Strategy for Newbies Guide

New to Nilgiri? Never played a MUD before? This guide takes you from your first login to level 4, command by command, based on real play.

A MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) is a text-based online world. There are no graphics — you read descriptions of rooms and type commands like north or look. Other players are in the same world with you, right now. Nilgiri (“the Forgotten World”) is one of the oldest MUDs still running, online since 1991.

You don't need fast reflexes. You need curiosity.

See Connecting to Nilgiri. In short: SSH to player@nilgiri.net, answer the prompts, give your character's name (or create one), choose 1 at the menu to enter the game.

You start at the Temple of Midgaard. If you die, you wake up here — so learn the way back early.

The world is made of rooms. Each room has a name, a description, and exits.

look — describe the room you're in. Read it. The description often mentions things the exit list doesn't.
exits — list the obvious exits. (Tip: environment exits_long on shows exits automatically with every look.)
north, south, east, west, up, down — move. Diagonal directions like northeast also exist.
Try exits the description mentions, not just the obvious ones. If a room says “the path continues northeast” but northeast isn't listed — try northeast anyway. Secret exits guard the best places.
where — shows your zone (“exploring the depths of …”) and who's nearby. Use it in every new room so you always know what area you're in.

say hello — talk to the room you're in.
gossip hello — talk to the whole game. Use this to ask for help.
yell / shout — shorter ranges; gossip reaches everyone.
who — who's online.

Other players are your best resource. Ask questions.

score — your level, experience points (XP), hit points (HP), and hunger/thirst. Check it often.
inventory — what you're carrying. equipment — what you're wearing/wielding.
eat <food> and drink — never fight hungry or thirsty; it weakens you badly. Buy food in city shops; drink from fountains.

Levels: L1 is 0–1001 XP, L2 1002–2032, L3 2033–3243, L4 at 3244. Each level makes you tougher and opens new prey.

Your first fights should be in Midgaard itself — the city streets have small game (fidos, pigeons). The golden rule:

consider <target> — always do this before attacking. It tells you how dangerous the fight looks. If it says the target looks too strong, believe it and walk away.

Then:

kill <target> — attack. The fight runs in rounds; watch your HP.
flee — run away if the fight goes badly. Don't be proud — live to hunt another day.
get all from corpse — loot what you killed. (Note the word “from” — get all corpse doesn't work.)

Only fight animals and obvious creatures. If something looks like a person, look at it first — never attack players or townsfolk.

L1–L2 strategy: stay in the city. Consider every pigeon, fido, and small street creature. Kill what consider rates easy, bank the gold, and don't chase anything rated dangerous. Rabbits are a trap — even a harmless-looking rabbit can be far stronger than you.

Once consider starts rating city game as easy, head out the West Gate into the Hills and Plains: field mice, crickets, prairie dogs, black birds, ground hogs, jack rabbits. Good XP, fair fights.

Fight at full HP, fed and watered. Rest between fights (rest or just wait) until your health is back.
Watch every round. If your health drops fast, flee early — don't wait until you're nearly dead.
Mosquitoes and rabbits deserve respect: weak one-on-one, deadly in groups or when they surprise you.

Pick up everything: gold, notes, gems, gear on the ground.
Bank it. The Bank of Midgaard takes deposits (gold and valuables like gems). Gold on your corpse when you die is gold lost.
rent a room at an inn to save your character safely. The rent room also works as a vault for gear you can't use yet.
Dying costs XP and drops your corpse where you fell — you can go back for it with get all from corpse, but never chase a corpse into a dangerous area. Gear is replaceable; levels aren't.

Move one step at a time in new areas; look after every step.
where in every new room — know your zone.
Map as you go (paper, a text file, anything). Note room names and which exits you verified.
The community maps in the Nilgiri-Muse-Bot repo have ASCII sketches of Midgaard, the Hills and Plains, and Newtonia — with area markers showing how areas connect.

Reach L4. A realistic path: hunt the city to L2, the Hills and Plains to L3–L4, bank everything, and don't die to anything with long ears. When you hit L4, announce it: gossip Level! — the whole game will congratulate you.

Good luck, newbie. Watch out for rabbits.