of damage you sustain in a round of combat when you take damage. All armour have a bonus value assigned to it in tenths. This value is subtracted from any damage you take in a round of combat in addition to any other damage reduction bonuses, and the final result is rounded off to give the final amount of damage you sustain. e.g suppose you are wearing a leather cap(Head)+0.2, chain mail(Body)+1.4 and metal shod boots(Feet)+0.3 and you sustain 9 points of damage in one round, then the final amount of damage you sustain in that round is 9 - 0.2 - 1.4 - 0.3 = 9 - 1.9 - 7.1 = 7(rounded off) This is excluding other bonuses you may have. The minimum damage you can sustain is zero, so don't expect to regain hitpoints by getting negative damage. However armour only has effect if it is worn. These are the following places where armour can be worn: Body, Cloak, Head, Hands and Feet. Only one armour can be worn in each place. The place in which a certain piece of armour can be worn is stated in the brackets next to it. So if the brackets say either Head, Body, Cloak, Hands or Feet, you know it is armour.
Weapons
Weapons improve the amount of damage you do to an enemy when it takes a hit from you in combat. Also, there are numerous types of weapons, i.e. Daggers, Blades, Maces, Staffs, Pistols and Rifles. When in combat with a weapon of one of these kinds, and you have the appropriate weapon skill, you get an extra bonus to the amount of damage you do if you hit. This damage is equal to one tenth of your weapon skill. e.g. suppose you are wielding a Flamethrower(Pistol)+3.5, your Pistols skill is 8 and you deal out 4 points of damage in one round of combat. Therefore the total damage you deal out to your enemy that round is 4 + 3.5 + 0.8 = 8.3 = 8(rounded off). You have to be wielding a weapon in order for you to get the weapon's bonus and your skill bonus. You can wield a maximum of only 1 weapon at a time, so choose it wisely. If you are not wielding a weapon, you still can get a bonus from your Hand to Hand score just as you can get a bonus from other weapon skill scores.
Combat
Combat in the SUD is relatively simple. Combat is started by either attaking the enemy, the command of which is in the form kill , or if the enemy automatically attacks you. At the beginning of combat, you are told the enemy's hitpoints and must keep track of it as well as your won. Combat is divided into rounds, in each of which you may take damage, the enemy may take damage and you choose your actions for the next round. The avaliable actions are attack(advance), defend(hold position) and retreat(step back). Damage dealt and sustained in each round is as follows: For damage infliceted on the enemy by you, first multiply the base damage(which is given) by any multiplication bonuses, examples of which are your strength bonuses(described previously) and others you may have from potions or special items. The product is not obtained by multiplying the base with all the multiplier bonuses, rather it is obtained by multiplying the base damage with the multipliers individually, getting numerous results, then summing up the bonuses along with the base damage. For instance, suppose you have multiplier bonuses of 0.3, 1.1 and 0.5 and you deal a base damage of 4. Therefore the damage you deal is 4 + 4 x 0.3 + 4 x 1.1 : 4 x 0.5 = 4 + 1.2 + 4.4 + 2 = 11.6. Therefore you deal 12 damage to your enemy that round(excluding addition bonuses) It is NOT computed by 4 + 4 x 0.3 x 1.1 x 0.5 = 4 + 0.66 = 5. After computing the multiplier bonuses, add to it any addition bonuses that you have, then round the value off for the total damage you deal to your opponent. e.g. suppose that in addtion to the multiplier bonuses just mentioned, you have addition bonuses of 0.7 and 2.3. Therefore the total damage you deal to your opponent is 11.6 + 0.7 + 2.3 = 14.6 = 15(rounded off) This value is then subtracted from your opponents current hitpoint score. If it reaches zero, you have kiled it. Your opponent also deals you damage, though it is more straightforward to compute as the given damage is the total damage, with no need for bonuses and such. there are a few exeptions, but these will be mentioned when neccessary. Any damage you sustain is deducted from your hitpoints score. Should your hitpoints reach zero or below, you have died. Lost hitpoints can be regained, but can never exceed your maximum hitpoint score. Just in case you accidentaly attack or are attacked by something you can't handle,there is often a choice to flee from combat. This requires one round of combat to execute. Should it succeed, you will exit the room with no furthut combat. Should you fail, you will remain in combat and possibly suffer some damage. You do not have a choice in the direction in which you flee, when panicking, your subconcious mind takes over.
Money
Money in The SUD is measured in terms of coins. You start off with very little money, but you can earn more by killing stuff, going on quests or selling items that you find. There is no limit to how many coins you can carry. Money is not considered and item(it doesn't take up space) but record it on your piece of paper or Notepad window. With money, you can buy weapons and armour to better equip yourself, or train up your stats and skills. In short, money is of extreme importance.
Buying/Selling
Buying and selling can be done in shops. Upon entering the shop, you will be shown a list of available items for trade, their descriptions and properties, their cost and their resale value. When buying an item from the list, you pay(delete) the cost number of coins and add the item to your inventory(provided you have enough space). When selling an item, delete it from your inventory and add the resale number of coins to your money score. You can only buy and sell objects on the list, so not all objects found can be sold or bought from shops.
Quests
All MUDs should have quests to challenge and benefit the player, and The SUD is no different. However, no quests have to be completed to get past certain skill or stat scores. Quests are completely optional. Do them when you feel like it. Most of them give EXCELLENT cash bonuses though. A quest is always located near the area in which a note, singboard or something similar describes the existance of the certain quest. Each quest can only be done once(to prevent getting rich by repeatedly completing a quest you know how to do) so record the name of the quests you have done down. The quest name will be provided upon the completion of the quest.
Death
When your hitpoints fall below zero, you die. Unlike a MUD, you don't lose lots of experience and stat poins upon death in The SUD. However, you still have to pay a penalty for fouling up and so you lose all your money and items, and are returned back to your house. When there is a chance you may die, a link will always be available for you to click on.
Saving/Loading
Saving is a simple process. Simply bookmark the page that you are on or record the URL of the page somewhere, save the data on your character(stats, skills, hitpoints etc) and then select the Quit option from the menu. Loading simply requires you to revisit the bookmarked page and use your saved character data. Should you forget to bookmark the page that you were last on, you can always start from home by selceting the Start From Home choice at the title screen.
Your Honesty is Appreciated
Since you control your character data and not your browser, please please please please PLEEEEEEASE don't cheat and change your character data for your benefit or frequently click on the Back button on your browser window to avoid nasty situations, give youself extra hitpoints now and then and stuff like that. Play fair. You'll feel good about it. And I'll tell your Mom if you cheat.
This SUD is still at its early stages of development, so don't expect something spectacular. Testers would be greatly appreciated and do mail me any bugs, commenst or suggestions. Apologies for making the rules so long, but they are actually very simple once you get the hang of it. Serious. Well, nothing more to say, so click here to return to the title page and begin your adventure. Have fun!
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