Fighting

If you're going to fight, you'll probably need a weapon. The good news is that you already have one. Unfortunately, it's probably not very good unless your species is designed for fighting. For example, while mysrra have built in claws, all humans have are their meaty fists.

Anything on Terrinor can be used as a weapon: A canteen, a sword, some sand, your torch, a shilling, etc. If you can hold it, you can hit someone with it. However, things designed to be weapons are much more useful at it, so you should probably get yourself a dagger or sword rather than trying to kill someone with a penny.

There are several skills which affect your ability with weapons. A partial list would include:
Sword
Dagger (includes knives)
Axe
Club
Hammer
Spear
Staff
Unarmed combat (just your fists)
Brawling (fighting with things not meant as weapons, like your shoe)

Once you've got a weapon, you'll need to choose your style (see 'help style'). Each end of a spectrum on the style table has a skill associated with it which indicates your ability to use that particular style element. For example, if you have dodge emphasized, it means that you will spend more time dodging than being offensive. Also, the style you use will determine the way that your skills improve. If you never dodge, you'll never get better at dodging. (see 'help increase' for information about changing your style)

One last note: your weapon skill also affects your chance to parry with that weapon.

Armor

Armor is used by wearing it. Armors can be worn on any limbs that they fit on. Some armors allow you to choose which part to wear it on. Typing in [wear greave on right leg] would be acceptable but [wear helmet on right arm] would not.

Some armors will cover more than one part of your body. Some armors can also overlap, giving better protection to the part they cover. A hauberk and greaves, for instance, could overlap and give better protection to your legs. Some armors might not overlap in this way. (A breastplate and a helmet will cover different areas, and thus will not overlap).

Armor can slow you down and burden you, so take this into account before buying a full suit of armor.

Ranged Weapons

Why would I want to use a ranged weapon?

There are several reasons to use a ranged weapon, but the most obvious one is to get around other people. Ranged weapons ignore any guards that are surrounding a person and directly target your victim. Also, if there are a number of people already attacking a person, you can shoot around them and hit your target--just don't miss.

Another reason is for the intimidation factor. If someone has a crossbow loaded and aimed at your forehead, you're going to look at them a bit differently.

How do I use a ranged weapon?

The first thing you need to do is pick it up. After that, pick up something to fire from it. Most weapons will use a specific type of ammunition (arrows for bows, bolts for crossbows, etc.) so be sure you have the right type. Then you load your weapon as follows:

load [weapon]

for example: load crossbow

If you have the right type of projectile in your hand, you'll load your weapon, but keep in mind that it takes time to load these things. The time is dependent on your skill with that weapon and the weapon itself--crossbows in particular take a long time to load.

Once you have your weapon loaded you have two choices. First, you can aim at your opponent like this:
target [victim] with [weapon]

or: target [weapon] on [victim]
or: target [weapon] at [victim]

for example: target Elija with crossbow

After targeting your opponent, you can wait until you're ready to hurt them (but don't wait too long, you'll eventually loose your aim) and then fire like so:

fire [weapon]
or: fire [weapon] at [victim]
or: fire
for example: fire crossbow
If you didn't aim, you can still fire your weapon at someone, you're just not going to be as accurate. To fire, just type:

fire [weapon] at [victim]

for example: fire crossbow at Elija

Can I fire into the next room?

No. We thought about this, but decided it would be too difficult to implement correctly.

Why do I keep loosing my aim?

Either you were interrupted, your target left, or you just got tired of aiming for so long. As you get better with your weapon and at targeting, you'll get better at keeping your aim.

Can I aim at a specific part of a person's body?

Yes, just use the "aim" command as you would in normal combat. This will be taken into account automatically when you fire.

How do I get back an arrow that's stuck in my victim's body?

You'll need to use the dislodge command, like this:

dislodge [item] from [person]

for example: dislodge bolt from elija

How did it get stuck there in the first place?

It usually means you hit the person really well and the item is stuck in the target instead of hitting and then falling out.