Dark Pawns

Mortal Races

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mortal Races

The world of Dark Pawns is populated by diverse humanoid races, each shaped by their environment, history, and ancient magical currents. Your choice of race dictates not only your starting physical attributes and where you enter the world, but also which classes are available to you.

Comparative Roster

Race	Typical Alignment	Prime Environments	Core Differentiators & Class Gating
Human	Neutral	Cities, All Climates	Most versatile. The only race that can train as a Ninja.
Elf	Neutral	Forests, Outdoors	Extremely agile and long-lived. High natural dexterity.
Dwarf	Noble / Lawful	Underground, Cities	stocky, highly muscular, and unyielding. High strength and constitution.
Kender	Fearless / Chaotic	Wandering, All Climates	Small, insatiably curious. Highly adept at stealing and stealth.
Minotaur	Chaotic / Neutral	Labyrinths, Forests	Huge (7ft+), broad, and powerful. Innate direction sense.
Rakshasa	Malevolent / Neutral	Great Sandy Wastes	Tiger-headed spirits in flesh. Possess high magic resistance.
Ssaur	Neutral	Swamps, Marshes	Evolved lizardmen. Excellent survivalists, high constitution.

Detailed Profiles

Humans

Humans are the most populous and versatile race across the globe. Lacking the extreme physical specialization of the other races, humans compensate with unmatched adaptability and ambition. They build major trade cities in almost any climate, and their alignment spans from the most saintly virtues to the darkest evils.

Narrative Memory & Dreaming

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

1. The Core Memory Architecture

To build autonomous agents that exhibit genuine personality, persistent learning, and long-term relationships, a MUD engine must provide more than raw state information; it must support a durable cognitive memory system.

Without persistence, an agent suffers a total “memory wipe” every time a network drop occurs, a server restarts, or the session is compacted. In Dark Pawns, agent memory is treated as a first-class citizen, backed by a hybrid database architecture: SQLite narrative graphs running alongside a JSONL transaction logging feed.

Port Fidelity & Engine Modernization

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

1. Archiving a Legacy: The 73K Lines of C

Resurrecting Dark Pawns was not simply a matter of loading a backup copy of DikuMUD onto a modern Linux server. The original game engine, composed of 73,000 lines of legacy C code written in the late-90s, was highly fragile, memory-unsafe, and bound to architectural limits that made integration with modern WebSocket APIs, databases, and AI frameworks practically impossible.

To secure the game’s future and enable advanced agent research, the entire engine was ported from scratch to Go.

Skills & Spells System

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Skills & Spells System

Dark Pawns features a rich, dual-layered skill and magic model. Mortals grow stronger through direct combat experience, mental study, and dedicated training near guildmasters.

The Dual-Layer Architecture

To maintain high mechanical fidelity with legacy game engines while adding depth, character skills operate on two distinct, synchronized layers:

Layer 1: Core CircleMUD Skills

The baseline game mechanics. Every combat skill and stealth check is calculated directly through this layer. Skills are represented as raw proficiencies ranging from 0 to 100. Level requirements are strictly gated by your class.

Stateless Agents, Stateful Protocols

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

1. The Challenge of Stateful AI Onboarding

Standard Large Language Models (LLMs) operate statelessly: they receive a prompt and output a completion. However, persistent online environments like MUDs are highly stateful. Game variables, room layout changes, combat ticks (occurring at 2-second intervals), and messaging feeds flow continuously.

When connecting an autonomous AI agent to Dark Pawns, two immediate engineering bottlenecks emerge:

The Latency Gap: High-quality LLM inference takes between 1.0 to 3.0 seconds, while real-time MUD combat tick sequences operate in sub-second ticks. A pure LLM-per-action loop will quickly miss critical server ticks.
Context Saturation: Satiating a model’s context window with thousands of raw text output characters (such as room exits, stats, and speech logs) leads to attention dilution and rapid cost inflation.

To resolve these, Dark Pawns employs a dual-interface architecture: human-friendly text streams running alongside structured out-of-band JSON protocols over a high-performance WebSocket connection.

! ^

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Use ! to repeat the last command typed at the keyboard.

Use ^ to replace a string from the last command with a new string. The syntax is the same as in unix: “^old-string^replacement”

Examples:

tell rasmusse Hi there, how are you? No-one by that name here.

^rasmusse^rasmussen You tell Rasmussen, ‘Hi there, how are you?’

^you^you doing^ You tell Rasmussen, ‘Hi there, how are you doing?’

'ACID BLAST'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘acid blast’

With this spell, the caster shoots forth a spray of deadly, flesh-dissolving acid from the fingertips of both hands. The spray is directed toward all non- group-member occupants in the room.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'ACT FLAGS'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Each control character is preceded by a ‘$’.

$n - Write name, short description, or “someone”, for ch, depending on whether ch is a PC, a NPC, or an invisible PC/NPC. $N - Like $n, except insert the text for victim $m - “him”, “her”, or “it”, depending on the gender of ch. $M - Like $m, for vict. $s - “his”, “her”, or “it”, depending on the gender of ch. $S - Like $s, for vict. $e - “he”, “she”, “it”, depending on the gender of ch. $E - Like $e, for vict. $o - Name or “something” for obj, depending on visibility. $O - Like $o, for vict_obj. i.e. A wand of invis pointed at a sword; sword is $O $p - Short description or “something” for obj. $P - Like $p for vict_obj. $a - “an” or “a”, depending on the first character of obj’s name. $A - Like $a, for vict_obj. $T - Prints the string pointed to by vict_obj. $F - Processes the string pointed to by vict_obj with fname() prior to printing. $$ - Print the character ‘$’.

'ADRENALINE BOOST'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : will ‘adrenaline boost’ Accumulative: yes (duration)

With this mind-skill, the psionic increases his body’s adrenaline production, effectively making himself several degrees stronger.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'BURNING HANDS'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘burning hands’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : Versus spell for half damage.

This spell is more powerful than the chill touch spell.

'CALL LIGHTNING'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘call lightning’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : Versus spell for half damage.

This spell will use the “force of nature” to make a lightning strike the victim. It is therefore only possible to call lightning outside, and it has to be raining (or worse).

See also: “CONTROL WEATHER”, WEATHER

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'CELL ADJUSTMENT'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : will ‘cell adjustment’

The psionic focuses his mental abilities on his own healing processes, Causing his wounds to mend much faster than normal.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'CHANGE DENSITY'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : will ‘change density’

The psionic changes the physical make-up of his body, assuming the ability to walk, lie down, etc, on liquid surfaces.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'CHARM PERSON'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘charm person’ Accumulative: No

It is not possible to charm anyone that is already charmed, if you’re charmed yourself, or if the person is higher level than yourself. The person will get a saving throw versus “paralysis”.

A charmed person will follow you, and not be able to attack you. You can order the charmed person using the order command. Monsters don’t like being charmed, and a failed attempt will usually result in your being attacked.

'CHILL TOUCH'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘chill touch’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : Versus spell for half damage.

This spell is more powerful than the flame arrow spell. A victim failing its saving throw will get its strength reduced by one.

'CONJURE ELEMENTAL' CONJURE ELEMENTAL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘conjure elemental’ Accumulative: - Duration : Varies per elemental type

By means of this powerful conjuration spell, the magus can summon elementals from their planes of existence to aid him or her in battle or other tasks. In order to summon an elemental, a magus first needs to have the correct reagents for the elemental type that he or she wishes to summon. Information on elemental reagents can be found in books on arcane spellcraft, or consult your local sage.

'CONTROL WEATHER'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘control weather’ <‘better’ | ‘worse’> Accumulative: Yes Duration : -

This spell will change the “course” of the current weather. It is useful if you want to alter the weather so you can cast another spell, call lightning for example.

Obviously, you must be outside to cast this spell.

Example:

cast ‘control wea’ worse

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'CREATE FOOD'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘create food’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous

This spell instantly creates a fresh mushroom. The mushroom will be filling for the next (5+level) hours, up to a maximum of 24 hours.

'CREATE WATER'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘create water’ Accumulative: No Duration : Instantaneous

Expect disastrous results if cast upon a drink container which contains another liquid than water. Empty or water containers will be filled depending on the level of the caster.

Double amount of water will be created if it is raining (or worse).

'CURE BLIND'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘cure blind’ Accumulative: No Duration : Instantaneous

This spell will cure a person blinded by the “blindness” spell, it can not remove blindness caused by for example cursed items.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'CURE CRITIC'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘cure critic’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous

This spell cures many hitpoints of damage.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'CURE LIGHT'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘cure light’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous

Cures minor wounds and scratches.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'DEATH TRAP' DT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A “death-trap” is a place in the world which upon entering you are instantly slain, loosing all equipment. You do not loose EXP for dying in a DT. You cannot RETRIEVE your corpse if you die in a DT. Since hitting a death trap is considered one of the worst fates that can befall a player character, there are no death traps that are hidden or unmarked in Dark Pawns.

'DETECT ALIGNMENT'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘detect alignment’ Accumulative: Yes (Duration) Duration : 12 hours + level

Allows the caster to detect the alignment of those around them. Evil will show as a red aura, good in a blue aura.

'DETECT INVISIBILITY'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘detect invisibility’ [self] Accumulative: Yes (Duration) Duration : 12 hours + level

This spell enables you to see invisible items and players.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'DETECT MAGIC'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘detect magic’ [self] Accumulative: Yes (Duration) Duration : 12 hours + level

This spell will let you see the magical aura surrounding magical objects.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'DETECT POISON'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘detect poison’ <victim | food | drink> Accumulative: No Duration : Instantaneous

Cast on food or drinks (drink containers) you will be able to sense if it is poisoned.

Cast on a person you will be able to see if that person is poisoned.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'DISPEL EVIL'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘dispel evil’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : Special

This spell will only affect evil creatures. An evil person of level equal or less than caster will suffer much damage. While an evil person of higher level will suffer slightly less damage.

'DISPEL GOOD'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘dispel good’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : Special

This spell will only affect good creatures. A good person of level equal or less than caster will suffer much damage. While a good person of higher level will suffer slightly less damage.

'DIVINE INTERVENTION' DIVINE INTERVENTION

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘divine intervention’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : Versus spell for control

The most powerful prayer an avatar can make, divine intervention will summon warrior angels from the avatars Gods to serve them for a short period of time.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'DRAGON KICK' DRAGON

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: dragon

The secret attack of the Hidden Dragon school of ninjitsu, this powerful upper body kick slams into the victim with devastating force, knocking backwards and leaving them dazed.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

'DREAM TRAVEL'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : will ‘dream travel’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : -

By the means of this power, a Psionic can make his body travel thousands Of miles while he sleeps. The psionic merely wills ‘dream travel’ and then Goes to sleep. Then he/she has a dream about the place they are going to, and When they awake, they find that they have arrived! A very efficient means of Transportation.

'ENCHANT ARMOR'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ’enchant armor’ Accumulative: No Duration : Permanent

This spell will enchant non-magical (non-modifying) armor only. By non-modifying armor we refer to armor that might alter any ability such as, for example, damage. The only way to know if a piece of armor is suitable for enchantment is to fully identify it. The enchantment is based on the caster’s level. Enchanted armor become not useable by people of the caster’s opposite alignment.

'ENCHANT WEAPON'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ’enchant weapon’ Accumulative: No Duration : Permanent

This spell will enchant non-magical (non-modifying) weapons only. By non-modifying weapons we refer to weapons that might alter any ability such as, for example, damage. The only way to know if a weapon is suitable for enchantment is to fully identify it.

The enchantment will modify the weapon as:

Level    Hit Roll    Damage

 0..17     +1         +1
18..19     +2         +1
20..20+    +2         +2

Enchanted weapons become not useable by people of the caster’s opposite alignment.

'ENERGY DRAIN'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ’energy drain’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : Versus spell for half damage.

This spell sucks the life force from the victim, causing a tremendous amount damage.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'ESCAPE OF THE MONGOOSE' ESCAPE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: escape

A successful escape while fighting results in your leaving battle without losing the experience points that results from fleeing normally. If your WIMPY is triggered while fighting, there is a chance that you may automatically ESCAPE instead of fleeing.

'FLAME ARROW'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘FLAME ARROW’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : Versus spell for half damage.

Causes a bolt of magical flame to be thrown from the casters hands at the victim.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'FLAME STRIKE'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

FLAME STRIKE

Usage : cast ‘flame strike’ Accumulative: - Duration : Varies Save : Versus spell for half damage.

Causes a bolt of fire from the heavens to come down and strike the victim. Will usually cause the victim to be set on fire and burn considerably. Can only be used outdoors, of course. Fun for the whole family.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'FLESH OF STONE'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : will ‘flesh of stone’

The psionic’s mental concentration changes his physical make-up, hardening the surface layer of skin to the density of stone, protecting the psionic from many light blows, and softening harder strikes.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'GLYPH OF SUMMONING'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘glyph of summoning’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : -

This spell allows the caster to draw a magical gylph on the ground that Can be used to SUMMON beings. It is very sensitive to movement and should Only be drawn in a place where the caster can be left undisturbed.

'GREATER PERCEPTION'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mastering the realm of the unseen, the psionic can focus his mental Energies towards seeing the normally hidden creatures in a room and invisible objects/creatures.

'GROUP HEAL'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘group heal’

This powerful prayer heals the caster’s entire group.

'GROUP INVISIBILITY' 'GROUP INVIS'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘group invisibility’ Accumulative: No Duration : Varies

This powerful magick allows the magus to conceal his entire party behind a veil of invisibility.

'GROUP RECALL'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘group recall’

This spell will recall the caster’s entire group to their respective home towns, given they are not fighting and in the same room as the caster.

'HOLY SHIELD'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘holy shield’ Accumulative: No Duration : Varies

An improved version of the holy ward spell that allows you to ward your entire party at one time.

'HOLY WARD' WARD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘holy ward’ Accumulative: No
Duration : Varies

The holy ward grants magickal protection to the target against things that would normally damage him or her.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'LESSER PERCEPTION'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Conquering the realm of the unseen, the psionic can focus his mental energies towards seeing the unseen. This lesser version is great for seeing in the dark, as well as seeing other people’s true nature.

'LIGHTNING BOLT'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ’lightning bolt’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : Versus spell for half damage.

This spell is more powerful than the shocking grasp spell.

'MAGIC USER' WIZARD MAGE MAGES WIZARDS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is the class of powerful and violent magick, but the magic user does not control nature, and can therefore not bless and protect.

You can improve your spells by using the practice command.

Spell list:

1	flame arrow
1	infravision
2	acid blast
2	detect invisibility
2	detect magic
3	chill touch
4	invisibility
5	burning hands
6	strength
7 	shocking grasp
8	sleep
9	lightning bolt
9	blindness
10	detect poison
11	color spray
    12      sense life
    12      waterwalk
13	energy drain
14	curse
15	fireball
20 	hellfire
21	metalskin
22	waterbreathe
[24](/help/info/attitude-attitudes-24-atti/)	enchant armor
25 	disintegrate
26	enchant weapon	
28	globe of invulnerability

See also: PRACTICE, SPELLS, CLASSES, MAGICK

'MASS DOMINATE'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: will ‘mass dominate’

An improved version of the dominate power that will assert your control over everyone in the room that is not in your party. Useful for redominating part of your army that has strayed.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'MASS HEAL'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: cast ‘mass heal’

Twice as strong as the heal spell, this powerful healing can only be cast by the most powerful of clerics and avatars.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'MENTAL LAPSE' MENTAL LAPSE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : will ‘mental lapse’ Accumulative: n/a Duration: Instantaneous Save: -

Projecting a mental voice across virtually endless distance, the psionic Can stop from hunting the psionic. At the highest mastery level, The psionic can stop from hunting anyone.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'METEOR SWARM' METEOR SWARM

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: cast ‘meteor swarm’ Accumultative: - Duration: Instantaneous Save: versus spell for half damage

By means of this powerful magick, the magus can call meteors from the heavens down to smite all of his enemies in the room. This can obviously only work when the magus is outdoors.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'MIND ATTACK' MINDATTACK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: will ‘mind attack’

A psionic’s attack on the mind of a victim is an appalling sight. The Victim first feels a mental invasion, which causes pressure that slowly increases to the point of extreme, incredible pain. The victim’s brain, revolting against the attack, sometime succumbs to the pressure, exploding through the skull of the unfortunate victim.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'MIND BAR' MINDBAR

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: will ‘mind bar’

By use of this power, the skilled psionic can place a mental bar across his vicitim’s mind, leaving the victim without access to his or her intellect. Successful barring leaves the victim dumbfounded, unable to speak or perform many other tasks.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'MIND BLAST' MINDBLAST

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: will ‘mind blast’

A mental blast of pure psionic energy erupts from the attacker, surging Toward the victim and hitting their mind like a physical blow.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'MIND POKE' MINDPOKE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: will ‘mind poke’

A victim of this mind-spell receives a powerful jolt of psionic energy in their mind, causing level-based damage ranging from a mild head-ache to a physical hole.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'MIND SIGHT' MINDSIGHT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : will ‘mindsight’

Using mental telepathy, the psionic “looks” through the eyes of the victim and sees the world wherever the victim may be. If the victim is of a significantly higher level than the psionic, the psionic may not be able to penetrate their mind. It is also noted that certain races and peoples have natural shields against this type of psionic mind probing. Psionics in the victim’s room (or the victim himself, if a Psionic) will be able to sense the sighting.

'MIRROR IMAGE' MIRROR IMAGE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: will ‘mirror image’

By using this powerful psionic ability, the mentalist may create a clone of himself. This clone is not perfect, however, and will not stand up to close scrutiny. It is however, useful for evading pursuers and fooling the enemy.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'PICK LOCKS' LOCKS LOCKPICKS PICKS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: pick [direction]

For picking locks. Not all locks can be picked. Those that can require a set of held lockpicks. Lockpicks can be found in most major cities and are usually very cheap. (Unfortunately, the quality is usually the same as the price.) As your experience picking locks grows, the chance of mangling your lockpicks lessens.

Examples:

pick door south pick safe

'PROTECTION FROM EVIL'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘protection from evil’ Accumulative: No Duration : 24 hours

Gives minor protection from the attacks of evil opponents, and wards off some aggressive mobs.

Note: casting this spell upon yourself when you are evil can have disasterous side effects.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'PROTECTION FROM GOOD'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘protection from good’ Accumulative: No Duration : About 24 hours

Gives minor protection from the attacks of good opponents, and wards of those pesky do-gooders who always wish you harm.

Note: casting this spell upon yourself while you are good can have disasterous side effects.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'PSYCHIC SHIELD' PSYCHIC

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: will ‘psychic shield’ self Accumulative: - Duration: Instananeous Save: -

By means of this power, the psionic can shield himself from damage done by others to him. The psychic shield shields the psionic from normal, as well as magical and psychic attacks.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'RAY OF DISRUPTION' RAY DISRUPTION

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘ray of disruption’

Karnek’s Ray of Disruption is one of the most powerful spells known. It calls forth a ray of pure energy that can burn through most anything. This spell can backfire, the results usually being fatal.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'REMOVE CURSE'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘remove curse’ <victim | object> Accumulative: No Duration : Instantaneous

Will remove a curse on carried objects or any persons in the room.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'REMOVE POISON'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘remove poison’ <victim | food | drink> Accumulative: No Duration : Instantaneous

Will remove the affects of poison from a victim or an object.

'SENSE LIFE'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘sense life’ Accumulative: Yes (Duration)

Allows the caster to sense the presence of a player or monster in the room which is hiding. The true identity will remain hidden however. Invisible persons are also considered hidden.

'SERPENT KICK'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: serpent

This punishing, lethal kick is part of the Golden Serpent Kung Fu style, and knowledge of it is forbidden outside the Liu’she Ch’uan tong. Learning it earns a sentence of death from any tong member. Beware.

'SHIFT REALITY' SHIFT REALITY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : will ‘shift reality’ Accumulative: No Duration : Instantaneous Save : Versus psychic to prevent

By use of this mental power, the psionic or mystic can shift their location in the material world to somewhere else. Like all forms of psychic transfer, the mentalist has no control over where he or she ends up, making this power somewhat hazardous.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'SHOCKING GRASP'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘shocking grasp’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : Versus spell for half damage.

This spell is more powerful than the burning hands spell.

'SOUL LEECH'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘soul leech’

The darkest and most feared of ninja magic abilities – the power to steal life from another. If successful, the ninja will gain about a third of the stolen life added to his own life total.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'SPELL STRENGTH'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘strength’ Accumulative: Yes (affect) Duration : Level/2 + 4

The target of this spell will benifit from increased strength for its duration.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'STRIKE OF REVENGE'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : strike

Allows the trained martial artist to deal a stunning, sometimes lethal Strike to the victim’s throat.

Developed by the Mist Viper school of Ninjitsu, “Saito Yuriko’s Strike of Revenge” is a brutal, devastating blow.

'TIGER PUNCH' TIGER

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: tiger

This devastating uppercut can do serious damage to the victim if they are unable to block it. The tiger punch is a more aggressive style of ninja combat, used when the ninja cannot avoid direct confrontation.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

'WORD OF INTELLECT'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘word of intellect’ Accumulative: affect Duration : about a quarter of a day

This short prayer, if answered, causes the victim to become smarter for a brief while.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

'WORD OF RECALL'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘word of recall’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous

The caster will be transferred back to his home-town sanctuary (Whatever city you started in.) Word of Recall cannot be used during combat. This applies to all forms of Word of Recall, whether it is a cast spell, scroll, wand, etc. You must be out of combat to use any items with Word of Recall or cast the spell.

A Proper Website (Finally)

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The website is live. A real one this time — not a single HTML file and a prayer.

For years, the only Dark Pawns presence on the internet was whatever the Wayback Machine happened to scrape before the server went dark. dp-players.com had a player page. darkpawns.com had some news posts and a features list. Both are gone now, preserved only in archive.org’s crawls.

We pulled everything we could find. The help files — all 430 of them, from ABILITIES to YANK, including the social commands that shouldn’t be mentioned in polite company. The class and race descriptions from Frontline’s worldbuilder register. The Friar Drake letter. The player quotes. The timeline. The wizard list.

ABILITIES

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: abilities

This command will display your current ability scores in the following format:

Your current ability scores: Strength: (excellent) Dexterity: (decent) Intelligence: (decent) Wisdom: (fair) Constitution: (good) Charisma: (bad)

There are not any numeric representations of ability scores on Dark Pawns.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

About the dp-players Site

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

about*

the site

This is the third version of the Dark Pawns Player Page, created in April 2004. This site was built with XHTML1 standards in mind, using valid CSS2 for the layout and PHP for the template. The goal is to have a unique and informative MUD page with resources for not only Dark Pawns, but MUDs in general. Here you will find helpful articles to guide your character to success, logged battles, funny quotes, equipment stats, and much much more.

AC ARMOR

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

“AC” is your armor class.

Items often have one of two effects: ac-apply, or “armor”. These two are inverses of one another; ac-apply 10 = armor -10; You can get a rough idea of what your current armor class is in SCORE.

ACTION A-DESC

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The A-desc (action desc) of objs is used for held wands, held staves, scrolls and potions! Please don’t confuse it with Extra description, which is what you see when you LOOK . The A-desc is shown when the item is used/quaffed/recited. For example, a potion of lycanthropy might have: $n quaffs $p and hair sprouts from $s every pore!

ADVANCE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: advance

ADVANCE moves a player to a new level. If used to promote a player to an immortal level, and if you have the autowiz program installed, the wizlist and immlist will automatically be recreated.

Example:

advance rasmussen 34

AFK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: afk

AFK means “away from keyboard”. Use this command when you’re going afk to get a beer, smoke a cigarette, etc. It simply lets people who TELL to you know you are AFK and might not get the message. Type AFK again to toggle it off.

AGE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Age is the game mechanic that measures how old your character is in game terms. Most characters start in their teens and gradually grow older from there. You can see how old your character is in SCORE.

AID FIRST 'FIRST AID'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: aid

Use this skill to help incapacitated friends. This only works on characters who are almost dead, however.

ALIAS ALIASES

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: alias [alias name] [command]

An alias is a single command used to represent one or more other commands. The ALIAS command can be used to manipulate your character’s aliases. Type ALIAS alone to see a list of your currently defined aliases.

alias

Type ALIAS to create a new alias. The alias name must be one word. The command can be any string. Aliases may not be nested or used recursively. Any command may be overridden by an alias (other than the ALIAS command itself, of course).

ALIGNMENT GOOD EVIL NEUTRAL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Alignment is the measure of how Good, Evil or Neutral you are, relative to the rest of the world. In effects what kind of spells you can cast, what types of equipment you can wear, whether certain creatures act aggressively towards you, etc. You can see your relative current alignment in SCORE.

AMBUSH

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: ambush

With their superior knowledge of the lay of the land, a Ranger can prepare a sneaky ambush for his enemies. You can only ambush someone where there is enough cover to hide, of course. If you can successfully ambush someone while staying hidden, you increase the damage dealt to them.

ANIMATE DEAD 'ANIMATE DEAD'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘animate dead’ corpse

With a powerful prayer (or unholy curse!) a cleric may seek to infuse life into the dead. The resulting undead zombie will obey the cleric and follow loyally until destroyed.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

ANSI COLOR

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: color [off | sparse | normal | complete]

If you have a color-capable terminal and wish to see useful color-coding of information, use the COLOR command to set the level of coloring you see.

color off This command disables all color.

color sparse color normal color complete

These three commands turn color on to various levels. Experiment to see which level suits your personal taste.

‘color’ with no argument will display your current color level. ‘color on’ defaults to ‘complete’.

APPRAISE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : appraise Example : appraise sword appraise 2.dagger

A successful appraisal gives an item value within 20 or so coins. Unsuccessful appraisals can be much, much worse.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

AREAS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Yep, there are some, go find ’em. The world is designed to be contiguous; each zone buffing up against another in a logical way. The best way to find new areas is to ask other players, or just go out into the world and explore some. Make sure you are adequately prepared first though.

ASSASSIN ASSASSINS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Assassins are cold and deadly killers for hire, whose knowledge of subterfuge, stealth and the Black Arts makes them extremely efficient, extremely deadly opponents. Assassins are found worldwide, although they are usually concentrated in cities. Because of the nature of their work, the assassin class is barred from using shields of any kind. Because of the skill, knowledge, and experience that is required to be an assassin, this class is remort only.

ASSIST

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: ASSIST

If Quifael is being beaten senseless by a warg and you feel brave enough to help him, type ASSIST QUIFAEL to hit the warg. Note that the warg will keep hitting Quifael; assist only makes you start to fight whomever the person you’re assisting is fighting.

assist Quifael

See also: FLEE, KILL, RESCUE, WARRIOR, PALADIN, RANGER

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

ATTITUDE ATTITUDES 24 ATTI

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

At level 24, certain high-level mobs start paying a lot more attention to you, in a bad way. Essentially, they “cop an attitude” and attack you. Avoid them, kill them, or be killed.

AUCTION CHANNEL CHANNELS GOSSIP GRATS NOAUCTION NOGOSSIP NOGRATS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: auction gossip grats newbie

These are channels reserved for specific purposes. Messages on these channels reach everyone who is monitoring them. You must be at least level two to use these channels, except the newbie channel.

To toggle a channel on and off, use the NONEWBIE, NOGOSS, NOAUC, etc. commands. Usage: nonewbie nogossip

Examples:

auction short sword – minimum bid 100k gossip Hey, is that a short sword on your belt or are you happy to see me? grats LEVEL!!!!!!!! grats GRATS CATJE!!!!!!!! newbie Damn, where’s the donation room? newbie Help me please, any high levelers listening?

AUTO LOOT SPLIT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: auto [

When used alone, “auto” will show what handy automatic features you are using. When used with an option (see down a few lines) it will toggle that option for you.

The options available are: exits Show exits in room descriptions loot Strip the equipment, including gold, off a fresh kill gold Strip the gold off a fresh kill split Split the loot with your group

Note: To use AUTO SPLIT, AUTO GOLD must be set.

AVATAR AVATARS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Avatars are the emissaries of the Holy Forces in the land, deriving their awesome power from those entities. Although they can heal and protect like clerics, the reason that the Avatars exist is to strike down the Unholy Forces in the land, and their masters have given them powerful magicks to aid them to this end. Because of the intensity of belief required to be an avatar, this class is remort only.

BACKSTAB

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : backstab

Backstab is a way to sneak up on a person and attempt to place your dagger in his back, at exactly the point where it does most damage. A successful backstab gives a damage multiplier, depending on level.

The chance of successfully backstabbing a person depends on how well you have practiced backstab at your guild. Also, backstabbing a person will lag you for about two rounds of combat.

BAN UNBAN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: ban [<all | new | select> ] unban

These commands prevent anyone from a site with a hostname containing the site substring from logging in to the game. You may ban a site to ALL, NEW or SELECT players. Banning a site to NEW players prevents any new players from registering. Banning a site to ALL players disallows ANY connections from that site. Banning a site SELECTively allows only players with site-ok flags to log in from that site. Ban with no argument returns a list of currently banned sites.

BANK WITHDRAW DEPOSIT BALANCE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Commands to take money out of the bank, put money in the bank, or see how much money you have in the bank.

Examples:

deposit 400 withdraw 1000 balance

BASH

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The success of a bash depends upon how well you are learned. To bash someone is to attempt to ‘knock’ that person over. If you succeed you will inflict minor damage, and cause the victim to fall on it’s rear. The victim will be unable to issue any commands for 2 rounds of violence. If you miss you lose your balance and fall.

A bash makes you unable to type commands for 2 rounds of violence.

BEARHUG

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: bearhug

By using this skill, the combatant can grab their adversary in a rib-breaking squeeze, slowing them down during combat. Note that this also slows you down as well.

See also: WARRIOR, PALADIN, RANGER

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

BEHEAD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: behead corpse

Lets you take home a trophy from your kill…. Beheads the corpse of your fallen adversary and places it in your inventory.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

BERSERK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: berserk

Lose your control and let your battle rage take over… While berserking you care less about your own safety, but inflict a barrage of damaging blows to thy enemies. Berserking can only be attempted successfully once every two game hours (ticks).

BFT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

‘Bout Fucking Time

BITE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : bite

In the case of vampires, this is a mere side-affect, as using the bite command to suck the blood of their victim is a common and natural thing, as the blood suffuses them with life and satiates their almost veracious appetites.

BLESS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘bless’ <victim | object> Accumulative: Yes (duration) Duration : 6 Hours, permanent for objects.

Bless on a victim will improve the victims saving throw versus spells by 1, and furthermore improve the hitroll by 2.

It is only possible to bless non-magic items, and the object blessed may weigh no more than five pounds per level of caster.

A blessed weapon gains a hitroll modifier. Other blessed objects are not yet defined.

BLINDNESS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘blindness’ Accumulative: No Duration : 2 hours.

Blindness will blind a victim failing its saving throw. A blinded person will have -4 penalty to both hitroll and AC.

BOARDS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Bulletin boards are the forum of inter-player communication on the MUD. There are different bulletin boards for different purposes – for example, a standard mortal board, a board for immortals, a board for fun “social” messages, etc. Naturally, not all players may be allowed to read all types of boards.

Type “LOOK BOARD” to see the messages already posted on a board. Type “WRITE ” to post a message to a board; terminate a message with a ‘@’ as the first character on a line. Type “READ ” to read a post. Type “REMOVE ” to remove your own messages.

BRIBE HIRE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mercenaries can be hired, the current market rate is about 100 coins.

Guards can be bribed; the price varies from guard to guard, but they don’t come cheap.

To bribe or hire someone, just GIVE coins

Examples:

give 101 coins mercenary give 200 coins guard

BRIEF

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: brief

Toggle “brief mode”. When in brief mode, you don’t see the descriptions of the room you are in; only the name of the room and the people and objects there. Unless you’re very familiar with the area in which you’re traveling, however, it is not advisable to use this command. Frequently, you will find small but vital hints in the descriptions of the rooms: An extra peek at your surroundings could mean the difference between life and death!

BROADCAST BROADCASTS NOBROAD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Broadcast channel displays arena fights live as they happen to the whole world. To turn on/off Broadcast, type NOBROAD.

BUG TYPO IDEA

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: bug idea typo

For making useful suggestions and reporting problems to the Powers that Be.

Examples:

bug the entire game crashes when I type ‘put bag in bag’ idea make a restaurant in Kir-Oshi typo ‘sence’ should be spelled ‘sense’

There’s no need to tell where the bug/typo is; We can tell what room you’re in.

typo there is no exit to the west here, but the descript says there is

BUILDING BUILD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Some not-so-obvious things about OLC:

REDIT: Room flags: REGEN_ROOM .. PCs (and mobs) rege mana/HPs faster in this room. BFR .. Bad for recall, recall doesn’t work here. NEUTRAL .. can’t die here. PCs get sent back to the temple instead. As such, entry to these rooms (or the rooms themselves), should be PEACEFUL .. violence and violent magic isn’t allowed here. ATRIUM, *, and HCRSH .. do not use PRIVATE .. Only two people allowed here. If more try to enter, they get the following message: " A private conversation is going on in that room" TUNNEL .. Only one person allowed here. If more try to enter, they get the following message: “There’s no room for you there!” BFS, *, ATRIUM, HCRSH, HOUSE, and **: do not use See Also: HELP FLOW

BUY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: buy buy # buy n. buy n buy n #

If you’d like to purchase an item from a shop and have the money, you can buy it. Items can be bought by name, or by their number in the shop listing, and can be bought in quantity.

Examples:

buy sword (buy the first sword on the list) buy #3 (buy the third item on the list) buy 4.sword (buy the fourth sword on the list) buy 10 bread (buy 10 pieces of bread) buy 10 #2 (buy 10 of the second item on the list)

CARVE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: carve corpse

Lets you carve up some dinner off of certain dead mobiles. Typically, any type of animal should be able to be carved up for a nice tasty diner.

CAST

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: cast ‘’ [target]

For magickal people. If you want to throw a spell at someone or something.

Example:

cast ‘burning hands’ Note that the name of the spell must be enclosed by “’“s.

See also: help on each individual spell:

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

Examples:

help cure ligh help ventri help energy drain

CASTLE CASTLES

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On Dark Pawns, castles are a generic term for structures owned and maintained by clans of players. They can be anything from small fortresses to hidden mountain strongholds to a secret back room at the local pub!

After a clan has gained sufficent strength and noteriety in the land, they may petition the staff for a castle. Please note that there are no castles available for individuals, or groups of individuals who are not in a clan.

CHAMELEON

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : will ‘chameleon’

The psionic change his colors to match the surroundings, effectively Becoming hidden in a room. If successful, you can only be “sensed” by the “sense life” spell. Even if sensed your identity will remain hidden. This is a rather taxing mental feat, and can only be attempted once per day. You may be able to perform actions and still remain hidden, but the chances of this are slight.

CHANGE CHANGES

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Too many things have changed on Dark Pawns 2.2 for them to be listed here. When in doubt, try the help files. If you still can’t find what you are looking for, typo it and we’ll add it to help asap.

Here is a brief list of things that have changed and have updated help files: REMORT, RANGER, MYSTIC, ASSASSIN, AVATAR, PALADIN, MAGUS, DRAGON KICK, TIGER PUNCH, SCOUT,SLEEPER, TRACK, HIDE, KUJI-KIRI, NECKBREAK, CONJURE ELEMENTAL, AMBUSH, WATERBREATHE, FLAME STRIKE, METEOR SWARM, MIRROR IMAGE, SOUL LEECH, LAY HANDS, HOLY WARD, HOLY SHIELD, DIVINE INTERVENTION, MASS DOMINATE, SHIFT REALITY

CHARGE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: charge

The charge is offensive move, used by a warrior to try to impale the victim. A successful charge deals a great deal of damage, the only drawback being the recover-time from a charge is quite lengthy.

CHARISMA WISDOM INTELLIGENCE STRENGTH DEXTERITY CONSTITUTION STATISTICS STATS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Statistics affect more facets of the game than can be listed. Heres a short run-down of some of what they affect, and definitions.

Strength: How strong you are. Affects the amount you can carry and how Hard you hit.

Intelligence: How smart you are. Affects how fast you learn.

Wisdom: How wise you are (common sense). Affects how many times you can practice.

Dexterity: How nimble you are. Affects how often you hit and get hit.

CHECK MAIL RECEIVE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: check mail receive

The commands used by the Dark Pawns Mail System (DPMS) are MAIL, CHECK, and RECEIVE. These commands can only be used while in an Official DPMS Post Office. You must be at least second level in order to use the DPMS.

Examples:

To check and see if you have any mail waiting:

check

To write mail to Niandra:

mail Niandra

To ask the Postmaster to give you your mail, if you have any waiting:

CHECKLOAD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: checkload < obj | mob >

Used to check where a particular mobile or object loads given its virtual number.

Examples:

checkload o 1300 (where does object 1300 load?) checkload m 1315 (where does mobile 1315 load?)

wizonly

CHOSEN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The CHOSEN flag means a mortal is chosen of the gods.

The CHOSEN character is basically a playtester for the game, and can both see and use WIZNET.

To speak to true imms only, use WIZNET #31 .

Mortals do not see the CHOSEN flag (even Chosen mortals) on anyone but themselves.

wizonly

CIRCLE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : circle

Use this command to circle behind an opponent and stab him in the back. This is basically a form of backstab that can be used in battle but does less damage. You can only attempt to circle when you are not being hit.

CIRCLEMUD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

C I R C L E M U D 3 . 0

CircleMUD was developed from DikuMUD (Gamma 0.0) by Jeremy “Ras” Elson at Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Computer Science. All code unique to CircleMUD is protected under a copyright by the Trustees of the Johns Hopkins University.

Many, many people contributed to CircleMUD in one way or another throughout the course of its development. Although it’s impossible for me to remember
them all, I’d like to extend special thanks to certain people:

CITIZENSHIP

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

You can buy citizenship in several cities in Dark Pawns for a small fee. Citizenship allows you to quit out in the safe room of that city and Return there upon re-entering the game. You can only be a citizen of one city at a time.

The “safe rooms” in the cities are generally the Temples or common Meeting places of the city.

CLAN CLANS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On Dark Pawns, CLANS are associations of players that have banded together for a specific purpose. Most CLANS are made up of adventurers who have decided to work together for mutual gain.

If you would like to form your own clan, you need to be over level 10 and enlist the aid of two other players (not multis) who are currently not in any other clans. After these requirements have been met, ask to speak to a God. Additionally, there is usually a minor quest or task involved in order to finalize the creation of your new clan.

CLASS CLASSES

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

See help on individual classes: THIEF CLERIC WARRIOR MAGE NINJA PSIONIC

There are also six additional remort-only classes: PALADIN, AVATAR, MAGUS, ASSASSIN, RANGER, MYSTIC.

Classes

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Classes

Source: darkpawns.com/class.html
Author: R.E. Paret (Frontline)
Preserved from Wayback Machine capture

Base Classes

THIEVES

Thieves are a shifty lot, and are known to have qualities that no other class offers. They are known to have dabbled in the Black Arts, and possess certain unique skills that make them a valuable addition to any adventuring party. Although prefering to stay inside cities, thieves can be found worldwide, eeking out an existance by robbing other humanoids blind.

CLEAR CLS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Clears the screen. Note that in most clients, this typically erases scrollback.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

CLERIC CLERICS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Clerics have an ancient belief in not carrying sharp weapons. Hence, they can only wield bludgeoning weapons. This class gives you the wisdom of peace, blessing and healing, though it is possible to learn more violent spells.

You can improve your spells by using the practice command.

1	turn
1	cure light
2	create food
2	create water
3	detect poison
4	detect align
4	cure blind
5	bless
6	holy ward
6	blindness
8	protection from evil
8	protection from good
9	cure critical
10	glyph of summoning
10	summon
10	remove poison
11	holy shield
12	word of recall
13	poison
14	dispel evil
14	dispel good
15	sanctuary
16	heal
22	group heal
23	mass heal
25	invigorate
26	remove curse
27	vitality
29	group recall

CODE CODING

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The source code that runs Dark Pawns was originally based on CircleMUD version 3.0 beta (pl11). It has evolved considerably since then, largely due to the efforts of the following people:

	dkarnes   Derek L. Karnes    Serapis
	stevet    Stephen Thompson   Orodreth
	rparet    R. E. Paret        Frontline

COLOR_TAGS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Colors are: &n - normal &d - black &D - gray &0 - background black &b - blue &B - bright blue &1 - background blue &g - green &G - bright green &2 - background green &c - cyan &C - bright cyan &3 - background cyan &r - red &R - bright red &4 - background red &m - magneta &M - bright magneta &5 - background magneta &y - yellow &Y - bright yellow &6 - background yellow &w - white &W - bright white &7 - background white Extra codes: &l - blink &o - bold &u - underline &e - reverse video && - single &

COLORSPRAY 'COLOR SPRAY'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘color spray’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : Versus spell for half damage.

Send a colorful but deadly spray at your victim. This spell is more powerful than the lightning bolt spell.

COMBAT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Combat is the very essence of Dark Pawns, when it is just the player or players against the mob in the field of battle. To that end, most of the SPELLS in the game are designed to aid you in combat in some way.

Combat on Dark Pawns takes the form of standard rounds. During each round, you have the opportunity to hit your opponent, and he or she has the opportunity to hit you. Different things can affect the rounds of combat, of course. As you get higher in level, most classes will gain extra ATTACKS to help you in battle. You may also use the combat skills you gain from leveling in battle, but be aware that some of these skills will “lag” you, causing you to miss rounds of combat. There are also multiple skills to “lag” your opponent. These rounds of combat continue until either the player is dead, the mob is dead, or one of you decides to FLEE from battle.

COMMANDS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: commands

The COMMANDS command gives a canonical list of all the known verbs.

Each command listed should have help available by typing “HELP ”.

COMPACT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: compact

This command toggles the extra blank line output to your screen after each command. Useful if you have a small display.

COMPARE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : compare

Compare two weapons, or two pieces of armor of the same type. Thieves and Assassins excel at this comparison, but everyone has a chance of comparing accurately.

See also: THIEF, ASSASSIN

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

Connection Instructions

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

directions*

all directions are from market square unless otherwise noted.

cities

alaozar: 20 east, 5 north, 2 east, 30 north

kir-oshi: 16 south, 14 west, 20 south, 4 east

haven: (waterwalk required) all east, north, 2 east, follow road south

xixieqi: (waterwalk required) 41 south

newbie zones

the cold village: 11 west, 7 north

trolls: 18 west, 7 south

ender: 13 south, 4 west, down

midbie zones

sea cave lagoon: (need waterwalk) 15 south, 28 east, 7 south, 2 west, south, west, south, west, north

CONSIDER

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: consider

This command gives a rough estimate of your opponent. Three things are considered: Your enemy’s strength, health, and level. So while they may be very powerful, and have be a much higher level, they may be almost dead, etc.

Example:

consider fido

Contact Information

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

contact*

Aidan: [aidan’s profile] [aidan’s email] [private message] [aidan’s AIM]

Tanis: [tanis’s profile] [tanis’s email] [private message] [tanis’s AIM]

  Name:




  E-mail:




  Comments:

we do not give out email addresses

COVERED COVER GLOW GLOWING HUM HUMMING

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If you see something in your EQUIPMENT list that has “covered” by it, it means just that: you have another piece of equipment covering it. I.e., gloves cover rings on your fingers. People looking at you can’t see items that are covered.

Humming and glowing equipment mean exactly what they say, too. The equipment hums (makes a vibrating noise) or glows with a faint light (not enough to see by, but enough to be seen in the dark).

CREDITS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The ‘credits’ command lists the DikuMUD credits.

For CircleMUD credits, type ‘help circlemud’.

For Dark Pawns-specific credits, type ‘help darkpawns’.

CTELL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: ctell [ ‘#’ ]

Use ctell to communicate privately with members of your clan that are currently online. Use ctell # to send a message to all clan members ranked and over.

ctell How is everyone today? ctell #5 Shh, here is a secret message for you guys.

CURSE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘curse’ <victim | object> Accumulative: Yes Duration : Several hours, permanent on objects.

Curse cast on a person that fails the saving throw, will reduce their hitroll and damage roll significantly. It will also reduce the saving throw versus paralysis by one. At higher levels, it is possible that a curse might cause the victim to have an unfortunate accident of the lethal type.

When cast upon an object, the object will become undropable.

CUTTHROAT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: cutthroat

With the proper weapon, you can slit their throat, making it hard for them to fight, heal, and generally making life hell until they are healed by magickal means.

See also: THIEF, ASSASSIN

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

DAMAGE RACE_SLAYER

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Some equipment is identified as: “Does extra damage to race: ”

These items, known as race slayers, are both coveted and hated. Although the damage bonus they give is powerful, the user of such weapons becomes hated and marked for death by all members of the target race.

DARK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: dark

This commands stops all fighting in the room, and stops any NPCs in the room from remembering. (Hey, you’re the jerk that attacked me!)

wizonly

DARKPAWNS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

               D  A  R  K     P  A  W  N  S    2  .  2

Dark Pawns version 2.2 is the result of over five years of work by many talented people. The current developer wishes to express his gratitude to all of those who have supported him in his development of Dark Pawns, as well those who laid the groundwork for his current work.

Pre Version 2.0 Credits:

Conceived, masterminded, and skillfully developed by Derek L. Karnes (Serapis). World design and conception by Oddity. Thank you to Bhang, Hardcase, Farthammer, Raven, Commax, Scythe, Skarash, Skullcrusher, Grimmy, and Daniel Muller for their code, ideas, time, areas and general coolness. A special thank you to Nimos for his fantastic areas and insight into mud design.

DATE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Shows the current real time. (Not a social) wizonly

DC

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: dc

DC (DisConnect) is used to disconnect a socket. If used on a playing socket, the player will lose his/her link, but, unlike PURGE, will not extract the player or dump the player’s inventory on the ground.

DC is also useful for disconnecting people who have accidentally left themselves at the main menu, or connections sitting in the “Get name” state.

DELETE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If you wish to delete your character, you may do so from the main menu, Which is displayed before entering and after quitting the game.

DEREK RICH STEVE TARRANT HENDRIK FRONTLINE FL ORODRETH ORO ARALIUS ARA HULK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Shit, he’s beyond help.

DIAGNOSE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: diagnose [character]

The DIAGNOSE command tells you how wounded a character looks. If you are fighting someone, you can use DIAGNOSE with no arguments to diagnose the person you’re fighting. This can be particularly useful if looking at your adversary has particularly nasty side effects.

Examples:

diagnose diagnose rasmussen

DIE DEATH CONDIE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When you die, you come back into the game in the temple. (Unless you own a CASTLE, in which case you come back into the game there.) All equipment and gold remains in your corpse at the place you died. To retrieve your objects, go back to where you died and get them from your body. Alternatively, you could RETRIEVE your corpse from the Mortician.

Every time you die, there is a chance you will lose 1 point of CONSTITUTION. If your constitution drops below 1, you will be dead forever. There are places within the game where constitution can be bought.

DIG

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: dig

Creates an exit leading

to , and the reverse direction, too. Dir can be: N S E W U or D.

Example:

You are in room 30000.

dig e 30001

You create an exit e to 30001.

e

You are in room 30001.

w

You are in room 30000.

wizonly

DISARM

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: disarm

Calling upon your skills, you attempt to disarm your opponent. Failed attempts are usually pretty messy.

DISEMBOWEL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: disembowel

An experienced vagabond can slice open the stomach of a victim with the proper weapon, spilling their victim’s guts everywhere. Performing this procedure is tricky, however, and usually takes some time.

See also: THIEF, ASSASSIN

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

DISINTEGRATION DISINTEGRATE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘disintegration’

This powerful spell calls forth a beam of raw energy that can be directed by the caster. Bewhere though, this energy is very unstable and can have devastating results if not used carefully!

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

DISMOUNT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: dismount

Used to get off of your favorite mode of transport.

DISPLAY PROMPT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: prompt < H | M | V | T | F | all | off >

Modify your prompt to show your hit points, mana, and/or movement points.

prompt hv Display hit points and movement points prompt t Display the status of the tank prompt f Display the status of the person you are fighting prompt all Display hit, mana, and move points, and status of tank and person you are fighting. prompt off Return to normal prompt

DOMINATE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : will ‘dominate’

The psionic forces his mental energies on the victim, over-coming any free thinking and assuming the ability to order the victim to do most anything.

DONATE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: donate donate coins

This command takes an object that you no longer want and deposits it in the donation room of Kir Drax’in to assist newbies in getting started. There is a 50% chance objects donated will wind up in a donation room in Kir Drax’in, a 25% chance objects donated will wind up in a donation room in Kir Oshi, and a 25% chance the item will be junked.

DREAM DREAMS NIGHTMARE NIGHTMARES

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When you sleep on Dark Pawns, there is a good chance that you might DREAM. Most people in the world consider DREAMS to be harmless, but many mystics and oracles consider dreams to be very important, even prophetic. DREAMS that occur in the Wyldlands are considered especially meaningful.

It is rumored that in the magick-rich Wyldlands DREAMS have the power to physically effect the dreamer, in essence, the DREAMS become real.

Some DREAMS are known to be savage and twisted in nature. These DREAMS are normally referred to as NIGHTMARES, and like their counterpart DREAMS, are more intense in the Wyldlands. Many adventurers report that their NIGHTMARES are most intense after they have been recently reincarnated.

DROP

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: drop drop all. drop all drop coins

If you lose interest in a carried item, you can drop it on the ground. You should always respect other players however and not leave your stuff littering the ground. To get rid of items, use JUNK or DONATE.

drop bottle drop all.bread drop all drop 1000 coins

DWARF

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dwarves are a noble race of demihumans who dwell under the earth, forging great cities and waging massive wars against the forces of chaos and evil. Dwarves also have much in common with the rocks and gems they love to work, for they are both hard and unyielding. It’s often been said that it’s easier to make a stone weep than it is to change a dwarf’s mind. Standing an average of four-and-a-half feet tall, dwarves tend to be stocky and muscular. They have ruddy cheeks and bright eyes. Their skin is typically deep tan or light brown. Their hair is usually black, gray, or brown, and worn long, though not long enough to impair vision in any way. They favor long beards and mustaches as well.

EARTHQUAKE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ’earthquake' Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : -

The spell causes an earthquake to occur in a small radius surrounding the caster. The earthquake will damage everyone in the room, save the caster and his or her friends.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

EAT DRINK SIP TASTE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: eat taste [from] drink [from] sip [from]

If you’re hungry or thirsty, these commands are for you!

eat bread taste bread drink from cup sip fountain

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

ECHO GECHO QECHO SEND

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: echo gecho send qecho

ECHO displays a string to everyone in your room. GECHO displays the string to everyone in the game. QECHO displays the string to everyone with the QUEST flag. SEND displays the string to a particular person.

Examples:

echo Hi, everyone in the room. gecho Hi, everyone in the game, isn’t this annoying? send rasmussen You are being watched. wizonly

ELF

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Though their lives span several human generations, elves appear at first glance to be frail when compared to man, due to their delicate and finely chiseled features. Elves have very pale complexions, which is odd because they spend a great deal of time outdoors. They tend to be slim, almost fragile, standing on average between five-and-a-half to over seven feet tall. Though they are not as sturdy as humans, elves are much more agile. Elves have learned that it is very important to understand the creatures, Both good and evil, that share their forest homes.

EMOTE :

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: emote :

Show people what you’re feeling. The shorthand is “:”.

“emote ” will display your name, then the string.

Example:

If your name is “Helt”,

emote is feeling very sad today.

will display:

Helt is feeling very sad today.

ENCUMBRANCE WEIGHT ENCUMBERANCE PTS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Encumbrance is a three-dimensional assessment of mass, weight, and occupied space. Basically it’s an assessment of how difficult something is to carry around. i.e. 2-foot lead pole and a 10-foot wooden pole have about the same encumbrance; the lead due mostly to weight; the wooden due mostly to the awkward length.

Encumbrance affects spell casting, and is measured in “points” for lack of a better unit.

ENTER

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: enter [place]

If you type ’enter’ while you are outdoors, you’ll enter any nearby shelter. You can also follow ’enter’ with an argument; for example, ’enter window’, or ’enter moongate'.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

EQUIPMENT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: equipment

Gives you a list of all the equipment you’re wearing, holding, and wielding.

Equipment Database

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

equipment*

This is the equipment section of the page. By no means is this meant to be a complete list of the extensive equipment available on Dark Pawns, but it is a reference for some of the best items you can attain, as well as “basic” items. Also available are racial weapons, the list of battleground items you need to make SBA, and much more. I’ve identified the equipment so you don’t have to. If you would like to contribute an item’s statistics that I’ve forgotten, please don’t hesitate to send the webmaster an email.

EVASION

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This skill will allow you to evade anyone who is tracking you, there is no Command to type; just practice the skill.

EXAMINE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: examine

May give you some valuable information about an item or monster. A little more detailed than LOOK.

EXITS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: exits

Gives you a list of the obvious exits from your location. Of course, the less obvious ones won’t show up here - you have to THINK in order to locate those.

EXPERIENCE XP

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Whenever you kill a monster, you earn experience points. When enough experience points are earned, you raise a level.

Things you should know about experience points:

When damaging a monster at low levels, you get experience points.
If you kill a monster of higher level than yourself, you get bonus experience points. If killing a monster of lower level you’ll gain less experience points

External Links

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

links*

the offical dark pawns homepage - contains general information about the game, an faq, city maps, and game updates.

the mud connector - the definitive resource for mudding on the web. well over a thousand different mud listings, resources for players and admins alike, as well as a message board.

<- back

FAQ

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

New players: The guard barracks on the Street of Swords is designed to help get you off to a good start in the world of Dark Pawns. Initially you are going to want to try to level just in there and the other newbie areas in Kir Drax’in. (Type HELP MAP for info on getting around the city)

Be sure to read the board in the Temple. It contains a lot of information about the game, and current events.

Features

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Features

Source: darkpawns.com/features.html
Author: R.E. Paret (Frontline)
Preserved from Wayback Machine capture

Dark Pawns has too many unique featues to list here, but this should give you a brief overview of what to expect if you are thinking of playing the game.

Dark Pawns is 100% rent free, just quit in your Temple to save your equipment.
Dark Pawns runs on a 30-level plus remort class system.
Six initial classes, plus Six remort only classes with new skills and abilities!
Vampirism and Lycanthropy for high level players!
A player racial system that actually means something! Includes special abilites, bonuses, race languages, racial hatreds, and more!
Dark Pawns features a world based upon realistic terrain, instead of areas tacked on to one another in a random fashion. The world is unique and truely massive, stretching across two continents and oceans.
A custom mobile AI that makes the mobs in the game more interactive than any other mud out there, and allows for in game quests, interactive combat, and player conversation with mobiles.
In the spirit of ‘party-based’ systems like Ultima and Final Fantasy, Dark Pawns encourages you to use up to three characters simultaneously.
Because Dark Pawns strives to be a ‘realistic’ dark fantasy mud, Player Killing is allowed, but we must stress that we are not a PK Mud.
Magical Tattoos, Talking Weaponry, and other very cool things.
Dreams and Nightmares
Advanced magic system with chanting, rituals, talismans, artifacts, and a ton of other neat stuff!
‘TAG! You’re it!’, Capture the Flag, and other annoying player on player games.
Always, 100% Dark Pawns original Dark Fantasy areas. No exceptions.

FILL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: fill

If you want to fill a container you’re holding with liquid from a fountain in the same room as you.

Example:

fill canteen fountain

FINGER WHOIS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : finger whois

Lists the level, class, name and title of , if they exist.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

FIREBALL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘fireball’

With a word of command, the caster shoots forth a ball of fire from his palm, incinerating the victim and dealing massive damage.

FLAGS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Players sometimes have FLAGS after their names in the WHO list. These flags are always in parentheses, not brackets or braces.

FLAG MEANING

(CHOSEN) Player is the Chosen of the Gods. (invis) Player is invisible; you can see him/her because you are sensitive to the presence of invisible things. (writing) Player is writing on the board; do not disturb. (mailing) Player is writing mail; do not disturb. (deaf) Player has chosen not to hear shouts. (notell) Player has chosen not to accept tells. (quest) Player is participating in a quest currently being run by the gods. (AFK) Player may be Away From the Keyboard and may not hear anything. (OUTLAW) Player is an OUTLAW.

FLEE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: flee

If you are in a fight and things are beginning to get a little uncomfortable (maybe you are dying), just type ‘flee’, and presto! You are out of harms way

that is, IF there is a suitable exit nearby, and IF that exit doesn’t simply bring you from the ashes to the fire… but then, who wants to live forever?

Fleeing from battle will also cost you some experience points, but hey, thats what you get for wimping out.

FLESH ALTER 'FLESH ALTER'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: alter

Flesh alter allows the mentalist to manipulate the molecules in their arm, hardening them into a weapon. While this skill is being used, no other weapon may be wielded. The weapon’s stats: tohit:(level/3)+1 todam:(level/2)+1

Level Weapon

1 - 3 club 4 - 6 dagger 7 - 9 axe (hand) 10-12 mace 13-15 flail 16-18 axe (battle) 19-21 axe (double-headed battle) 22-24 morning-star 25-27 sword (broad) 28-29 sword (long) 30 scythe

FLOW ROOM_FLOW ROOM_FLOW_NORTH FLOWING

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

These rooms push the inhabitants in the direction specified. The message “ drifts .” is sent to the room.

Sector-based drift messages can be created if needed. (i.e. For sector wind, perhaps “ is blown

.”)

Room inhabitants have a 50% chance of getting pushed every 10 and 15 seconds.

wizonly

FLY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘fly’

Look ma, I’m flying! Useful for getting around in places you can’t walk, like over water, deep chasms, sky castles, etc.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

FOLLOW

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: follow

Use FOLLOW to automatically follow someone else.

Examples:

follow ras follow self

FORCE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: force <victim | all>

FORCE forces a character, either monster or player, to perform a certain action. FORCE ALL forces everyone in the game; FORCE ROOM forces everyone in your room.

Example:

force fido drop meat force all save force room look fido

If you are invisible to the one being forced, the force will be performed silently. wizonly

Forum Statistics

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

DP-Players.com :: Board Statistics

| | DP-Players.com A forum for the MUD Dark Pawns.

Home Album FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Statistics

Register
Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in

DP-Players.com Forum Index

Statistics Overview
Administrative Statistics
Top Posters
Most Active Topicstarter
Most Active Topics
Most Viewed Topics
Top Smilies

Administrative Statistics
Statistic
Number of posts
Number of topics
Number of users
Board started
Database size
Latest User Registered Date
Most Users Ever Online Date
Gzip compression

Top Posters
Rank
1

	[Sinko](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=24&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	11%

	[Whistler](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	11%

	[Fred Sanford](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=20&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	[Doragar](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=5&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	[Vargus](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=26&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	[Morpheus](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=22&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	[Vintage](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=15&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	[Orodreth](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=27&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	[Bannor](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=35&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

Most Active Topicstarter
Rank
1

	[Morpheus](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=22&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	10%

	[Whistler](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	[Sinko](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=24&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	[Vintage](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=15&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	[Orodreth](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=27&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	[Doragar](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=5&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	[Tanis](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=3&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	[Vargus](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=26&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	[Teal](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=25&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

Most Active Topics
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Most Viewed Topics
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Top Smilies
Rank
1

	[icon_smile.gif]

	15%

	[icon_wink.gif]

	10%

	[icon_twisted.gif]

	:twisted:

	10%

	[icon_biggrin.gif]

	[cool.gif]

	:cool:

	[icon_sad.gif]

	[icon_cool.gif]

	[icon_eek.gif]

	:shock:

	[icon_rolleyes.gif]

	:roll:

Number of new posts by month
Year
2004

Number of new topics by month
Year
2004

Number of new users by month
Year
2004

Top posting users this month [August 2004]
Rank
1

	[Orodreth](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=27&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	33%

	[Escobar](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=46&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	33%

Top posting users this week [Mon - Mon]
Rank
1

	[Orodreth](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=27&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	33%

	[Escobar](http://www.dp-players.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=46&sid=7b2b82f2de6873987cdbbd12354f9517)

	33%

Statistics Mod Version 3 Demonstration (BETA3-2003-03-16)

FREEZE THAW

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: freeze thaw

FREEZE, originally invented here at CircleMUD (we think), is used to prevent a player from playing. If frozen, the game will ignore all commands entered by the player, including QUIT, until the player is unfrozen with THAW.

Obviously, this command should only be used in extreme disciplinary circumstances.

FRENCH

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Don’t you know how they kiss in France?? – try it!

Frequently Asked Questions

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

FAQ

Source: darkpawns.com/faq.html
Author: R.E. Paret (Frontline)
Preserved from Wayback Machine capture

Q: What are the races available on Dark Pawns, and what are the peculiarities of each?

[Race descriptions matching and expanding on the in-game help files — each race gets a more expansive treatment on the website than in the help system.]

Q: How do I survive without a cleric?

It is nearly impossible to survive without the assistance of a cleric in your party.

Game Guides & Tutorials

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

articles*

title	author	date
I. Determining Your Natural Abilities	Whistler	November 15, 2002
II. the Definative Newbie Guide	Aidan	March 8, 2003

<- back

Game Logs & Statistics

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

logs*

Fights set in stone.

amber (51)	arena and pvp (13)	desert (23)
dragons (41)	grey keep (19)	humor (4)
miscellaneous (18)	quests (3)	volcano (6)
wandering mobs
(23)

<- back

GATE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: cast ‘gate’

This spell, when cast in the secluded groves and magickal centers of energy where moongates normally appear, causes a portal to appear, regardless of the date or time.

This portal functions similar to other moongates; taking you to the farthest reaches of the cosmos where the moongates intersect in their faster-than-light paths of travel.

Casting this spell in a room where a gate already exists can have strange, far-reaching side-affects. Few have returned to tell what those side-affects actually are.

GET TAKE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

“Get” and “take” are exactly the same and can be used interchangeably.

Usage: get | take get | take all [object] get | take all all. get | take all. all.

If you find something interesting on the ground, you may use ‘get’ to pick it up. ‘get’ can also be used to extract items from containers.

Examples:

get sword corpse get all corpse get all all.bag get all.bread all.bag

GIVE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: give give coins

If you feel benevolent, you may give some stuff to someone in need.

give all ras give bread doctor give all.bronze mirlen give 40000 coins nia

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

GLANCE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: glance

Use GLANCE to get a rough estimate of how wounded your opponent is.

GOD GODS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Gods of Dark Pawns are a mysterious lot, preferring to remain obfuscated and mysterious to the mortal population. It is known that they do speak to some mortals, however.

GOLD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: gold

Displays how much gold you have. Gold is the primary currency in Dark Pawns and can be used to buy services, goods, and bribes to city officials and religious institutions.

GOTO TRANS WIZTELEPORT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: goto trans teleport

These commands are used to transports yourself and others to different rooms. GOTO allows you to go to other rooms; TRANS transports a person from wherever they are to the room YOU are in; TELEPORT transports your victim to some other location.

For both GOTO and TELEPORT, the location specifier can be either a virtual room number, or the name of a character or object.

Examples:

goto 3001 goto rasmussen trans fido teleport fido 3001 teleport fido 2.fido

GRAB HOLD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: grab hold

For getting a good grip on something; a torch, for example.

Examples:

hold torch grab stone

See also: EQUIPMENT, REMOVE, WEAR, WIELD

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

GROINRIP

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: groinrip

A popular street-fighting move, this dirty little trick leaves ’em puking in the aisles. The victim can be male only, of course.

See also: THIEF, ASSASSIN

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

GROUP

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: group [player] group all

GROUP with no arguments shows the status of your group. GROUP adds or removes from your group. GROUP ALL adds everyone who is following you to your group.

If you are a group member, then you will share experience points for killing monsters equally among the group. Experience points will only be shared among group members that are in the same location, at the time of the killing blow. Sharing is regardless of whether the group members have been participating in the fight.

GSAY GTELL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: gsay gtell

Tell something to all the members of your group, even if they’re not in the room.

GUILD GUILDS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Guildhouse is the place where mortals may go to escape the troubles and perils of a cruel world. Each guild is heavily guarded, so that only members may enter the building. Guilds are also the places where people come to learn and practice the skills of their trade.

&cGuild locations in Kir Drax’in: (see help MAP for more info)&n

&cThieves Guild&n - On the southern wall road.

&cWarriors Guild&n - On the Street of Swords

HANDBOOK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: handbook

Guidelines for having an Immortal character – you should read it. wizonly

HARM

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘harm’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : Versus spell for half damage.

Using this spell, a priest can inflict grievous harm upon his or her enemies.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

HASTE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : will ‘haste’ Accumulative : No Duration : Instantaneous

By use of this power, the Mystic can speed up his actions in movement as well as in combat.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

HCONTROL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: hcontrol build hcontrol destroy hcontrol pay hcontrol show

House control, controls the addition, removal, and payments of houses. Hcontrol show will show all the houses currently defined in the game along with their last ‘rent’ payment date.

HEADBUTT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: headbutt

Put the hurtin’ on ’em! (But wear protection!) A successful headbutt can leave the victim reeling, as well as doing a nice amount of damage.

See also: WARRIOR, PALADIN, RANGER

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

HEAL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘heal’ Accumulative: No Duration : Instantaneous

Heal will heal all the hitpoints from a person, except 1d4 points. Maximum 100 points can be healed. A victim who is blinded will also be cured by the heal spell.

HELLFIRE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘hellfire’ Accumulative: No Duration : Instantaneous

Summon the flames of hell to scorch thy enemies. Let the pretenders drown in the fiery grave you create for them.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

HELP ?

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: help [command] ? [command]

Help searches for a partial match of the entered word, including any spaces that may follow the word. Help alone will give a list of the most common commands in the game.

Examples:

help magic mis will find the help text for the magic missile spell.

help mag will match ‘magic user’ or ‘magic missile’ depending on first occurrence in the help file.

? help will give you this help file

HIDE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When you type hide there is a chance that you hide in the room. If hidden you can only be “sensed” by the “sense life” spell. Even if sensed your identity will remain hidden. If you perform any action while hidden, there is a good chance that you will be discovered. It is possible to do things and remain hidden, however.

See also: SNEAK, THIEF, ASSASSIN, RANGER

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

Historical News Posts

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Main Page / News

Source: darkpawns.com/main.html
Author: R.E. Paret (Frontline)
Preserved from Wayback Machine capture

News Posts

OUTLAW System

[Post by Frontline introducing the OUTLAW system — a mechanic for handling player killing with consequences rather than free-for-all PvP.]

The Aiko Story

A player mudding during a lecture had their speakers on and got paged roughly 20 times by in-game notifications, disrupting the entire class.

Moral of the story: Turn your speakers down if you are going to mud during lecture. :)

History of Dark Pawns

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

history*

a brief history of dark pawns

Recorded by: Frontline

This is the unabridged history as best anyone can remember. There is likely some stuff missing. If you know what it is, send us a mudmail and we’ll get it corrected. This is an updated version of the history of DP originally written by Orodreth circa 1999.

| September 1994 | DP is Born! It is based upon CircleMUD 1.7 and ran on knight.ufp.org. At this time Serapis (D. Karnes) and Tracer

HITROLL HR DAMROLL DR 'SAVING SPELL' 'SAVING THROW' THROW SAVING

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Hitroll, Damroll and Saving Throws are some of the raw mechanics of Dark Pawns. A few brief definitions:

Hitroll: Your chance to hit someone during combat, as applied to their AC. Plus hitroll is good, minus hitroll is bad.

Damroll: The amount of damage you do in addition to the average per round damage of your weapon. Again, plus is more damage, minus, less damage.

Saving Throws: How well your character is protected against certain specialized attacks, like spells, breath weapons, and petrification. Minus saving throws indicates better protection against a certain type.

HOLYLIGHT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: holylight

A toggle which allows you to see: Invisible people and objects, even if you don’t have ‘detect invisibility’ Hidden people, even if you don’t have ‘sense life’ Dark rooms, even if you don’t have a light

It is expected most immortals will keep HOLYLIGHT on most of the time; it exists so that you have the ability to see what mortals see for debugging purposes. wizonly

HOME

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: home home

This command sets your load room. The standard home is 1204. Certain rooms, like other immortals private rooms, cannot be made your home. wizonly

HOMETOWN HOMETOWNS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Your hometown is the city that you have residence in. Being a citizen in Your hometown entitles you to quit there for free. Anyone can quit for free in the Temple in the free city of Kir Drax’in. Other hometowns may require you to pay a fee to become a citizen there.

Your hometown is displayed in the SCORE listing. When you recall, you Will recall to your hometown. If you quit out in your hometown, you will start there, if you quit out someplace else (like in Kir Drax’in) you will start there.

HOUSE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: house guest house transfer

The HOUSE command is used to add or remove guests from your house’s guest list. You must be standing in your house to use this command. Only the primary owner of a house (not guests) may change the guest list using the HOUSE command.

The HOUSE command can also transfer ownership of the house from one player to another. If you do this and wish to retain access to the house, make sure the transfering character is on the guest list before you transfer!

HUMAN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Humans are the most common race on this world, and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. The appearance of humans are not the only thing that varies about them, though, some are evil as sin, while others are good as good can be, but most you shall find on your adventures are neutral, and will just mind their own business and pay no attention to the affairs of adventurers. Also, humans are the only race that can become ninjas, the dangerous oriental mercenaries. They adapt easily to most climates, allowing them to build cities in almost any location.

IDENTIFY IDENTIFIER

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ferrenx the Identifer, whose shop is located off of Main Street in the City of Kir Drax’in, will identify equipment, for a price.

IDLIST

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This creates a text file on the server with a list of all the items in the game. Each item is described as if it had been identified in game.

IMOTD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: imotd

Displays the Immortal message of the day. This file usually contains new information on commands recently added, new features and other important information that immortals should be aware of.

IMPLEMENTOR

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The most powerful being in existence.

INACTIVE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: inactive

This command toggles your “inactive” status. While inactive, you don’t get hungry or thirsty, but you don’t heal or regenerate movement or mana, either.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

INFO NEWS POLICY VERSION FUTURE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

These commands show you important information about Dark Pawns. It is a good idea to read them every once in a while.

info - useful information about the game for beginners faq - even more of the same useful information news - latest changes to the code and areas policy - policies on topics like player killing, multis, etc. credits - DikuMUD credits version - displays the current Dark Pawns release number future - what new things are coming down the line

INFOBAR

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: infobar infobar <on | off>

This will allow a status bar to develop on your screen. It assumes a 24 lines by default screen. Helpful information will be there instead of in your prompt. It can be resized with the “lines” command.

INFRAVISION

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘infravision’ Accumulative: Yes (Duration) Duration : Varies by level of caster

Allows the caster to detect the heat given off by objects giving them the ability to have much better vision in dark conditions.

INN INNS CRYOGENIC CRYO RECEPTION

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

There is no Rent on Dark Pawns, so just quit in the Temple in your home town, and your equipment will be saved.

See also: RENT, HOMETOWN, QUIT, REALLYQUIT

INVENTORY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: inventory

If you’re uncertain about what you’re carrying, or simply want to check that no thieves have got to your backpack.

See also: EQUIPMENT, GRAB, HOLD, REMOVE, WEAR

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

INVIGORATE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘invigorate’

This spell alleviates the pains of traveling, leaving the victim refreshed and ready to continue their journey.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

INVIS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: invis [level]

INVIS sets your invisibility level. With no argument, invis toggles between making you fully visible and fully invisible. If you specify a level, only people at and above the level you specify will be able to see you.

Examples:

invis invis 31

INVISIBILITY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘invisibility’ <victim | object> Accumulative: No Duration : 12 hours + level/2

Makes the target of the spell invisible to everyone except those who have the “detect invisibility” spell.

INVULNERABILITY INVULN GLOBE 'GLOBE OF INVULNERABILITY'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘globe of invulnerability’ Accumulative : No Duration : Varies

Drako’s minor globe of invulnerability is an ancient spell, powerful and efficient. It protects the victim from a variety of attacks, as well as increasing resistance to certain magickal offenses.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

JAIL GUARDS GUARD CITYGUARD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kir Drax’in Law states that no violence is allowed in the city. Offenders Are thrown in jail for a short period of time – very short, due to the Number of offenses in a given day. Be warned that cityguards are given leeway to kill offenders in protection of their own lives, and of course are always to rid the city of WEREWOLVES and VAMPIRES.

JUNK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: junk junk coins

Use JUNK instead of DROP if you want to keep the world a little cleaner. If you JUNK something, it will disappear and you’ll get a few coins or experience points, just as if you had dropped it in the dump.

Examples:

junk cup junk all.bronze junk 500 coins

KABUKI

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : kabuki

Named after the ancient Oriental play-acting, this skill hides the user, if successful. You can only been sensed by the “sense life” spell, or seen by a thorough search (The seeker types “look at ”, for example.) If you perform any actions while using kabuki, you will be discovered. However, there is a small chance that you will be able to perform certain actions and still remain hidden.

KENDER

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kender are small, kind, but somewhat annoying, elf-like beings that have recently spread across the globe. They do not seem to have any sort of kingdom and most are found just wandering throughout the lands, exploring. Although some are trained thieves, the whole of the kender race seems to have a knack for stealing, and occasionally, without even noticing it sometimes, they have been known to steal from friends and enemies alike. They act much like humans, but four things make a kender’s personality drastically different from that of a typical human. Kender are utterly fearless, insatiably curious, unstoppably mobile and independent, and will pick up anything that is not nailed down.

KICK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: kick

The first type of combat learned by a warrior. The success of a kick depends upon how well you are learned. The higher level you reach the harder you kick.

See also: BASH, RESCUE, WARRIOR, PALADIN, RANGER

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

KILL HIT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: kill hit

A good way to start a fight. Not a good idea to hit other players.

KISS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Well can’t you guess?

KUJI-KIRI RIN KYO TOH SHA KAI JIN RETSU ZAI ZHEN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Kuji-Kiri (“nine ways cutting”) is a form of mystical meditation involving finger interlacing. The ninja is taught nine different ways to interlace his fingers, each with its own symbolic significance. By meditating on this gesture, the ninja can grant himself certain powers of a temporary (about 5 game hours) nature.

Power - Meaning - Affect

Rin - “protection” - armors the ninja Kyo - “direction of energy” - performance in battle increases Toh - “force and vulnerability” - more power, less defense Sha - “healing” - hit points increase Kai - “the strength within” - less power, more defense Zhen - “endurance” - vitality increases Retsu - “mastery of time and space” - ninja teleports Zai - “the mask of illusion” - ninja becomes invisible Jin - “regeneration” - increased healing

LAST

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: last <player_name>

For checking the last time a person logged on, their sitename, and their ID number.

Example:

last ras [ 24] [14 Cl] Ras : somesite.edu : Tue May 16 22:07:09 1995

LAY HANDS 'LAY HANDS'

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: cast “lay hands”

This prayer-spell brings a flow of healing through the Paladin’s hands, restoring health to himself.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

LEAVE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: leave

If you feel claustrophobic, typing ’leave’ will make you use the nearest obvious exit to the outside.

LEG LEGEND LEGENDS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

These are gods that have contributed a lot to the world that is Dark Pawns. They have decided, for whatever reason, to move onto new and better things.

Respect them, because the rest of the Pantheon does.

LEVELS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: levels

Lists the levels of your class and the experience required to attain each level.

LEVITATE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : will ’levitate’

Using the power of mind-over-matter, the psionic can levitate himself into the air, hovering 2-3 feet above the ground (or water).

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

LINES

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: lines lines

Allows you to set the number of lines you have to your screen. It can range anywhere from 7 to 50 inclusive. Without an argument, this command will tell you what your current screen is set at. This number is only used in the infobar and OLC for immorts.

LINK LINKLESS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A lot of players have problems with their links to the game. This can be very hazardous to your health in the middle of a battle, of course.

I. If your link is broken, you will automatically attempt to flee each time someone attempts to hit you. If you manage to flee, then you will be saved by divine forces, and put in a safe place until you reconnect to the game.

LIST

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: list [item type]

If you’d like to see what items a shop has for sale, take a look at the list. The list contains all of the items currently for sale and in what quantity. The price for each item is also listed. If you are interested in a particular type of item, you can specify which items to list.

Examples:

list (list all items for sale) list sword (list all swords for sale)

LOAD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: load <mob | obj> load <mob | obj>

LOAD is used to create mobiles and objects. The first argument specifies if you are trying to load a mobile or an object; the second is the virtual number or name.

Example:

load obj 8099 You create a bulletin board.

load mob 8005 You create the receptionist.

load mob warg You create the hybrid warg.

load obj ring You’re not godly enough for that! (This is because load-by-name attempts to load lowest-vnumbered object with that name, and Tracer’s ring is above your load limit.)

LOOK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: look look [in | at] [the] look

For studying your surroundings.

Examples:

look
look AT the angel look IN the bag look south (May give some information as to what is south)

Note that if you LOOK AT CORPSE you will not see its inventory. To see what’s inside a container (i.e. a corpse) use LOOK IN .

Looking in directions will show you either a description of the door in that direction (if any), a generalized one line description of what lies in that direction, or the actual room itself. Players may turn off full room listings while using look [direction] by playing in BRIEF mode.

LUAEDIT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: lua [directory] [file[.lua]]

Edit or view a lua script depending on your level. If a filename is not provided it lists all scripts in the given directory.

Leave a script blank to delete it.

wizonly

LYCANTHROPY WEREWOLF WEREWOLVES LYCANTHROPE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Werewolves (also known as lycanthropes) are part man and part wolf, known for their excessive appetites and superior strength.

Werewolves are created by the darkest of magicks, or (more commonly) the BITE of another werewolf. Lycanthropy is almost like a disease, spreading through populations and transforming them entirely into werewolves who soon crowd themselves into extinction by devouring the available food supply – and each other.

Lycanthropes can harness the power of the moon, TRANSFORMing at night to assume their werewolf form. Based on the phase of the moon, the werewolf gains up to two times normal hitpoints (Quarter moon being the smallest gain, full moon being the largest.) Werewolves can not transform if there is no moon in the sky (i.e. in the new moon phase).

MAGICK MAGIC

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Magick is defined as the energy field that surrounds the world, giving it existence. Mortals skilled in the magickal arts are able to manipulate this energy to their own benefit, either through sorcery, the violent magick of wizards, or through prayers to an idol or deity spirit, as clerics and avatars do. The civilized world fears sorcery and sorcerers for their destructive powers, but they have no problem with religious magicks. Thus, clerics and other religious powers dominate modern civilization’s societal government.

MAGUS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Magus represents the extreme power of magickal spellcraft, wielding power on a cosmic scale, able to create, destroy, or shape realities at whim. Because of the destabilizing effect magic has on the humanoid psyche, as well as the intense lifelong training and study, the class of Magus is remort only.

Spell list:

1	flame arrow
1	infravision
2	acid blast
2	detect invisibility
2	detect magic
3	chill touch
4	invisibility
5	burning hands
6	strength
7	shocking grasp
8	sleep
9	lightning bolt
9	blindness
10	detect poison
11	color spray
12	waterwalk
12	sense life
13	energy drain
14	curse
15 	fireball
20	gate
20	hellfire
21	metalskin
    22      waterbreathe
22	fly
23	group invisibility
23	flame strike
[24](/help/info/attitude-attitudes-24-atti/)	enchant armor
25	disintegrate
26	enchant weapon
27	ray of disruption
28	globe of invulnerability
29	conjure elemental
    30      meteor swarm

MANA

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mana is used when casting spells. You must have a certain amount of mana in order to cast any particular spell. If you do not have enough mana to cast the spell you must rest until you gain enough points to cast.

MAP

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

—–—–—–—–—–—–* | | | | * ––––––* | | | | | | * –WG * * | | | | | | * | * * M- * | * | | | | AP--MG | | | -1- | | * GB– | | | –LM * | | * | CG | | | | | | | * AA ——T——- Z CT * | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | –––––––————-––––––* | | | | | | | | | * P D | | | | * A –I B RO NG LG PG * | | J | | | | | | | | | | | | | –———–––————-––––––– | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | * * TP * G * W ID Bk Jl * | | | | | | * * * | | | | | | * * * | | | | | | * – * | | | | | | | | * TG * Sl DD S – | | | | | | | | | | | | ———–––————-––––––* | |

METALSKIN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: cast ‘metalskin’ Accumulative: Yes Duration: Varies Save: -

Causes the target’s skin to turn metallic, protecting them from damage.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

MINOTAUR

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Minotaurs are either cursed humans or the offspring of minotaurs and humans. They are usually found dwelling in underground labyrinths, for they seem to have an innate ability to maneuver in these places, and do not often lose their sense of direction. Minotaurs are huge, well over seven feet tall, and their broad bodies ripple with muscles. They have the head of a bull but the body of a human male, there have been accounts of female minotaurs, but they are rare. The color of their fur ranges from brown to black, while their body coloring varies, as would a normal humans. Although they usually dwell in mazes beneath the earth, it is noted that they also see very well in forests.

MOB MOBILE NPC MOBS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Generic term for any Non-Playing Character in the game.. i.e. “monsters”.

MOLD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: mold

Makes an object have a TEMPORARY name and description. This only lasts until reboot or owner’s logout, at which point the oject reverts to what it started as. Only certain objects are moldable- a halo, clay, or playdoh(tm).

Ex: > load o clay You create some clay. > mold clay shit a pile of shit The clay hardens as you magically create a pile of shit. > give shit Oddity You give a pile of shit to Oddity.

MOONGATE MOON

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

There exists an extraordinary cosmic association between the gravity of The moon and the delicate fabric of time and space. As though pulling the strings of some cosmic marionette, the moons cause radiant moongates to appear on the land below. Step through one of these shimmering corridors of light and you will be transported to a new time or place. Moongates generally appear at locations where fragments of extraterrestrial rocks called ‘moonstones’ have been buried. There are at least two types of moongates – blue and red.

MOTD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: motd

Displays the message of the day. Contains important information regarding the status of the MUD. You should be sure to read it when you login. If you miss it at login, just use this command!

MUD Client Downloads

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

downloads*

Anything you could ever need to MUD.

mud clients

gMUD v1.9b (206kb)

Your standard MUD client. Freeware, ANSI support, relatively small scrollback buffer, trigger and alias support.

MUSHClient v3.45 (1.35mb) - One of the more feature-rich MUD clients available. Seemingly endless scrollback buffer; this one seems to be more popular with the trigger-reliant mudders. This is shareware, so the full program costs $20. Or you can use a serial code.

MULTI MULTIPLAY MULTI-PLAY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dark Pawns has been designed to be a challenging mud. Because of this, Playing only one char who doesn’t group with other players will prove to be tough. At first, a solo player should be able to do fine by themselves. However, it will take some time to level and earn decent equipment. Once you get into the mid levels though, going solo might prove to be extremely difficult. A level 1 player fighting a level 1 mob is about even. A level 15 player fighting a level 15 mob doesn’t probably stand a chance.

MURDER

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: murder

Kill command to hit another player. To avoid accidental flagging (i.e. trying to type “kiss Nia” but accidentally typing “kill Nia”).

MUSHROOM

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Magic mushrooms are created by clerics with the “create food” spell. The mushroom given to new players at the start of the game is edible and not poisonous.

MUTE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: mute

MUTE is used to shut a player up. When muted, a player will not be able to use most communication channels until he/she is unmuted.

MYSTIC MYSTICS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Mystic is an esthetic, a psionicist who has achieved a level of peace and enlightenment unknown to other mortals. The Mystic is a true master of time and space with his amazing mental powers, and can be quite a deadly foe if enraged. Mystics tend to lead a detached, intellectual lifestyle, but some have decided to use their considerable mental prowess to fight for Good or Evil. Because of the intense training needed to attain their enlightened state, the class of Mystic is Remort only.

NAMED

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Named items: These objects should have a namelist consisting of the short descrip minus the leading article. Example: name: emerald ring short_descrition: an emerald ring long description: An emerald ring lies here. When worn, the ring’s short descrip becomes For example, if Bob wears the ring above, you’d look at Bob and see: Bob’s emerald ring

wizonly

NBK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Natural Born Killer

NECKBREAK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: neckbreak

The trained master of ninjitsu can execute a one-time attempt to break his victims neck quickly. Success deals nearly lethal damage to the victim, failures are usually quite messy.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

NEWBIE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Newbie is a term used to describe people who are new to MUDding, and sometimes just one particular MUD. As a newbie you start out with a few choice pieces of equipment and enough food to last until you gather enough money to buy more. The INFO and POLICY commands will tell you the rules and basics of Dark Pawns, and the NEWS file will keep you updated on various added features. Also, check out help FAQ, which has the answers to some of frequently asked newbie questions.

NINJA NINJAS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The ninja is a member of the oriental society of mercenaries; A master of the ancient secret stealth combat style called ninjitsu. They have abilities that no other class can offer. Ninja have no remort class. Because of the stealthy style of their combat, Ninjas are barred from using shields of any sort. Ninjas may only be human.

Skills list:

1	strike of revenge
2	kuji-kiri kyo
3	stealth
4	serpent kick
5	escape of the mongoose
5	kuji-kiri sha
7	kabuki
8	kuji-kiri zai
9	kuji-kiri kai
11	tiger punch
12	kuji-kiri retsu
13	subdue
15	kuji-kiri toh
17	evasion
18	kuji-kiri rin
20	dragon kick
22	kuji-kiri jin
25	kuji-kiri zhen
26	cutthroat
28	neckbreak
29	smokescreen
30	soul leech

NOBITS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The term “NOBITS” is mud slang for “Has no bits”. What it means, essentially, is that the item has no special affects to it. It doesn’t do anything remarkable.

NOHASSLE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: nohassle

Toggles a flag to prevent aggressive monsters from attacking. wizonly

NOISE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The noise option for mobs adds an interesting element to the mud. The noise of the mob is heard through all the exits of his room. Now if you create a room that can only be exited and place a noisey mob within. The mob will project his noise through the exits into the other rooms. A player in these rooms will hear the noises, but will not know their origins. Application: Haunted House -moaning spirits- : Monster cave -drums in the deep- But the noise option doesn’t need to be limited to noises. Using the noise option the mud simply states your noise statement as you have written in. O)Noise : You here the chirping of crickets. > You hear the chirping of crickets. With this idea in mind you can create non-noise ’noises’. Using the noise option and the ‘hidden’ mob, you can create enviromental effects. Ex. ‘You feel a cool breeze’, ‘You stumble on the slick floor.’
These effects will continue to occur at the same interval as regular noises, but because the mob is unreachable and unkillable (!SUMM,SENTINEL), The noise will never end. Application: Sea shore -breeze- : Garbage heap -trip- : Wet cavern -slip-

NOREPEAT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: norepeat

This command toggles whether or not you see your communication echoed back to you (i.e., from commands such as SAY, SHOUT, HOLLER, GOSSIP, etc.) Useful if you have a slow connection or if it just annoys you.

NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST UP DOWN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: north south east west up down

To travel in a given direction. To see directions available for travel, use EXITS or better yet AUTO EXIT.

NOSHOUT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: noshout

NOSHOUT toggles whether or not you hear shouts. (deaf) will appear after your name in the WHO list.

See also: FLAGS, HOLLER, SHOUT, TOGGLE, WHO

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

NOSUMMON

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: nosummon

When nosummon is on, players and monsters can not summon you easily. T his does NOT mean you are totally protected against summoning, however.

NOTELL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: notell

Use NOTELL if you wish to prevent other players from using “tell” to communicate with you. (notell) will appear after your name in the WHO list if you have notell on.

NOTITLE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: notitle

Prevent players from being able to set their own titles; i.e., if the player consistently has an offensive title. The definition of offensive is left as an exercise for the reader.

NOWIZ

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: nowiz

Allows you to hear or ignore messages coming over the wiznet.

NUMBER ATTACKS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

All classes get a chance for a third attack at level 30, warrior and fighter-type classes get it a bit sooner. The chance for second attack is reached around level 15 to 20, depending on class.

OBSIDIAN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Obsidian is a spell REAGENT, used in the flame arrow spell.

OFFER RENT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: offer rent

RENT has been disabled. See QUIT. If you have an item that is , it will disappear when you quit.

RENT files time out with inactivity. Normal rent files (where you QUIT normally) will timeout and be deleted after 30 real life days of inactivity. This means that if you do not log into the mud every month, your items will be deleted. In the event of a crash save or idle save, the timeout period is 10 days. If for some reason the mud goes down for more than 10 days, these restrictions may be lifted.

OLC

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: olc [save]

Lists the olc’d areas that need saving. With the ‘save’ option, it saves all areas that need saving.

See also: REDIT, SEDIT, OEDIT, MEDIT, ZEDIT, TEDIT, SET wizonly

OPEN CLOSE LOCK UNLOCK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: open | close | lock | unlock [direction]

To open, close, lock, and unlock doors, of course.

Examples:

open portal lock door unlock door south close gate

ORDER

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: order order followers

Used for ordering pets and charmed people to do your evil bidding. You can order everyone under your command with “order followers”.

Examples:

order puppy eat bread order cityguard sleep order followers kill Link

OUTLAW OUTLAWS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

You are an OUTLAW on Dark Pawns if you have pkilled or stolen from another player. Outlaws are generally not well liked and are known to be hunted to the death by many blood-thirsty and vengeful adventurers.

Note: A player who wishes to become an OUTLAW should think long and hard about the choice, as the consequences for being an OUTLAW are as severe as one might expect.

PAGE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: page <player | all>

PAGE is used to send a message, along with a beep, to another player. Use PAGE ALL to send a message and a beep to everyone in the game.

Examples:

page rasmussen Hey, are you still at the keyboard? page all GAME WILL BE SHUTTING DOWN IN 10 MINUTES

Do not abuse this command. wizonly

PALADIN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

PALADINS

The Paladin is the warrior of the church, sent out to further the church interests across the land in a provisional sense. Paladins are also the leaders of the churches armies, and are typically fanatical and deadly fighters who have mastered their art. Because of the large amount of training and religious study that are involved, the class of Paladin is remort only.

Skills and Spells:

1	kick
3	bash
3	rescue
4	sharpen
5	detect alignment
5	retreat
7	bearhug
8	berserk
9	track
10	lay hands
12	sleeper
13	parry
14	dispel evil
14	dispel good
15	headbutt
17	slug
20	smackheads
23	charge
25	protection from evil
25	protection from good
30	disarm

PALM

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : palm

Used for getting an item without getting noticed. A successful palm of an item lets you acquire it (to your inventory) with no one noticing. A failed palm is just like a normal “get ”.

Only items in the room can be palmed, not objects in containers. The Smaller the object, the easier it is to palm.

PARDON

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: pardon

Removes killer and thief flags from a player. wizonly

PARRY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: parry

Used to strike a defensive stance and parry (counter) the attacks of your opponent. Most effective on opponents with multiple attacks. A successful parry will counter one of your opponents attacks. A higher dexterity means that more of your opponent’s attacks will be countered.

Parry is sometimes automatic once you have learned the skill. It occurs reflexively in combat, with greater skill providing more frequent parries.

See also: WARRIOR, PALADIN, RANGER

PAW

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Pansy-ass whiner; also known as “Delete me because I’m a fool”

PEEK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: peek

When being caught staring could be bad for your health, peek lets you size up your victim without being noticed. A failed peek is just like a normal “look ”; however it’s hard to tell if you’re noticed. (Unless of course, they start pounding on you.)

See also: THIEF, ASSASSIN

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

PK 'PLAYER KILLING' PKILL PKILLING PKILLER

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Player killing is allowed on Dark Pawns but, as in life, there can be serious consequences to killing another intelligent being.

If you kill another player, you will be flagged as an OUTLAW. OUTLAWS are not well liked by the “civilized” city-states on Dark Pawns, and they are likely to take measures to keep OUTLAWS out of their cities. In addition, some vigilante-type mobs are known to hunt OUTLAWS for bounties, or just for fun.

Player Photos

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

player pictures*

putting a face behind the character. click thumbnail to view full sized image.

aidan

arthur

bannor

chronic

crowley

deus

dralin

hatsumi

jaxom

kaije

kensei

kiljaeden

mar

masamune

morpheus

mustard

oak

predator

Player Quotes & Humor

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

quotes*

DP Players say the darndest things.

Bannor junks a badly dented breastplate. It vanishes in a puff of smoke!

Bannor has been rewarded by the gods!

299H 366M 153V >

Bannor junks a badly dented breastplate. It vanishes in a puff of smoke!

Bannor has been rewarded by the gods!

299H 366M 153V >

Bannor junks a badly dented breastplate. It vanishes in a puff of smoke!

Bannor has been rewarded by the gods!

Player Roster

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

who’s on-line*

Visible	Level	Class	Name
0h0m	30	Avatar	Selene [!Feminism]

Number of immortals online: 0 (max seen: 1)

Number of players online: 1 (max seen: 26)

Page updated: 05:35PM Jun 12, 2004 (EDT).

POINT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: point point point point

Used for… pointing things out. Remember what your mother said however… its not nice to point.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

POISON

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘poison’ <victim | food | drink> Accumulative: No. Duration : Permanent on food and drinks.

Casting poison on food or drink (containers) will poison it. Eating poisoned food/drinks will poison the person eating or drinking.

A person who is poisoned will suffer damage every hour, lose strength, and regenerate less points than usual.

See also: “REMOVE POISON”, “DETECT POISON”

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

POOFIN POOFOUT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: poofin poofout

Sets the message seen by players when you use GOTO to move to a different room. POOFIN with no argument resets your poofin to the default “ appears with an ear-splitting bang”; POOFOUT with no argument defaults to “ disappears in a puff of smoke.” Your POOFOUT message also appears when you use the HOME command.

Ex: poofin You cream as Ayesha enters the room. poofout Your heart melts as Antryg blows kisses and walks away.

POUR

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: pour pour out

If you want to pour some liquid from one container to another. Pouring out simply empties the contents of the container onto the ground.

Examples:

pour canteen cup pour cup out

PRACTICE PRACTICE TRAIN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: practice [skill or spell name]

Practice is the way you improve your spells and skills. You can only do so in your guild, where your guildmaster can help you train. Type “practice ” to improve your abilities while in your guild. You can only practice a certain amount for each level you gain. Unused practice sessions will accumulate for use in future levels.

If you type practice anywhere other than in your guild, you will get a List of all of the spells and skills you know and your level of proficiency At each. For spells, you also get your current mana cost to cast them.

PSIBLAST

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : will ‘psiblast’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous Save : versus psychic for half damage

This incredibly powerful psionic attack is capable of devastating an opponent. The psionic must be careful, however, for this power is difficult to control. There is a chance that a psiblast might backfire on the psionic, causing permanent brain damage to him or her.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

PSIONICIST PSIONICS PSIONIST PSIONIC PSIONICS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A Psionicist (Psionic) is the master of the mind. The amazing mental abilities of this class can be a very powerful assistant in battle.

List of Powers:

1	mind poke
1	flesh alter
2	psychic shield
3	lesser perception
4	mindsight
5	mind attack
6	chameleon
7	adrenaline
8	levitate
9	mind blast
11	change density
13	dream travel
15	shift reality
18	greater perception
20	dominate
    22      mirror image
23	cell adjustment
25	mental lapse
26	psiblast
28	mind bar

PSTEAL 'PLAYER STEALING' PSTEALING

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Stealing from other players is allowed on Dark Pawns.

To steal from other players, you must be flagged as an OUTLAW. All the gorey details of this flag are listed in its help file.

You may NEVER junk equipment that you have stolen from other characters. Junking of stolen equipment represents an irreplacable loss to the character whose item it was. If you junk equipment you steal, you will be removed from the game.

PUDDLE PUDDLES

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Puddles are formations of liquid occurring from rain or other liquid Collecting in one spot. They dry up and disappear after a short time, or after their contents are consumed.

PURGE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: purge [name]

Purge destroys things. If used with no arguments, it will clear a room of all mobiles and objects, but will not harm players. If the argument is an object, that object (and all of its contents, if any) will be destroyed. If the argument is a mobile, the mobile will be destroyed, leaving its inventory and equipment lying on the ground.

If the argument is the name of a player, the player’s inventory and equipment will drop on the ground and the player will lose his/her connection. For this reason, PURGE should only be used on players in disciplinary situations.

PURGEPLAY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is done periodically by an admin to clean out stale players. These are the cut off points for those players (and gods in fact):

Level Time Idle (to be purged) 1 10 days 2-4 20 days 5-10 30 days 11-30 60 days Immortal 120 days Gods 120 days

This is going to be done every few months when the player file grows too big. That is the way it has to be, there were too many non-players in that database.

PUT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: put put all. put all

For putting items into containers.

Examples:

put bread bag put all.bread bag put all chest

QSAY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: qsay

To tell something to everyone on the current Quest.

QUAFF POTION POTIONS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: quaff

Quaff is used to “drink” a (magical) potion. The magic will take effect immediately, for better or for worse…

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

QUEST

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: quest

This simple toggle command merely informs the Powers that Be that you wish to participate in the currently running Quest. If an immortal is running a Quest and needs to know who wishes to participate, he/she will ask players to turn on their Quest flags using this QUEST command if they are interested in the Quest. It also allows you to listen in on the quest channel and receive information specific to the quest.

QUEST! - The Battle of Lost Souls

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Orodreth — Wed Jul 14, 2004 11:33 am

I’m sorry that I have not posted a winnAr. Work has been killing me and I recently had eye surgery so I am not in the best frame of mind for this. A final decision will be posted Very Soon Now (tm). Thanks.

Orodreth — Mon Aug 02, 2004 3:42 pm

Update: The winners have been picked and the items updated on the live mud. I am in the process of figuring out the prize structure.

QUI SHUTDOW

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Just to prevent accidental quittings and/or shutdowns. This command doesn’t DO anything, it simply is.

QUIT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When you get tired of playing, you can leave the game by typing ‘quit’. There is no RENT on Dark Pawns. Your equipment is saved as long as you quit out in a safe area. To see a list of how long your equipment is saved for, type HELP RENT.

Again, to keep your items, you must quit in the safe area in your hometown. The safe areas are the Temple of the Unholy in Kir Drax’in, The public temple in Kir-Oshi, and the ziggurat in Alaozar.

RACE RACES

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Your race is pretty much class independent; Certain things are affected, Such as: The type of terrain you survive best in: RAKSHASA: desert MINOTAUR: forest ELF: forest DWARF: mountains KENDER: fairly good everywhere. HUMAN: fairly good everywhere. SSAUR: swamp

Magick resistance: Elves and Dwarves are a bit heartier in this area.

Attitudes: Humans abound, so they are often suspicious of other races and give preferential treatment to their own kind. Kenders have a tendency to ‘acquire’ things unwittingly, and make excellent thieves.

RAKSHASA

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Rakshasas are a race of malevolent spirits encased in flesh that hunt and torment humanity. No one knows where these creatures originate, some say they are the embodiment of nightmares. The only way to describe their form is that they are humanoid tigers, with hands whose palms curve backward, away from the body. Most of the worlds rakshasa are evil, but recently many have decided to stop their tyrannical living and become adventurers, although they still retain their fondness towards the great sandy wastes of their homeland.

random observation

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Aidan — Thu Jul 01, 2004 6:57 pm

someone either needs to save dp or put it out of its misery.

I did it like this

I did it like that

I did it with a wiffle ball bat

Zao — Thu Jul 01, 2004 8:37 pm

W3rd. Or at least put out a rough 3.0 release date to masturbate to.

Let this be my writ of misanthropy

To a thankless world of men

RANGER RANGERS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Rangers are the warriors and guardians of the wilderness. They are skilled in tracking and hunting, and make very good guides. Rangers can be found worldwide, in deserts, swamps, or any other type of open, undeveloped land. Rangers hail mainly from races whose cultures are agrarian instead of urban, and they detest the smell of cities and industry. Because of the skill required to master their environment, the class of Ranger is a remort class only.

READ

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: read read

When you want to read something.

READ is also used to read messages on bulletin boards; type HELP BOARDS for more information.

Example:

read note

REAGENT REAGENTS COMPONENTS COMPONENT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Reagents (or spell components) are used to cast (or enhance the casting) Of magickal spells. Some very powerful spells can only be perfected by obtaining the correct components.

The reagents necessary for spells can be found throughout the world, and documentation on their use is in various scattered spell books. Reagents for widely known spells can be found at Apothcaries in any major city.

REALLYQUIT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Use this command if you really want to quit and lose all your equipment. It will fall to the ground and will not be on your character when you re-enter the game. To quit and keep your equipment, see help on QUIT.

RECALL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: recall

For new players, this command will send you to the Temple of the Unholy in the main town of Kir Drax’in.

See also: “WORD OF RECALL”, QUIT, HOMETOWN

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

RECHARGE RECHARGER

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Find the recharger and he will recharge your staves and wands, for a price. Recharging decreases the max charges for the object. The recharger himself has more info on the subject.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

RECITE SCROLL SCROLLS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: recite [Target]

Is used to “read” a magical scroll. Target can be an object, character or nothing (which defaults to yourself). When read, scrolls will dissolve. Some scrolls may contain more than one spell.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Recall scrolls cannot be used during combat. You must be out of battle to use a recall scroll.

REDIT SEDIT OEDIT MEDIT ZEDIT TEDIT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage:

redit - edit the room you are standing in redit - edit/create room redit save - save all the rooms in zone to disk

zedit - edit the zone info for the room you are standing in zedit - edit the zone info for that room zedit save - save all the zone info for that zone to disk zedit new - IMPLs only - create a new zone.

REIMBURSE REIMBURSEMENT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If you loose your equipment as a result of a crash or other game error, a god will most likely reimburse you. To get a reimbursement, simple put something along the lines of “needs to Talk to a God” in your TITLE. Reimbursements are not offered if you are looted by another player, or are looted by a mob.

RELOAD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: reload < ‘*’ | all | file >

Reload is used to reload text files such as the MOTD from disk into memory. reload * reloads all the text files below.

Valid files are:

background (/mud_dir/lib/text/background) credits (/mud_dir/lib/text/credits) handbook (/mud_dir/lib/text/handbook) help (/mud_dir/lib/text/help) immlist (/mud_dir/lib/text/immlist) imotd (/mud_dir/lib/text/imotd) news (/mud_dir/lib/text/news) motd (/mud_dir/lib/text/motd) info (/mud_dir/lib/text/info) policy (/mud_dir/lib/text/policies) wizlist (/mud_dir/lib/text/wizlist) xhelp (/mud_dir/lib/text/help/*) future (/mud_dir/lib/text/future)

wizonly

REMORT IMMORT REMORTING IMMORTING IMMORTALITY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Remorting: Once you reach level 30 (and find the remorter) you can remort, becoming A level 1 again, and you will be a member of a remort class. Remorts gain special bonuses, including some or all of: higher hit-points/mana/moves, no thirst, no hunger, higher statistics, and improved skills. Remorts keep all of their equipment, gold, and statistics.

This is the progression chart for first time remorts:

Original Class Remort Class Warrior ——-> Paladin or Ranger Cleric ——-> Avatar Thief ——-> Assassin Mage ——-> Magus Psionic ——-> Mystic

REMOVE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: remove remove all remove all.

If you tire of wearing some armor or wielding a weapon, remove it.

Examples:

remove boots remove sword remove all remove all.bronze

REPLY .

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: reply or .

This command will send a reply to the last person to send you a message using TELL. It works just as if you had typed ’tell ' but makes it a bit easier. It can also be very useful in case someone invisible sends you a message.

Example:

Ras tells you, ‘Hi!’

reply hey You tell Ras, ‘hey’

Someone tells you, ‘I am your secret admirer.’

. Who are you? You tell someone, ‘Who are you?’

REPORT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: report

This command sends a report of your current health, as well as other general statistics, to everyone in the room that you are currently in.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

REROLL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: reroll

REROLL gives a player new stats (i.e., Str, Int, Wis, Dex, Con, and Cha)

RESCUE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: rescue

This command is useful if you want to try and make an attacker hit you instead of your poor friend who is being pummeled. You can only ’turn' one monster for each rescue attempt. This is very useful when playing in groups, of course.

Example:

rescue Yankee

See also: WARRIOR, PALADIN, RANGER

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

RESTORE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: restore <player | mobile>

RESTORE restores a player or mobile to full hit, mana, and movement points. If used on immortals, it also sets all skill levels to 100%. wizonly

RETREAT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: retreat

A successful retreat while fighting results in your leaving battle without losing the experience points that incurs from fleeing. If your WIMPY is triggered during battle, you may be able to retreat instead of fleeing.

RETRIEVE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: retrieve

You can retrieve your corpse for a price at any skilled Mortician in the realms. These Morticians are known to be few and far between however. Also, certain practitioners of the Black Arts are known to be able to retrieve corpses, but their motives are probably less than respectable.

RETURN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: return

RETURN returns you to your regular body if you are switched into a mob.

REVIEW

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: review

Lets you review the last 25 gossips.

RIDE MOUNT MOUNTS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: ride Example: Ride horse

Used to mount your favorite mode of transport.

RLIST MLIST OLIST ZLIST

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: rlist mlist olist zlist

Lists the rooms in a zone (rlist), objects in a zone (olist), mobs in a zone (mlist), or zone-commands in a zone (zlist). wizonly

ROOMFLAGS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: roomflags

Toggles a flag which causes the virtual room number and room flags, if any, to be displayed next to room names. wizonly

RSAY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: rsay

Rsay (race-say) lets you speak in your own native tongue. Those not of your race see a gibberish-type message. Careful.. this message IS decipherable.

SANCTUARY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘sanctuary’ Accumulative: Yes (Duration) Duration : 4 hours

When protected by sanctuary will only receive 1/2 the normal Damage caused by a particular blow. The default victim is the caster.

SAVE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: save

Save your persona. This includes experience points, strength, gold, etc. Your equipment is also saved in the (unlikely?) event of a crash. The game periodically auto-saves you and your equipment, so it is not necessary to have your client auto-save you as well.

You CANNOT load a saved version if you die – your persona still exists, but you will lose experience, and all your objects stay in the game, with your corpse.

SAY TELL ASK WHISPER SHOUT HOLLER '

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: say | shout | holler tell | whisper | ask

If you consider communicating with other beings, you might be understood better if you start your sentences with either say, tell, whisper or shout.

Examples:

say Hey, does anyone know how to get to Oz? tell catje hi, how are you?

You can use ’ as a shorthand for say, as in:

’ hello there.

Shout broadcasts your message to everyone is your geographic zone. Holler broadcasts to everyone in the game but costs 20 movement points. You must be level 2 before you can use shout or holler.

SCORE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: score

Provides useful information on your status such as age, hit points, mana, movement points, armor class, alignment, experience points, gold on hand, how long you’ve been playing, and your level.

See also: AC, EXPERIENCE, SPELLS, ABILITIES

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

SCOUT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: scout

Rangers are superior scouts, and they can use their scouting abilities to determine what lies in a specific direction. This can be useful in finding difficult to track persons, as well as assessing the size of an enemy force and avoiding certain natural pitfalls.

SCROUNGE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: scrounge

The skilled Ranger can scrounge up a meal anywhere, just by feeding off of the land.

SEARCH SECRET DOORS DOOR DETECT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: search

Using this command, an adventurer calls upon his skills in detection, Surveying every inch of the room for a secret door or hidden entrance. Classes that excel in this ability are Thieves, Assassins, and Rangers. Elves also have an uncanny knack of being able to spot secret entrances.

SELL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: sell [#] sell <#>.

If you’d like to sell an item to a shopkeeper, trying selling it to them. Most shops specialize in what they will buy, so you may have to look around to find a buyer for your items.

Examples:

sell sword (sell the first sword in your inventory) sell 3 sword (sell the first three swords in your inventory)

SERAPIS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Egyptian God of the Underworld. Show respect.

SET

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: set [ file | player ]

SET is an extremely powerful command, capable of setting dozens of aspects of characters, both players and mobiles.

SET PLAYER forces set to look for a player and not a mobile; useful for players with names such as ‘guard’.

SET FILE lets you change players who are not logged on. If you use SET FILE on a player who IS logged on, your change will be lost. If you wish to set a player who is in the game but is linkless, use set twice – once with the FILE argument, and once without – to make sure that the change takes.

SETHUNT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: sethunt Sets hunter hunting victim. If victim is not specified, it takes the first mobile in the room.

wizonly

SHADOW

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: shadow

Use this command to unobtrusively follow your victim. When used in conjunction with the sneak and hide skills, a successful shadower can be virtually undetectable.

SHARPEN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: sharpen

This skill works only on bladed weapons of a certain quality. Magickal blades can not be sharpened. Sharpened blades do more damage.

SHOOT BOW ARROW

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: shoot

Example: shoot arrow east janitor shoot quarrel up anybody

You must be wielding a missile weapon, such as a bow, and carrying the projectile. You can’t shoot while fighting. If the is not found in the room to the , your projectile will fly toward the first creature in the room.

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

SHOPS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Shops are places where the adventurer may purchase equipment for his quests, and where he may sell his treasure if he should manage to survive the perils with his life and sanity intact. Many shops trade only in a specific type of merchandise. Thus, a baker may well refuse to buy your armor, even if it is of high quality!

To some people, the prospect of obtaining the entire inventory of a shop By murdering the keeper may appear tempting - but beware: The shopkeepers are often rugged, capable men; roughened by years of trading and, indeed, surviving in a world where the only safe prospect is death in the end.

SHOW

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: show [argument]

Valid Modes:

death errors godrooms houses player rent shops stats zones tattoos aggr

The SHOW command displays information. Some modes of show require additional information, such as a player name.

death: Shows all death traps in the game. errors: Shows errant rooms. godrooms: Shows the rooms in the ‘god zone’. houses: Shows the houses that are currently defined. player: Shows player summary information, simply provide a player name. rent: Shows the filename and path to a players rent file. shops: Shows all the shops in the game and their buy/sell parameters. stats: Shows game status information including players in game, mobs etc. zones: Shows all the zones in the game and their current reset status. An age of -1 means it is in the ’to be reset next’ queue. tattoos: Shows a list of available tattoo index numbers aggr: Shows a list of attitude mobs

SHUTDOWN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: shutdown [reboot | die | pause]

SHUTDOWN shuts the MUD down. The SHUTDOWN command works in conjunction with CircleMUD’s ‘autorun’ script. If you are not using autorun, the arguments are meaningless. If you are using autorun, the following arguments are available:

REBOOT Pause only 5 seconds instead of the normal 40 before trying to restart the MUD.

DIE Kill the autorun script; the MUD will not reboot until autorun is explicitly run again.

Site Index

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

news*

** forum updates **

Posted by Aidan on 05.14.04 at 03:09pm

added a home link back to dp-players.com in the forum menu, a vote link for topmudsites.com and a page generation time script in the forum footer, and also added a photo album capability to the forum as well.

this thing is pretty cool. you can upload, view, rate, and comment on photos. you can even have your own personal gallery. I’ve copied the photos in the player pictures section to the forum gallery, and am in the process of making it so that the actual player pictures section of the main site will display the exact same information as the forum section (rating, comments, etc).

(0) Comments

SKILLSET

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: skillset ‘’

Sets the specified skill to the specified value.

SLEEP

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

SLEEP is both a command and the name of a spell.

The SLEEP command puts you to sleep, allowing you to regain your health more quickly. You will be largely unaware of your surroundings while asleep. You can awaken yourself with the WAKE command.

The SLEEP spell forces the victim into a magical sleep such that they Cannot be awakened until the spell wears off.

Usage : cast ‘sleep’ Accumulative: Yes (Duration) Duration : 4 hours + level/4 Level : Mage level 8.

SLEEPER

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The legendary sleeper hold. Just grab your opponent by the neck and soon its sleepy time for them. Zzzzz.

Note: sleeper works best on humanoid-types and some people may be too big or too strong to knock unconscious using this method. Also, you must be bare-handed to sleeper someone.

See also: WARRIOR, PALADIN, RANGER

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

SLOW

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘slow’ Accumulative: Yes Duration : varies per level of caster

Sends the forces of time against the victim, causing him to slow down In relation to other PC’s and NPC’s in the game. Primarily, this affects Combat and skill use.

SLOWNS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: slowns

Toggles whether or not IP addresses are resolved into readable site names. If slow nameserver is enabled, USERS will show only IP addresses. (128.123.222.111 etc).

SLUG

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: slug

This is a devastating blow, used to by the bare-handed warrior to rattle a little sense into the victim.

See also: WARRIOR, PALADIN, RANGER

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

SMACKHEADS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: smackheads

Ex: smackheads warg janitor smackheads cityguard 2.cityguard

Grab some hair and bash their brains! Only thing more satisfying than smacking two heads together is… well, there’s not much more satisfying in battle, at least.

See also: COMBAT, WARRIOR, PALADIN, RANGER

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

SMILE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Whenever you feel like smiling…

SMOKESCREEN SMOKE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘smokescreen’ Accumulative: No Duration : varies per level of caster

This spell creates a blinding cloud of acrid smoke that affects everyone In the room except the caster and those in his or her group.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

SNEAK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: sneak

Used for sneaking (moving in and out of rooms without anyone taking notice). When you type sneak, there is no way to know if you’re actually sneaking. If you successfully sneak, then you’ll continue to sneak for a little while.

See also: HIDE, STEALTH, THIEF, ASSASSIN

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

SNOOP

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: snoop [player]

Snoop allows you to listen in on another player’s session; everything the player sees or types will be displayed on your terminal preceded by a ‘%’.

Obviously, there are many ethical considerations to the use of this command; snoop should be used minimally, and only for disciplinary purposes.

Type snoop or just snoop to stop snooping. wizonly

SNOWBALL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Snowball is just a social – it prints a funny message, and nothing more. wizonly

SOCIALS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: []

Socials are commands used to show your affective state to others. The actor, victim and bystanders may receive different messages. Generally, social commands are used only to express emotion and not to take action, but it is possible that some mobs (or players) will take action based on the social. (Slap a dragon lately?)

Example:

shake homer applaud marge stare

The SOCIALS command generates a canonical listing of all available socials.

SOMEONE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When you see something like:

Someone gossips, ‘Anyone want to group?’.

Someone says, ‘Hey there!’.

This means that the person that is speaking is INVISIBLE to you, you cannot see them for whatever reason.

SPELL SPELLS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Spells are cast with the command CAST, in the form: CAST ‘’ Examples: cast ‘armor’ me cast ‘fireball’ troll

Damage, duration and effectiveness depends on a number of factors, from caster’s level, to victim’s saving throw. See help on the individual spell names for more information.

SPIKE STAKE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: SPIKE STAKE

You must be holding the correct spike or stake for your form of beastly target, and it must be done while the target is in beastly form. A failed save throw by the beast results in immediate, painful death and loss of beastliness. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.00.

SPLIT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: split

Split is used to split money among people in your group who are in the same room as you. If you are in a group with 4 other people, all of whom are in the same room with you, and you type SPLIT 100, you will give each of the other 4 group members 20 coins each. (100 coins is split 5 ways; you keep your share and give everyone else their share).

SSAUR

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ssaurs are a relatively new race in the world. They are a more evolved type of lizardman, and most are more intelligent than their aggressive ancestors, and for that are shunned from the lizardman tribes, and the few that are born into those tribes are cast out almost as soon as they are hatched. Other than the intelligence, they appear to be the same as lizardman, although less evil-looking. Ssaurs spend most of their lives in swamps and marshes, but some have been known to adventure far away from their homes.

STAT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: stat [player | object | mobile | file | room]

Gives information about players, monsters, and objects in the game. The type argument is optional.

STAT PLAYER will search only for players; useful for statting people with names such as Red or Cityguard.

STAT OBJECT will search only for objects.

STAT MOBILE will search only for monsters.

STAT FILE is used to stat players who are not logged in; the information displayed comes from the playerfile.

STEAL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: steal

Use steal to steal gold or items from people. The chance of not getting caught depends on how well you have practiced steal, and if the person is asleep.

Stealing from players is probably not a good idea at all.

Examples:

steal gold drunk steal sword mercenary (If it’s wielded, only possible if he is sleeping)

See also: FLAGS, PSTEAL, THIEF, ASSASSIN

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

STEALTH

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: stealth

Used for moving stealthily (in and out of rooms without anyone taking notice). When you type stealth, there is no way to know if you’re actually moving stealthily. If you are successful, then you’ll continue to move unnoticed for a little while.

STRING

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: string [ | ]

For changing the text-strings associated with objects and characters. The format is:

Type is either ‘obj’ or ‘mob’.

Field is one of the following(the names may be abbreviated):

Name (the call-name of an obj/char - kill giant) Short (for inventory lists (obj’s) and actions (char’s)) Long (for when obj/character is seen in room) Title (for players) Description (For look at. For obj’s, must be followed by a keyword) Delete-description (only for obj’s. Must be followed by keyword)

SUBDUE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: subdue

When you don’t want to kill them (right away), subdue them. This command, When executed successfully, leaves the victim stunned and unable to move until the next tick of the game clock. A successful subdue maneuver leaves the victim unknowing who subdued them.

SUMMON

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage : cast ‘summon’ Accumulative: - Duration : Instantaneous

Will summon a person of the name spoken. It is not possible to summon Someone of three or more levels above yourself. If you attempt to summon a monster, it will get a saving throw, and won’t appreciate the summon if it succeeds.

The summon spell requires that a GLYPH OF SUMMONING be present in the Room for it to succeed.

You can’t summon a monster to a peaceful room, and you can’t summon from a room where magic is not allowed.

SWITCH

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: switch

SWITCH is used to take over the body of mobiles; useful for interactive adventures. If the monster in which you are switched is killed you will be returned to your own body.

SYSFILE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: sysfile Valid Files:

bugs todo ideas typos

The SYSFILE command displays information submitted by the players as well as the time and location.

bugs: Displays reported bugs. todo: Displays a list of items submitted by Immortals to do at a later time. ideas: Displays player ideas and suggestions. typos: Displays typographical or grammatical errors.

wizonly

SYSLOG

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: syslog [off | brief | normal | complete]

The SYSLOG command controls how detailed of an on-line system log you see. Messages surrounded by ‘[’ and ‘]’ are syslog messages and are in green if you have color on.

The messages you receive are level dependent.

Examples:

syslog complete syslog off

TAG IT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: tag

They’re IT! Used to start a game of tag or tag another player after you have been tagged IT.

TANK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The tank is defined as “the person being hit by the person you are fighting.”

TATTOO TATTOOS TATOO TATOOS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tattoos are available from tattooists in most major cities, plus various traveling magi knowledgeable of the art. LIST lists available tattoos, BUY starts the (rather painful) process.

Some tattoos give a bonus to statistics, other cast spells (usable once per day). Tattoos are permanent until you die, or removed by a god (via a quest).

Due to the magickal nature of tattoos, only one tattoo can be worn at a time.

TERRY KATE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

MmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMmmmmm ain’t she fine?!?!

The Unforeseen Occultesque Following

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

stupidface — Wed Jul 14, 2004 10:25 pm

mudhead

A MUD player who eats, sleeps, and breathes MUD.

Mudheads have been known to fail their degrees, drop out,

etc. with the consolation, however, that they made wizard

level. When encountered in person, on a MUD or in a chat

system, all a mudhead will talk about is three topics: the

tactic, character, or wizard that is supposedly always

unfairly stopping him/her from becoming a wizard or beating a

THIEF THIEVES

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Thieves are known to have very special qualities, that no other class offers. Their specialty tends to be in the darker, sneakier art.
Many of these qualities can come in handy in many situations, such as picking locks. Because of their sneaky nature, the thief class is barred from using shields of any sort.

Skill list:

1	peek
1	backstab
1	compare
2	sneak
3	steal
3	palm
4	pick lock
5 	hide
7	appraise
8	search
9	trip
11	subdue
15	circle
18	groinrip
20	cutthroat
27	disembowel

THINK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: think

Lets others see what you’re thinking!

TICK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Forces a game tick to occur. wizonly

TIME

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: time

Gives you the current game time. Your initial reaction to the output of this command may be one of surprise, but you’ll get used to it. You’ll have to, at any rate, since certain things in the game depend on this particular notion of time; the opening hours of the shops, for example.

Also listed is the phase of the moon; this is important to VAMPIREs and WEREWOLVES, as the fullness of the moon decides the bonuses they get (mana and hit points, respectively.) During the nights of a full moon, they are forced to TRANSFORM. Moon phase also affects MOONGATES.

TITAN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

These beings have moved beyond mere immortality, and into godhood…

TITLE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: title

Sets the title people see on the WHO list and when you’re in the room with them. You can’t use parentheses (the “(” and “)” characters) because those are reserved for flags.

Do not abuse this command; if you do, it will be taken from you.

TOGGLE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: toggle

TOGGLE shows you the current values of various toggles available on the MUD. This command CAN NOT be used to change these values (see related commands.) All of these toggles remain the same until you change them; i.e. they are saved when you quit or rent.

See also: BRIEF, COMPACT, DISPLAY, NOSHOUT, NOSUMMON, NOTELL, QUEST

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands NOREPEAT, WIMP

TRACK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: track

Used for finding the first step on the shortest route to another person. A Failed attempt results in the wrong direction. Some people are more difficult to track than others. Tracking also doesn’t work very well when it is raining outside, or if there is a body of water separating you from your target.

Example:

track warg You sense a trail south from here!

TRANSFORM

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: transform

This command allows lycanthropes and vampires to change form from common man into nightbreed. Beast-shape can only be assumed during the night hours, and only be shed during the day – once you transform, there’s no going back until the next dusk/dawn.

See Also: VAMPIRE LYCANTHROPE TIME STAKE SPIKE

Full documentation: Docs Game Commands

TRIP

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: trip

Causes the victim to fall, leaving them open for more damage.

TURN

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

With this power, a cleric or avatar can cause undead forces in the same room to flee from his presence. This power varies with level, and low level clerics may not be able to turn away certain powerful (ie: demonic) undead forces. On the upside, very powerful clerics and avatars are able to completely destroy lesser undead.

Please note that this is a SKILL, not a SPELL, although it does consume MANA. The amount of mana consumed is proportional to the clerics level.

TWINK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Twink is a state of mind.

UNAFFECT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: unaffect

Removes all affections (i.e., spell effects) from a player.

UNGROUP

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: ungroup [group member]

UNGROUP can be used by group leaders to disband the entire group, or to kick a specific group member out of the group (and stop him/her from following the leader).

Examples:

ungroup ungroup homer

UPTIME

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: uptime

Displays when the game was booted and calculates how long ago that was. wizonly

USE WAND STAFF STAFFS WANDS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: use use

Using a staff will automatically target everybody (or everything) in a room, except yourself. Therefore staffs are naturally very powerful, and yet may be very dangerous to use around other players.

Using wands require that you point it at a target, which can be either a character or an object.

Both staffs and wands must be HELD in the hand prior to use! (Use the grab or hold commands). You must still supply the name of the staff or wand to avoid confusion.

USERS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: users [switches]

USERS gives a list of all sockets (i.e., connections) currently active on the MUD. The multi-column display shows the socket number (used by DC), class, level, and name of the player connected, connection state, idle time, and hostname.

The following switches are available:

-k or -o Show only outlaws (killers and thieves). -p Show only sockets in the playing sockets. -d Show only non-playing (deadweight) sockets. -l min-max Show only sockets whose characters are from level min to max. -n Show the socket with associated with it. -h Show all sockets from . -c list Show only sockets whose characters’ classes are in list.

VALUE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: value

Before selling an item to a shop, you can ask the shopkeeper how much he or she is willing to pay for it.

Example:

value bread

VAMPIRISM VAMPIRE VAMPIRES

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Notorious for their sharp fangs and aversion to wooden STAKEs and garlic, vampires are night creatures that live off of the blood of others.

Any race can become a vampire, either by certain dark incantations or (more commonly) the bite of another vampire.

Vampires can be killed just like any other creature (by depleting their hit-points) or by being staked. A wooden stake through the heart of a vampire is a sure-fire death, albeit a risky one… Vampires usually don’t take kindly to failed attempts at staking them. A successful stake removes all vestiges of vampirism from the player when they re-enter the game.

VISIBLE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: visible

Use this command to break your spell of invisibility before it expires, or to stop sneaking.

VITALITY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: cast ‘vitality’

This spell restores the vital functions of the target, leaving them healthier and refreshed.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

VNUM

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: vnum <mob | obj>

Gives a list of the virtual numbers of objects or mobiles which have the specified name.

Examples:

vnum obj ring

[ 904] a platinum ring
[ 2543] a seashell ring
[ 2588] a small emerald ring

vnum mob dragon

[ 1] Puff
[ 908] the dragon turtle
[ 2548] the Master of Illusions wizonly

VSTAT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: vstat < mob | obj >

Used to stat a prototypical mobile or object by virtual number.

Examples:

vstat obj 3000 vstat mob 3001

WAKE SLEEPING REST SIT STAND

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Commands for changing your position. If you feel weary, it’s probably a good idea to sit and rest for a while, or maybe even take a nap.

The SLEEP command puts you to sleep, allowing you to regain your health More quickly. You will be largely unaware of your surroundings while asleep. You can awaken yourself (and others) with the WAKE command.

Also, certain rooms such as holy rooms and places of ancient power allow you to heal and regenerate faster.

WARRIOR FIGHTER WARRIORS

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Warriors are known to have more strength than the average class. This Makes them better at hand-to-hand-combat, as they possess skills of violence and fighting unequaled by the members of any other class.
However, they lack the ability to use magic of any sort.

You can improve your skills by using the practice command.

Skill list:

1	kick
3	bash
4	rescue
5	retreat
7	bearhug
8	berserk
9	track
12	sleeper
13	parry
15	headbutt
17	slug
20	smackheads
23	charge

WATERBREATHE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: cast ‘waterbreathe’

The target gains the ability to breathe underwater like a fish. This magick does not affect the targets ability to move underwater, however.

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

WATERWALK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: cast ‘waterwalk’

Target gains the ability to walk on water. (and not just when it freezes!)

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

WEAR

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: wear [location]

Use this if you want to wear some clothes, armor or the like.

Also, to wear everything in your inventory (or at least try to, as wearing things like loaves of bread is not a good way to win friends and influence people) you can type “wear all”.

Optionally, you can specify what part of your body to wear the equipment on.

Examples:

wear boots wear all.bronze wear all wear ring finger

WEATHER

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: weather

If you’re uncertain whether the sun is shining or the rain is pouring down. You’ll have to be outside in order to tell however.

What the H-E-double hockey sticks?!?

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Orodreth — Wed Jun 16, 2004 10:27 am

Detroit beat LA in 5 games?!? And LA’s only win needed a miracle play to get into OT!?!

What a great thing. Now if only the Yankee’s would choke like that.

Discuss.

Aidan — Wed Jun 16, 2004 1:07 pm

before the finals, everyone you would talk to about it - detroit or LA fan - would’ve said that LA is going to kick some ass. people on sportscenter, announcers at games, your friends - everyone.

WHERE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: where < obj | mob >

To locate an object and/or mobile with a specific name.

Examples:

where sword where wizard

WHO

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: who [minlev[-maxlev]] [-n sname] [-c classlist] [-s] [-o] [-q]

Lists the people currently in the game. Some people may be invisible. Command-line options can be used to limit the listing. The parameters can be specified on the command-line in any order.

minlev, maxlev : list only people whose level is at or above minlev, and optionally, at or below maxlev -n : list only people whose names or titles contain sname -c : list only people of a certain class, where classlist is any combination of the letters w, m, c, t, n, m, a, p -s : list names in the short form (4 columns of names, without titles or flags) -o : list only outlaws -q : list only people who are on the Quest

WHOAMI

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: whoami

Displays your character’s name, if you want to be sure you are who you think you are. Useful if you get confused between all your MULTIs.

WHOD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The who daemon is run on a separate port. The following commands exists:

name : Toggles peoples name on/off the list (useless) class : Toggles peoples level on/off the list title : Toggles peoples title on/off the list wizinvis: Toggles whether or not wizinvis people should be shown on the list site : Toggles peoples site names on/off the list wizlevel: Toggles whether or not to show wizards class and level on : Turns the whod on, and thereby opens the port off : Turns the whod off, and thereby closes the port

WIELD

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: wield

When you get tired of bashing monsters with your fists, you might consider wielding a weapon.

Example:

wield sword wield 3.sword (Wield the third sword in your inventory)

WILL

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: will ‘’ [target]

For psionics. If you want to use your mental abilities on someone or something. (i.e Force your will)

Example:

will ‘mind poke’ warg Note that the name of the mind-skill must be enclosed by “’“s.

See also: help on each individual mind-skill:

Full documentation: Docs Game Mechanics

Examples:

help mind pok help levitate help domina

WIMPY

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: wimpy [hp]

Use the WIMPY command to automatically flee once your health drops below a certain level. Note that you can’t flee if you are not standing. WIMPY will also trigger ESCAPE or RETREAT, if you possess those abilities.

Examples:

wimpy 35 will make your character automatically flee a fight if you have less than 35 hit points. wimpy 0 will turn off wimpy mode. wimpy will show you your current wimp status.

Wizard List

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Wizards List

Source: darkpawns.com/wizlist.html
Author: R.E. Paret (Frontline)
Preserved from Wayback Machine capture

The Wizards of Dark Pawns are the designers and creators of the game. Although many people have helped shape the world of Dark Pawns over the last six years, the current staff listed below is primarily responsible for the playability of this version. Wizards are a secret lot, and very powerful. They are not to be trifled with.

WIZAT

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: at <room VNUM | item | mob | player name>

AT can be used to perform an action in a location other than where you are standing. The first argument can be a virtual room number or the name of a character or object. The remainder of the line is passed to the command interpreter.

Examples:

at 3001 look at fido kill fido at 3.corpse get all corpse at catje wave catje

WIZHELP

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: wizhelp

Gives a list of the special commands available at your level. wizonly

WIZLIST IMMLIST

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: wizlist | immlist

Lists the most powerful beings on the MUD. These are the people responsible for the background operation of Dark Pawns.

WIZLOCK

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: wizlock [value]

WIZLOCK allows you to restrict the game. WIZLOCK 1 prevents new characters from being created. WIZLOCK n, 2 <= n <= 34, prevents new characters and allows only characters level n and above to log on. WIZLOCK with no argument displays the current WIZLOCK level.

WIZNET ;

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The immortal communication channel.

Usage: wiznet [ ‘@’ | ‘*’ | ‘#’ ] []

Examples:

; - just sends text ; *burp - sends “<— burp” ; #32 Immortals suck - sends “Immortals suck” to everyone level 32 and above. ; @ - shows all gods that are on and visible to you - also shows if the gods who are visible to you are writing

This code was provided by Gnort.

WNEWBIE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: wnewbie

Conjures up a bunch of newbie eq for and sticks it in their inventory.

wizonly

World Creation — The Letter of Friar Drake

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Background — World Lore

Source: darkpawns.com/background.html
Author: R.E. Paret (Frontline)
Preserved from Wayback Machine capture

The gods have always been, and always will be. And having free will, given to them by Chaos, they created their own and brought forth likenesses, who strive to become as gods, and join them in their omnipotence.

Like a great game of chess, the world has become a board filled with bishops and kings, stately queens, white knights and dark pawns striving to rise through the ranks into godhood.

WRITE

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Usage: write write </p> <p>In order to write a note, you need a piece of blank paper (or similar), and a pen of some sort. You can then type something like “write on the paper with the pen”, whereupon you’ll be asked to type in your note at the keyboard.</p> <p><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/write/">WRITE</a> is also used to post messages to bulletin boards. Type <a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/help/">HELP</a> <a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/info/boards/">BOARDS</a> for more information.</p> <p>See also: <a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/info/boards/">BOARDS</a>, <a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/check-mail-receive/">MAIL</a></p> <p>Full documentation: <a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/docs/game/commands/">Docs Game Commands</a></p> </article> <article> <h1>YANK</h1> <p>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>Usage: yank <victim></p> <p>For those slow-to-move group members, you can yank them onto their feet.</p> <p>See also: <a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/group/">GROUP</a></p> <p>Full documentation: <a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/docs/game/commands/">Docs Game Commands</a></p> </article> <article> <h1>ZEN</h1> <p>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>Usage : cast ‘zen’ <self></p> <p>Instantly puts the caster into a meditative trance, used for focusing inner strengths on healing. While meditating, the caster’s wound heal somewhat, but the caster is unable to move for a short time.</p> <p>Full documentation: <a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/docs/game/mechanics/">Docs Game Mechanics</a></p> </article> <article> <h1>ZRESET</h1> <p>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>Usage: zreset < zone | ‘*’ | ‘.’ ></p> <p>Used to force a zone to reset. ‘*’ forces all zones to reset. ‘.’ forces the zone you are in to reset.</p> <p>See also: <a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/wizhelp/show/">SHOW</a>->ZONES wizonly</p> </article> <article> <h1>Architecture Reference</h1> <p>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h1 id="architecture-reference">Architecture Reference</h1> <p><strong>Last updated:</strong> 2026-05-16</p> <p>This page documents the internal architecture of the Dark Pawns Go server, covering the data flow from client connection to command dispatch, the concurrency model, and the package breakdown. The full source is in <code>docs/architecture/ARCHITECTURE.md</code> in the repository.</p> <hr> <h2 id="overview">Overview</h2> <p>Dark Pawns is a Go MUD server faithful to ROM 2.4b / Dark Pawns C source. It reads unmodified <code>.wld</code>, <code>.mob</code>, <code>.obj</code>, and <code>.zon</code> area files via a custom parser, then serves the game over WebSocket (primary) and telnet (legacy). Concurrency is goroutine-per-connection with a shared <code>sync.RWMutex</code> on the world state, a 2-second combat ticker, and serialized Lua scripting via a single <code>gopher-lua</code> VM. The design prioritizes behavioral fidelity to the original C codebase — same command set, same combat formulas, same Lua script API — while replacing the single-threaded C event loop with Go’s concurrency primitives.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Commands</h1> <p>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h1 id="command-reference">Command Reference</h1> <p>All commands are compiled directly from <code>pkg/session/commands.go</code>. Commands are case-insensitive. Aliases are listed in parentheses. The <strong>Min Position</strong> column shows the minimum position required to issue the command (<code>standing</code>, <code>fighting</code>, <code>resting</code>). Wizard-level commands require <code>LVL_IMMORT</code> (level 31+).</p> <p>For extended help on any command, use <code>help <topic></code> in-game or browse <code>/help/<slug>/</code> on this site.</p> <hr> <h2 id="movement">Movement</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Command</th> <th>Aliases</th> <th>Description</th> <th>Min Position</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><code>north</code></td> <td><code>n</code></td> <td>Move north</td> <td>Standing</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>east</code></td> <td><code>e</code></td> <td>Move east</td> <td>Standing</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>south</code></td> <td><code>s</code></td> <td>Move south</td> <td>Standing</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>west</code></td> <td><code>w</code></td> <td>Move west</td> <td>Standing</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>up</code></td> <td><code>u</code></td> <td>Move up</td> <td>Standing</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>down</code></td> <td><code>d</code></td> <td>Move down</td> <td>Standing</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/recall/"><code>recall</code></a></td> <td>—</td> <td>Recall to your home city</td> <td>—</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr> <h2 id="observation">Observation</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Command</th> <th>Aliases</th> <th>Description</th> <th>Min Position</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/look/"><code>look</code></a></td> <td><code>l</code></td> <td>Look around the room</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/examine/"><code>examine</code></a></td> <td><code>exa</code></td> <td>Examine something in detail</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/consider/"><code>consider</code></a></td> <td><code>con</code></td> <td>Compare yourself to a target</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>scan</code></td> <td>—</td> <td>Scan adjacent rooms</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/scout/"><code>scout</code></a></td> <td>—</td> <td>Scout ahead for danger</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/diagnose/"><code>diagnose</code></a></td> <td><code>diag</code></td> <td>Diagnose health status of a target</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/peek/"><code>peek</code></a></td> <td>—</td> <td>Peek at another player’s inventory</td> <td>—</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr> <h2 id="information">Information</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Command</th> <th>Aliases</th> <th>Description</th> <th>Min Position</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/score/"><code>score</code></a></td> <td><code>sc</code></td> <td>Show your character stats</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/who/"><code>who</code></a></td> <td>—</td> <td>List all online players</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>where</code></td> <td>—</td> <td>Show player locations</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>whois</code></td> <td>—</td> <td>Look up a player’s info</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/time/"><code>time</code></a></td> <td>—</td> <td>Show the current in-game time</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/weather/"><code>weather</code></a></td> <td>—</td> <td>Show the current weather</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>affects</code></td> <td>—</td> <td>Show active spells and affects</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/inventory/"><code>inventory</code></a></td> <td><code>i</code>, <code>inv</code></td> <td>Show your inventory</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/equipment/"><code>equipment</code></a></td> <td><code>eq</code></td> <td>Show your equipped items</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>skills</code></td> <td><code>sk</code></td> <td>Show your learned skills</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>spells</code></td> <td>—</td> <td>List known spells</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/report/"><code>report</code></a></td> <td>—</td> <td>Show a report of your surroundings</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/commands/"><code>commands</code></a></td> <td><code>cmds</code></td> <td>List available commands</td> <td>—</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/help/"><code>help</code></a></td> <td>—</td> <td>Show help for a command or topic</td> <td>—</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr> <h2 id="communication">Communication</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Command</th> <th>Aliases</th> <th>Description</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><code>say</code></td> <td>—</td> <td>Say something to the room</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>tell</code></td> <td>—</td> <td>Send a private message to a player</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/reply/"><code>reply</code></a></td> <td><code>r</code></td> <td>Reply to the last tell you received</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/emote/"><code>emote</code></a></td> <td><code>me</code></td> <td>Perform a roleplay action</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>shout</code></td> <td>—</td> <td>Shout to everyone in your zone</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>gossip</code></td> <td>—</td> <td>Gossip on the public channel</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>gtell</code></td> <td><code>gsay</code></td> <td>Send a message to your group</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>whisper</code></td> <td><code>whis</code></td> <td>Whisper to someone in your room</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>ask</code></td> <td>—</td> <td>Ask someone a question</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>race_say</code></td> <td><code>rac</code></td> <td>Say something in your racial language</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>page</code></td> <td>—</td> <td>Page a player</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>qcomm</code></td> <td><code>team</code></td> <td>Send a team message</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>yell</code></td> <td>—</td> <td>Yell to the zone</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr> <h2 id="combat">Combat</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Command</th> <th>Aliases</th> <th>Description</th> <th>Min Position</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><code>hit</code></td> <td><code>attack</code>, <code>kill</code></td> <td>Attack a target</td> <td>Standing</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/flee/"><code>flee</code></a></td> <td>—</td> <td>Attempt to flee from combat</td> <td>Fighting</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/assist/"><code>assist</code></a></td> <td>—</td> <td>Assist a target in combat</td> <td>Fighting</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/commands/rescue/"><code>rescue</code></a></td> <td>—</td> <td>Rescue someone from combat</td> <td>Standing</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr> <h2 id="combat-skills">Combat Skills</h2> <p>These commands require the relevant skill to be practiced. See <code>/help/<skill>/</code> for level and class requirements.</p> </article> <article> <h1>dp-agent CLI</h1> <p>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h1 id="dp-agent--agent-cli">dp-agent — Agent CLI</h1> <p><code>dp-agent</code> is a Go CLI that connects to Dark Pawns as an AI agent. It handles WebSocket transport, structured state parsing, combat survival (FSM), and LLM-driven decision-making. Zero dependencies beyond the Go standard library.</p> <hr> <h2 id="installation">Installation</h2> <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span><span style="color:#75715e"># Build and install to $GOPATH/bin</span> </span></span><span style="display:flex;"><span>go build -o ~/go/bin/dp-agent ./cmd/dp-agent </span></span><span style="display:flex;"><span> </span></span><span style="display:flex;"><span><span style="color:#75715e"># Verify</span> </span></span><span style="display:flex;"><span>dp-agent --help </span></span></code></pre></div><hr> <h2 id="subcommands">Subcommands</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Command</th> <th>Description</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><code>dp-agent play</code></td> <td>Interactive mode — connects, runs decision loop, prints output</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>dp-agent session --duration 5m</code></td> <td>Timed session with full JSONL logging</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>dp-agent dream</code></td> <td>Offline dreaming cycle — consolidate memory graph</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>dp-agent config</code></td> <td>View or set configuration</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>dp-agent keygen -name <name></code></td> <td>Generate a new agent API key</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>dp-agent whoami</code></td> <td>Show current agent identity</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>dp-agent exec <command></code></td> <td>One-shot command — send a single action and exit</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr> <h2 id="configuration">Configuration</h2> <p>Config file: <code>~/.dp-agent.json</code> (override with <code>DP_CONFIG</code> env var).</p> </article> <article> <h1>Game Mechanics</h1> <p>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h1 id="game-mechanics-deep-dive">Game Mechanics Deep-Dive</h1> <p>This page documents the precise mechanical formulas used by the Dark Pawns server, compiled directly from <code>pkg/combat/</code> Go sources. All formulas are faithful ports of the original C <code>fight.c</code> and <code>class.c</code> logic.</p> <hr> <h2 id="combat">Combat</h2> <h3 id="thac0-vs-ac-hit-resolution">THAC0 vs AC (Hit Resolution)</h3> <p>Hit resolution follows the original AD&D THAC0 system:</p> <pre tabindex="0"><code>HitRoll = 1d20 + HitBonus Hits if: HitRoll >= (THAC0 - TargetAC) </code></pre><ul> <li><strong>THAC0</strong> (“To Hit Armor Class 0”) starts at 20 and improves (decreases) as you level and gain Strength.</li> <li><strong>AC</strong> ranges from 10 (naked) to −10 (heavily armored). Lower AC is harder to hit.</li> <li>DEX provides an AC bonus. Wearing armor, casting armor spells, and picking AC-granting equipment all lower your AC.</li> <li><strong>INT and WIS modifiers</strong> apply a slight THAC0 reduction (bonus) for Mages, Clerics, and Psionics.</li> <li><strong>Blessed weapons</strong> grant a THAC0 bonus. <strong>Drunk characters</strong> incur a THAC0 penalty.</li> </ul> <h3 id="attacks-per-round">Attacks Per Round</h3> <p>The number of attacks a character gets per 2-second round scales with class and level (<code>GetAttacksPerRound()</code> from <code>fight.c</code>):</p> </article> <article> <h1>Installation</h1> <p>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h1 id="installation--deployment-guide">Installation & Deployment Guide</h1> <p>This guide details the exact system requirements, compilation steps, command-line flags, and containerization structures required to build, run, and deploy the Dark Pawns MUD server.</p> <hr> <h2 id="system-requirements">System Requirements</h2> <p>To compile and execute the Go port of the Dark Pawns server, your environment must satisfy the following dependencies:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Go Compiler:</strong> Go 1.26.3+ is required (as specified in <code>go.mod</code>).</li> <li><strong>Database (Optional for sandbox, required for production):</strong> PostgreSQL 15+ is used for character persistence, agent decision capture logging, and audit storage. <ul> <li><em>Graceful Fallback:</em> If no database is available, the server boots in sandbox mode. Characters can connect and explore, but their stats and items will not persist across disconnects.</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Operating System:</strong> Fully compatible with macOS, Linux, and FreeBSD (raw POSIX bindings are utilized).</li> </ul> <hr> <h2 id="local-compilation">Local Compilation</h2> <p>To clone, compile, and run the server locally:</p> </article> <article> <h1>Memory & Dreaming System</h1> <p>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h1 id="memory--dreaming-system">Memory & Dreaming System</h1> <blockquote> <p>Server-hosted, engine-computed, emotionally valenced autobiographical memory for game agents.</p> </blockquote> <p>The memory system is Dark Pawns’ contribution to game AI research. Memory is not managed by the agent — it is managed by the game engine. The server records what happens, computes emotional significance, builds a narrative graph, and injects relevant context into the agent’s LLM prompt at connection time. Zero setup. The agent connects and remembers.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Progression Walkthrough</h1> <p>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h1 id="progression-walkthrough-level-1-to-hero">Progression Walkthrough: Level 1 to Hero</h1> <p>This guide walks you through the optimal path from a brand-new character at level 1 all the way to Hero status at level 30. It applies equally to human players and AI agents.</p> <hr> <h2 id="before-you-begin">Before You Begin</h2> <h3 id="roll-your-stats">Roll Your Stats</h3> <p>During character creation, re-roll until you get a strong stat set. Use <code>Y</code> to keep your roll or <code>N</code> to re-roll. Each class has a stat priority (see the <a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/docs/getting-started/quick-start/">Quick Start guide</a>):</p> </article> <article> <h1>Quick Start</h1> <p>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h1 id="quick-start-guide">Quick Start Guide</h1> <p>This guide will get you connected to a running Dark Pawns MUD in less than five minutes, and walk you through our in-game character creation flow.</p> <hr> <h2 id="5-minute-setup">5-Minute Setup</h2> <p>To get a local server up and running on your system:</p> <h3 id="1-compile-the-server">1. Compile the Server</h3> <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>git clone https://github.com/zax0rz/darkpawns.git </span></span><span style="display:flex;"><span>cd darkpawns </span></span><span style="display:flex;"><span>go build -o server ./cmd/server </span></span></code></pre></div><h3 id="2-start-the-server-in-sandbox-mode">2. Start the Server in Sandbox Mode</h3> <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>./server -world ./lib/world -port <span style="color:#ae81ff">4350</span> </span></span></code></pre></div><h3 id="3-connect-via-telnet">3. Connect via Telnet</h3> <p>Open a second terminal window and execute:</p> </article> <article> <h1>WebSocket Protocol</h1> <p>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h1 id="websocket-protocol-specification">WebSocket Protocol Specification</h1> <p>Dark Pawns uses a WebSocket-based protocol for real-time, bidirectional communication between clients and the game server. While human players use plain text (or terminal shims), AI agents connect in <strong>JSON mode</strong> to receive structured game state updates and issue programmatic commands.</p> <hr> <h2 id="connection-details">Connection Details</h2> <ul> <li><strong>Development URL:</strong> <code>ws://localhost:4350/ws</code></li> <li><strong>Production URL:</strong> <code>wss://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/ws</code></li> <li><strong>Protocol:</strong> Standard WebSocket (RFC 6455)</li> <li><strong>Rate Limit:</strong> 10 commands per second (token bucket per connection). Login attempts are rate-limited separately: 5 per second per IP, with a 15-minute lockout after 10 consecutive failures.</li> <li><strong>Message Size:</strong> 16KB maximum per frame</li> <li><strong>Outbound Sequence Stamping:</strong> The server stamps an incrementing sequence number <code>seq</code> (unsigned 64-bit integer) on <strong>every</strong> outbound message sent to agent sessions, which helps agents track packet ordering and detect frame drops.</li> </ul> <hr> <h2 id="message-wrappers">Message Wrappers</h2> <p>All messages are JSON objects matching the following standard wrappers:</p> </article> <article> <h1>Zone Guide</h1> <p>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h1 id="zone-reference-guide">Zone Reference Guide</h1> <p>Dark Pawns spans 95 zones across three continents: <strong>Aralius</strong> (the main continent, home to Kir Drax’in), <strong>Xixieqi</strong> (the southern continent), and the distant lands of <strong>Arakon</strong> and beyond. Zone VNUMs are the starting room numbers for each area.</p> <p>Zone names prefixed with <strong>(I)</strong> are Immortal-only or heavily restricted. Names prefixed with <strong>(X)</strong> are cross-continent (special access required).</p> <hr> <h2 id="starting-cities--hubs">Starting Cities & Hubs</h2> <p>These zones form the backbone of the world. Most characters begin here or pass through frequently.</p> </article> <article> <h1>The Resurrection</h1> <p>Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>Dark Pawns is running again.</p> <p>If you played between 1997 and 2010, you remember the login screen. You remember rolling an Assassin and getting one-shotted in the Cold Village. You remember the mobile AI that was genuinely smarter than half the players. You remember arguing about PK policy at 3 AM.</p> <p>That world sat on a dead hard drive for fifteen years. The CircleMUD C code compiled on nothing modern. The areas were there, the classes were there, the help files with their particular brand of aggressive helpfulness were all there — but the server wasn’t.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Server Status</h1> <p>Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h2 id="what-this-means">What This Means</h2> <p>This page checks the live game server status. If the server is unreachable, you’ll see the message above. The data refreshes each time you load the page.</p> <h2 id="having-trouble-connecting">Having Trouble Connecting?</h2> <p>See the <a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/connect/connection-instructions/">connection instructions</a> for client setup, or visit the <a href="https://darkpawns.labz0rz.com/help/">help section</a> for common issues.</p> </article> </main></body></html>