Combat Movement

Combat in the realms of Aalynor's Nexus is unique for its realism, complexity, and excitement. The skill of the enemies, the variety of tactics available, allow for battles that appeal to the player on an almost visceral level: the heart pounds, the blood sings - this is the thrill of battle. The overall whole is extremely enjoyable, and - don't say we didn't warn you - extremely addictive.

Among the most integral and distinctive aspects of combat in the realms is known as 'zone movement.' Simply put, this permits the player to move around in combat, whether it's to escape one's foes, or pursue them. Most importantly, though, it promotes great possibility for group strategy (grouping is not only profitable, but encouraged, as it aids in finding a place in our role-playing environment... after all, what's the point of playing on the Internet if you're going to do it alone?).

Each 'room' in Aalynor's Nexus is split into five zones, or areas of occupation. Upon entering a room, one is almost always situated in the middle zone.

Monsters usually appear in the front of the room, but can, at times, appear anywhere. The commands, 'move forward' (or 'mv f') and 'move back' (or 'mv b'), will move the player one zone in the prescribed direction. One may also 'sprint forward' or 'sprint back' ('spr f' or 'spr b') to move two zones at once. Keep in mind, however, that there's a slightly longer delay after sprinting. This 'turn' delay is in some small part determined by one's dexterity. It is also important to realize that some - many, in fact - of the monsters in the realms move faster than any player. Rangers, however, may use their 'haste' skill, which allows them to move, and attack, much faster than others.

One can easily determine one's foes, or friends, position in the room with the 'victim' and 'people' commands. For example, if one is attacking a criminal, typing 'victim' (or 'v') would show something like this:

The criminal, a dozen steps in front of you, looks healthy.

The phrase, 'a dozen steps in front of you,' tells the player that the criminal is standing two zones in front of him/her.

If the screen were to say...

The criminal, a couple steps behind you, looks healthy.

The player would know that the criminal is one zone behind him/her. As you can probably guess, 'beside you' would mean that the criminal is in the same zone, and therefore within striking distance, of the player. Be careful, however, for some of the creatures in our dangerous realms can strike from a distance.

The 'people' command is much the same, except that it tells the player the location and healthiness of the other players in the room. For example, typing 'people' (or 'peo') would show:

Banzai is standing a dozen steps in front of you, and looks tired.
Renton is standing a couple steps in front of you, and looks healthy.
Wicked is standing a dozen steps in front of you, and looks a bit tired.
Scorpio is standing a couple steps behind you, and looks poisoned.
Dreamweaver is standing a dozen steps behind you, and looks near death.

This is especially useful for healing the other members of the group, as it tells the player not only which players are in need, and of what, but also whether or not they're in range of certain spells or devices.

Another added feature is the 'position' (or 'pos') command. With this, your position in relation to the center of the room is shown like this:

You are standing at the center of the room - (center).
You are standing toward the front of the room - (one move forward from center).
You are standing at the front of the room - (two moves, or a sprint forward from center).
You are standing toward the back of the room - (one move back from center).
You are standing at the back of the room - (two moves, or a sprint back from center).

Often if you become disorientated from moving about the zones frequently this can help out quite a bit.