Tips for Getting Started in Drakkar

- Read the Quick Start. It's very important.

- Read the full manual once you get the CD. It's got Oodles and Oodles of useful info in it. Don't leave Nork without it!

- Look at the tips and other info on the MPGN web site. You might also want to check out the Drakkar links to other places for useful info, although beware that many maps on the Web sites are out of date - Drakkar keeps expanding, and there are always new areas. Even the first level of the Nork dungeon has expanded.

- When rolling your characters, reroll until you get decently high stats. Don't settle for 15 - go for 16, 17, or best yet 18, especially in the stats most needed for your character. For *ALL* characters, this includes CON, possibly the most important stat of all.

- Name your persona in the MPG-Net System Access Software the same as your primary character - that way people know you in and out of game, and you *want* to develop a reputation, believe me.

- Spend time in the pub and make friends, especially with those you often see exploring the same areas you are. These are the people who will rescue you when you're down, help you fight when you can't handle it alone, and go out risking their own life and limb to recover your equipment for you when you die.

- For money early on, Helms are more valuable than most small gems. Also, remember you can carry a suit of chainmail in your right hand on your way out when your sack is full - it's worth money too.

- Train, train, train! For why, see my page on Training.

- Never be afraid to run away.

- Don't kill the NPCs. If they don't have a red banner on top, they're not gonna hurt you. Unless you hurt them first. And they *always* keep a grudge. (Some people like to play Evil characters and kill the NPCs. Avoid them like the plague - you can easily be killed in the backfire...)

- Always carry a couple of healing potions. You can buy some from the various Apothecaries (NW Nork is a good price...) in town.

- You can find out what an item is by forming the discipline SENSE on it while you are holding the item in your Right hand. You can occationally find SENSE scrolls in the dungeon, and some players very kindly give out the occational SENSE ring. SENSE is somewhat ineffective on many bottles, however - you can often find out what a bottle does by paying a lot of cash to the bottle senser you'll find in west Nork, but most bottles can be figured out by just looking at them and remembering the description. The full manual on the CD lists any number of items, their descriptions, and what they do.

- Did I mention to Train?

- Always remember that ALL characters are effectively expendible. You *will* eventually lose any character you start. Some people feel that this means you've wasted all that time and effort. Me, I feel that no character is a waste of effort as long as you have fun and keep finding new challenges. And remember, the deceased does leave two legacies - the contents of a locker, and the knowledge *you* gained by playing that character. This is especially true with Showcase being a flat-rate service.

- Train some more. Oops. I forgot to tell you *what* you should train! Okay, every character should pick a single skill to be the *primary* skill for that character. For Fighters and Barbarians, this should be a weapon, usually something like a Longsword or Two Handed Weapon. For Healers, Healer skill, for Mentalists, Mentalist skill, for Martial Artists, Martial Arts skill. Thieves I don't know about - I've never tried one.

It's quite possible that you will train in that one skill only, which will speed up your use of that skill, but it is often a good idea to work on a secondary skill, not nearly as fast as the primary skill - maybe 1/2 to 1/3 of that amount of training on the secondary skill. Fighters, Paladins, and Barbs can make use of a distance weapon like Bow. Healers should have a weapon also, most likely Longsword or throwing dagger, although Staff has it's benefits (it's a good blocker), and Martial Arts also has it's benefits. Ments should probably take staff. Martial Artists can stay pure - there isn't much better for them than MA skill.

- Read the MPGN Drakkar forums. Sometimes useful info pops up there. Also read the Drakkar version notes on occation. New changes to the game are noted in there.

- The Maeling Portal no longer erases twigs, supposedly, so you can go through with a Nork twig on your belt and still be able to use it. Mind you, it's still a one way passage, however, so don't forget that twig...

- Sometimes it's necessary to bite the bullet and reroll your character. It's not that bad. See the page on rerolling for why...