Newbie areas

Areas for beginning adventurers

Although finding monsters usually is easy, it can be harder for beginning adventurers to find monsters which they actually have a chance of defeating in combat. Here are listed some which have been found suitable for beginners. And do not make the usual mistake of attacking the innocent citizens of Vaerlon; you will regret that. Also remember to use the 'consider'-command frequently to check how hard the monsters you meet are. Remember, "Vaerlon" is the name of the city you started in.

House of clan Bloodaxe

You will find very easy animals roaming the outer rim of the house perimeter. Kobolds and goblins occupy the inner yard and surrounding wall corridors, but are still relatively easy. Orcs and ogres occupy the house inside the walls and can be challenging for a newbie. Use listen ('help listen') to learn how to locate your prey. This is a dead simple area - no hidden gimmicks, just an opportunity to learn basic skills.

This area is meant purely for newbies to learn Icesus. Map of the area can be found from here: House of clan Bloodaxe

Rat-infested warehouse

This warehouse lies in the southeastern part of Vaerlon. Once filled with the goods of merchants, it was abandoned due to an extraordinary amount of rats appearing there. Now Vizra, an old female dwarf from a rich merchant family, has gained permission to hire young adventurers to kill the rats from the warehouse. She hopes this will clear the warehouse and enable her family to gain control of it.

Vizra stands at the entrance to the warehouse. Talk to her with the 'ask'-command, starting with 'ask vizra'. She will tell you how you can help, if you ask about it.

There are usually plenty of rats in the warehouse which you can kill and get paid for, in the way Vizra explains. Note that she checks your level and amount of experience before paying you, adjusting the sum thereafter so that younger and more inexperienced player get paid more. Adventurers above level 10 does not get paid at all, no. Vizra also gives some free torches to young players, if asked correctly.

If someone recently has killed many rats, the warehouse might appear empty. More rats will appear soon, in that case. Beginners should not venture below the first basement level; it is said there can be dangerous monsters down there.

Those who keep their eyes open and their wits about might find hidden things and tasks to perform.

If you don't want to kill rats and would like to instead hunt them on the streets of Vaerlon or Atherton you should go either to downstairs of the magic shop in Vaerlon or at the adventurer's guild at Atherton and talk to the small hooded ratling there. This way you don't risk yourself getting wounded by the rats and still receive money and experience.

Drudric's Hut

Drudric can be found in his hut located east from Vaerlon. Just follow the road going east from the southern gate, cross a bridge and take the path going south. Greet Drudric and he'll help you to get started.

After completing some tasks for him, he will allow you to use a portal for quick access to newbie areas.

The dwarven mines of Vaerlon

The entrance to the dwarven mines is in the tunnel going through the mountains northwest of Vaerlon. First enter the tunnel in the northwestern part of Vaerlon, just southeast of the smithy. Then go through the tunnel southwest-westward until you see a steel door. Beyond it lies the mines. If it is locked, look for the key nearby. The monster on the first level of the mines are suitable for all but the most beginning adventurers. The monsters further down might also be suitable, but there are also aggressive monsters down there. Aggressive monsters will attack any adventurer they see, and can be dangerous. If your terminal supports colour, they will show up in red text so that they are more easily distinguishable.

NOTE: Do *NOT* take the northwest tunnel, there lives a dangerous cave bear.

The forest of Namgeb

Going all the way through the tunnel through the mountains which starts in the northwestern part of Vaerlon (see above), you come to a road. Following it you come to a crossing where two paths lead away. The northeastern path leads to the forest of Namgeb, if you follow it northwards. In the forest are animals and inhabitants which beginners might stand a chance against. Be careful of the aggressive wolf pack leader which also roams the forest, though.

The sewers of Vaerlon

The sewers of Vaerlon are hard to get into, as the manholes are usually closed. The sewers are large and widely spread, so search the city carefully if you wish to go down there. Most of the manholes are locked, but the one in the

dwarven quarter (northern part of Vaerlon) is usually left open by absent-minded dwarf mainters. But be warned, the sewers are a dangerous place for a lonely player. Lots of villains live there, looking for an easy kill.

Gale's berry-farm

A small berry-farm is established just northeast from Vaerlon's north gate. From there you can find a small forest, some farming fields and a small farmhouse and of course, all the usual farm animals. It is rumoured that the farmer himself is ill and his wife desperately needs some aid to take care of the farm.

An ancient crypt

There is an ancient crypt northwest from Vaerlon, said to contain riches beyond ones wildest dreams. While this may be exaggerated a bit, it does contain riches beyond your usual newbie's dreams. To get there, leave Vaerlon through the western gate and continue the road northwards. Take the path to the west after the river and you should find it. Beware, though, not all of the explorers have returned safely once gone inside.

The outworld

The outworld is where you are when you step out of Vaerlon. Like in the city, you will see a small map of you surroundings when you walk around, unless you are in 'brief'-mode ('help brief'). You can find some small monsters here during the day, especially on plains and meadows (shown on the map as "p" and "m") and in sparse forests ("e", "f", "d"). Do not venture into deep forests or any other rough terrain; the monsters there are usually much harder, and they can be aggressive. And remember, use 'consider' if you aren't sure about the monster you are facing.

WARNING! During the night, there are undeads roaming the outworld. Many of them are aggressive and most are dangerous. Beginning adventurers should avoid moving in the outworld during the night, or only move along roads and paths then. The monsters do not normally come to roads or paths, but they might be there if they followed someone, so be careful.

There are many other areas that you can explore once you are somewhat more experienced. A good aid in finding these is the graphical worldmap on our www-pages. Go to www.icesus.org/Icesus/ and click on the "World map" link. The city of Vaerlon is the big yellow spot in the middle of the western edge of the map, from which many roads start. Clicking on the map will zoom in on the region and show what the different colours represent.

When traveling to areas, remember that there is an ep-cost for moving through outworld terrains other than roads, ie if you walk around in the outworld and aren't on a road, your endurance points will decrease. The rougher the terrain, the more tiring it is to move through.