Greetings,
I wrote these notes to help aspiring newcomers in their first steps in mastering the magical arts of MUME. Hopefully it will give some useful ideas on which to build further training.
First of all, a magical career is usually not the easiest one and if you are completely new to MUME, I suggest you read Gorm's ranger page instead as well as start with a perhaps easier path of a warrior or a scout. But of course, if you have decided to stay, I will do my best to guide you.
All people are not created equal in MUME - some have better chance to be a magical artist, while others excel in scouting or brute force. When starting your life in MUME with a goal to be a mage, then for a beginner I suggest to go with preset choices - these are usually quite good. If you decide to fine-tune the abilities by yourself, then you should ask yourself
These guidelines are targeted to more or less pure mages - however I suggest to throw in some clerical arts too, as it is customary among most mages in MUME. Battle- and scoutmages are a whole different story.
A mage needs intelligence and wisdom as primary traits, not neglecting also willpower and perception. The first two determine the general casting ability and amount of mana, while willpower gives mana regeneration and high perception increases the damage of offensive spells. Physical traits like strength, constitution and dexterity tend to be mediocre at best (one cannot master everything). Of those, constitution determines your health reserve - therefore this cannot be completely forgotten. Strength is most importantly associated with the ability to carry things as well as wield bigger weapons. For a mage, dexterity means mostly ability to dodge enemy's blows - there are people who forget it completely but at least a beginner should perhaps not do that either.
So I would suggest the rough scale as follows: (almost) maximum intelligence), high wisdom, high (at least above average) willpower, at least average perception (depending on your plans - a warlike person needs it higher, while the one planning to be a helping hand in enchanting, locating and identifying does not), enough strength for your chosen weapon class (which for a beginner could be slashing weapons like swords - in MUME this translates to 12-13 units of strength, about the same is needed for most bows), and the rest divided equally between constitution and dexterity. Not so low strength also helps in using more protecting, but heavier armour (stronger mages have even been seen in thick metal).
There is another path for mages which also I have taken, but this is much harder to start with. Here strength is forsaken in favour of higher mental abilities. People who choose this way are generally going to be supportive characters mostly helping others (physical frailty and inability to wear well-protecting armour (ringmail is the best you can carry) types make this kind of character an easy prey for Orcs and Trolls) - but at high levels, high mental capacity means also better magical protection combined with devastating spells capable of destroying even strong opponents. However, this path means a real test of patience on levels 5-9 - typically your only weapon is a dagger, you cannot take much damage and do not have good offensive spells yet (burning hands is almost all you can master). If you pass the test, you will start learning earthquake on level 8 - from this on, you will gradually turn into a real mage.
A small note on perception - beginners tend to overlook training in this treat. However, perception helps to better target your offensive spells, making them more effective. Although perhaps not a primary feature in a mage, it should not be neglected.
The starting guidelines by Gorm are quite valid for mages too - before going to learn any incantations, it is better to learn some mundane things like swimming, riding and bandaging. Once this is done, a young mage will face his/her first temptation - to learn lots of fighting skills. Doing this may help you at first (and if planning to re-learn everything later, it also an option) but will lower your casting abilities a lot. The hardest point in cross-training is probably to hit the balance spot where both sides are still giving positive effect. A typical mage, however, may only learn the very basics of weapon skills, dodging, parrying (and perhaps also endurance), not more. Ranger skills like swimming, bandaging and wilderness do not have any negative effect and should be reasonably practiced.
The first really useful incantation will be armour on L3 - this will be your constant friend since then. Keep it up at all times, and when facing a potentially dangerous encounter, refresh it.
Magic missile as the first offensive spell is optional. For a low-strength mage with only a dagger, this may be helpful. Otherwise the damage is perhaps just too small to make a difference (magic missile has a place in high-level mage duels but we are not dealing with these levels yet). Chill touch is a bit better, but I would recommend to use burning hands as your primary low level attack spell as soon as it becomes available to learn for you (L5); shocking grasp (L7) has also become more used recently.
In general, excessive training in clerical arts is not a very good idea for a mage as this diminishes his/her offensive power. However, learning how to cure light wounds is possible at the very beginning, and if you do not invest too much time into it, this will not have any negative effect. Later on, it is advised to replace the cure light with more potent cure serious spell (clerics can have it at L5, but it is advisable to wait a bit with learning this as a mage).
When you make it to the 5th level, learn also shroud. This will make you invisible for lower-level creatures until you attack them (this must be remembered - shroud dissolves after the start of combat!). It is not necessary to master the spell - but learning everything taught in Grey Havens about shroud is recommended. From this point on, an attack model of "shroud on - move to victim - cast burning hands - fight some - flee, rest and repeat if needed" comes available.
When you get to L10-12, it is time for your first dangerous journey from safe Western areas to the surrounded Rivendell - the easiest way to accomplish this is to ask an experienced warrior or ranger to lead you there as you are no match yet to the forces of darkness roaming the wilderness around Elrond's home. It is advised to go there with at least 2 or 3 levels worth of practice time to spare - the first trip should teach you at least earthquake spell (preferrably all that they can teach about it) and armour (rumour says that the best experts of protective spells recently moved to Lothlorien, but even now Rivendell can teach them pretty well). If you can handle to do the trip a bit later, learning store is also useful - this will allow you to save incantations for immediate use later on. At first, storing two earthquakes is all you can do - but even this will make a big difference. For your perspective: a well-trained high-level mage can store up to five earthquakes (this takes a real expert now - all others have the limit of four), enough to annihilate even very strong enemies (earthquake is most useful in lone attack against groups of foes; be careful not to use it if friends are near!).
At about the same level, you can start experimenting with one of your primary attack spells - lightning bolt. However, you do not need to go to Rivendell to learn at first - Forlond is enough. Also, brief learning of utilitarian clerical cantrips like creating food, water and light as well as blessing people (including yourself!) and things is advisable at these levels (maybe already earlier). If one plans longer trips east or into dark places, brief learning in detecting invisibility can become handy.
Your second visit to Rivendell should take place around L15-17 and result in mastering lightning bolt, teleport (even if you have learned all about it, its use would be better to be postponed for a later time - more on the issue below) and optionally some of the potent attack spells (colour spray and/or fireball). Be prepared that if learned inefficiently, the latter are slow and backfire easily - to the point that they should be fully mastered before use. It is also a good idea to start learning shield - even if it cannot be mastered yet. Shield combined with armour offers a remarkable increase of protection!
Those who need to magically lock doors before (or after) a foe can learn the block door incantation in Rivendell during this visit too. Be aware that once blocked, the door cannot be opened for several hours (but can be broken by magic or brute force).
After learning teleport, it is also needed to study locating spells - this can be done in peaceful Forlond. In general, both locate and locate life incantations can be used with just a little learning, so do not spend much energy here. Their use is covered more exactly under Teleport issue.
About here it is good to pay a visit to the cleric guild near Bree and learn the breath of briskness which will speed up your journeys a lot. Learn it well, but do not spend too much time in learning either.
Third visit to Rivendell is needed when approaching Hero status (L21) - mastering attack spells and shield, and optionally learning enchant (to achieve the best results, the spell should be learned well, however not mastered).
Somewhat sinister spells of charm and sleep are only taught (to an usable degree - basics can be learned elsewhere too) in the dangerous city of Tharbad. If you plan to learn these, better be ready to fight the evil wizards who tend to visit the city quite often...
And finally - the beautiful tree city of Caras Galadhon in evergreen Lothlorien. The power of Galadriel's ring gives the spells of armour and shield their maximum effect. The way there is difficult and dangerous however - the best way to travel there may be to ask help from an elder colleague who can invite mighty Eagles to carry people around Arda. It should also be mentioned that only Elven folks may freely enter Lothlorien - Men and Dwarves can only do so as guests of Elven people.
...or teleport, as it is commonly known in MUME, is not easy for new learners. It can be tricky and land even experienced mages to unexpected and sometimes very uncomfortable places. To make things worse, there is often a short period of dizziness following the arrival, making the traveller unable to take any actions. It will not last long, however it can be enough for a hideous Troll or similar monster to kill you. Therefore, teleporting should not be a pastime but growing out of necessity.
While the learning can be started quite early and is even finished at L15, teleporting will start to be more or less safe a couple of levels later. When trying it out for the first time, it would be wise to choose a place with minimal dangers around, and not to choose the target very far away - the farther one attempts to go, the more likely is the shift of landing place. As a sample of possible distances - a hero-level mage can teleport from Bree to Fornost rather reliably, or cross the Gulf of Lhún - the limits are apparently quite personal.
The tricky part in teleporting is also finding the correct target. Each location and creature in Arda has got a special magical pattern which is unique to this place or being. This pattern is obtainable with locate spell for locations and locate life spell for creatures. When casting teleport, this pattern must be vocalized in addition to the spell itself.
For people not interested in fighting Orcs and Trolls, a stored spell of teleport is handy indeed - just need to get some distance between yourself and the enemy, and BLAM! leave the monster gaping in dismay. More warlike mages, however, may opt to greet the foe with quaking earth or fry him in a couple of fireballs instead.
A higher level mage is typically not only a master of illusions and tricks, but an able fighter as well, being equipped with a number of aggressive incantations which range from tickling to devastating. Here is a small overview of these spells.
First, typical 'one on one' spells:
Then there are a couple of special spells:
TO BE CONTINUED...
Good luck!
Mithmenel, the scholar of Harlond
Last changes: Feb 16, 2004