11. The Avalon Command Environment

Consider Avalon to be an interactive novel, set in a mythical medieval land. Avalon, like the novel, is based on printed text - the look of the land is left for your imagination. The character you play is much like a character in the novel, to fully appreciate the game, you must become that character and be in that ever-growing, ever changing book.

Commands are entered by typing them at the prompt which is a single dash. All commands can be entered as upper of lower case, although upper case will normally be interpreted as "shouting" when communicating with other players. Most of the Avalon commands take the form of:

<Verb> <Noun> or

<Verb> <Noun> <Preposition> <Noun>

followed by a carriage return.

Examples might be

GIVE SWORD TO KING or MOUNT HORSE

Here is a list of some of the most commonly used commands in Avalon. Possible abbreviations are shown in upper case, e.g. EXamine means that you can use both the full word 'examine' or just abbreviate it to 'ex'.

Essential Novice Commands

GREET sage - Greet the sage who comes to meet you. NOD - Express your assent to instructions. FOLLOW - Follow the sage or another guide. REGISTER - Register you character with Avalon. HELP INTRO - Introductory help. HELP NOVICE/HELP ACADEMY - Vital information for the novice. HELP ACCOLADES - Special quests for the novice only. INSTITUTE/ACADEMY/COLLEGE - Instant return to your novice guild.

Communication

SAY <text> - Speak to someone in the same room. TELL <player> <text> - Tell to a player directly. SAMARITAN <text> - Speak directly to the Good Samaritan. SHOUT <text> - Shout a message across the land

Personal Commands

SC, QS, STATus - Progress and personal info. LEVELS - Shows your progression. DEFences - Shows any special defences. INVentory - Lists your possessions. SLEEP/WAKE - Attempt to sleep/Attempt to wake. EAT <item> - Attempt to eat something. DRINK <item> - Drink beverage or potion. MEDitate - Meditate to recover mana. SKILLS <Skill> - Detailed information on a skill. DIVINITIES - The feelings of the gods toward you.

Manipulating Objects

EXamine <target> - Look closely at something. READ <target> - Add page number if necessary. Get <item> - Pick up an item. Get ALL - Pick up all lose objects. DRop <item> - Drop something in your Inventory. WEAR <item> - Wear clothing/armour etc. REMOVE <item> - Take off clothing etc. GIve <item> TO <target> PUT <item> IN <target> - IN PACK for example. Get <item> FRom <target> PUT <item> ON <target> - ON STEED for example. [UNLOCK/LOCK] <item> FILL <container> WITH <filling> AB ITEMLORE - Lists your Itemlore abilities. PROBE <item> - Use your itemlore skill. WIEld [RIGHT/LEFT] <weapon>

Death

SUMMON SHIP - To summon the ship of the dead. BOARD SHIP - To board the ship of the dead. BATHE BODY - To resurrect a body in the pool of life.

Shops and Commodities

GOODS - List what is on sale. GOODS <item> - Detail on item for sale. QUERY <item> - Discover how much an item is worth. SELL <item> - Sell item to shop. BUY <item> - Buy item from shop. SPLIT <commodity> - Split a commodity in two.

Manipulating Gold

Get GOLD - Pick up all gold here. Get GOLD <amount> - Pick up specific amount. DRop GOLD <amount> - Drop specific amount. GIve <amount> GOLD <target> DEPOSIT <amount> - In your bank account. WITHDRAW <amount> - From bank account.

Fisticuffs, Throwing and Combat

AB FISTICUFFS - Lists your Fisticuffs abilities. PUNCH <target> - Example of low level Fisticuffs ability. THROW <item> AT <target> - To hurt target. THROW <item> TO <target> - For target to catch. CONCENTRATE - Concentrate on your own combat only. RELAX - See all combat in your location. FIGHTBRIEF - Cut down combat text. FIGHTVERBOSE - Fully fleshed out combat text. FVB - Fight very brief mode.

Friends and Entourage Commands

LEAD <mobile> - Attempt to lead a mobile. ORDER - List possible commands. ORDER [<mobile>/ENTOURAGE] <action> ENTourage [ON/OFF] - Lists your entourage. FRIENDS - List your circle of friends. [FRIEND/ENEMY] <name> <amount> - Admit a new friend/enemy.

General Commands

REQUEST LETTER - In Post Office only. ERASE LETTER - Wipe clean your letter. WRITE LETTER - Enter text to your letter. POST LETTER <Player> - In post box. TRASH LETTER - At a brazier. WEAPONLIST/ARMOURLIST - List weapons and armour carried. QuickWho (or WQ) - See who else is playing. EMote <text> - Show emotion in <text>. GREET <mobile> - To gain quests. REQUEST QUEST FRom <mobile> HELP ORDINATION - The ultimate quest. IDEA <text> - Enter an idea for the game. WISH <text> - Make a wish to the gods. PRAY <text> - Pray to a god in a holy location. CALL/PAGE - Call for attention from gods. ASK ORACLE <skill> - Information on skill progression. ASK ORACLE RANK - Information regarding progression. FOLLOW <name> - Follow another player. LOSE <name> - Stop following another player. GS - Group status

Return to the index or carry on to find out how to Connect to Avalon.