GemStone IV Wiki - User contributions [en]

Visually impaired player guide

2017-03-11T01:12:59Z

HOST-GSAVALUKA:

{{Work-in-progress}}

This guide is intended to help players who are visually impaired, especially those who use a text-to-speech screen reading program like Freedom Scientific's JAWS, connect to Gemstone IV and be successful in learning its various quirks. Currently only Simutronics' Web FE is slightly accessible to the blind, though it does not provide the easiest experience overall. It is, however, possible to connect to the game using third-party fully-accessible MUD clients like GMA Games' VIP MUD, which is covered in this guide.

==Connecting to the Game==

NOTE: These steps work best when you already have a character created on your account. When creating a new character slot, you may be automatically routed to the
Web FE initially. Do not be alarmed if this happens - the Web FE should be accessible enough to allow you to create your character. When your character leaves the character manager and enters the world at large, you can be free to close the Web FE and re-login in using this method to connect through VIP MUD.

Recommended Browser: Mozilla Firefox

* Visit play.net/gs4, enter your login credentials and hit the 'GO PLAY' button. You will be logged in and redirected to the character selection page.
* Select the radio button that corresponds to the character you want to play.
* Select the radio button next to Storm Front in the section for front ends. If you do not see a Front End selection, you may have to find some clickable text that says something like 'Other Ways to Connect' and hit the enter key on it to expand this list. (NOTE: Do not install Storm Front or any of the other software suggested here.)
* Hit the 'Go Play' button.
* You should receive a dialog asking you to Open or Save a file with a '.sal' ending. It is usually named after the character you are trying to log in. Prompt this file to open in Notepad, Wordpad or any Word processor. (NOTE: Firefox is recommended due to the prompting of this file opening always happening using this browser and IE is less than reliable.)
* Find the host and port information in this file that you will need to create a profile for Gemstone IV on your mud client. They are listed after 'GAMEHOST=' and 'GAMEPORT='.
* Move to the bottom of the '.sal' file and find the entry with the prefix 'KEY='. This is your login key. Select all these characters that appear after 'KEY=', except the equals sign, and copy it to your clipboard.
* Prompt your MUD client to connect to the host/port for Gemstone IV found above. You should see some text including the word 'MODE' and the client will then appear to hang, as it is waiting for your input.
* Paste the login key you copied from the '.sal' file into your client and hit 'enter' to send it to the MUD. The client will still appear to hang, but this is normal - it is waiting for one more piece of information, which is a line indicating what client you are using.
* Type'>/FE:JAVA' and hit enter. You should now be connected to the game and be receiving the login scroll.
* NOTE: If you receive an 'invalid login key' message, you may have copied the login key from the '.sal' file incorrectly. Ensure you don't have any errant whitespace characters and have copied all characters /except/ for the 'KEY=' at the beginning. If you still get this message, you can attempt to logout of the website completely using 'Full Logout' and try again after re-logging in, as there may have been an error on the server's end.

==Skils and Training==
If you've already started to play and have begun to gain experience, you'll begin to notice messages telling you that you've earned [[Training Points]]. These are great for spending on skills, though part of the message can be confusing to a player who is visually impaired and connecting through a third-party accessible client. The message mentions the [[GOALS]] verb, which will not work when using a third-party client due to the fact attempts to launch a web-based Skills Manager. A third-party client will not know how to properly launch this manager and the command will appear to hang.

Skills, however, can successfully be trained completely in-game using the [[CHECK IN]] command at any local Inn. You can use [[DIR]] Inn to get directions to the nearest Inn that will allow you to [[CHECK IN]]. Be sure to find the "Front Desk" room within the Inn, as this is the room where you can use the [[CHECK IN]] verb. Follow the numbered prompts to 'Adjust Skill Goals', which will open a 2-column layout of skills available to train in. The amount of [[Training Points]] you have is listed at the bottom, along with a helpful list of commands and examples on how to raise or lower skills.

The 2-column layout of this in-game Skills Manager is a bit clunky to get used to when using a screen reader, unfortunately, due to the contents of the first column needing to be read before you can hear the contents of the second column. The numbers corresponding to the skills never change, however, and it can be easy enough to keep a separate document listing which skills you need to train in each level and their corresponding numbers - before long, you'll have them memorized.

Here's a bit of help to orient you to the 2-column layout. I like to think of each column being divided into 3 sections, so technically an uneven grid of 6 sections.

* First column, top: Armor/Shield and Weapon Types
* First column, middle: Complimentary Physical Skills, such as Combat Maneuvers and Dodging
* First column, bottom: Tertiary Helper Skills like Climbing, Lockpicking and First Aid
* Second column, top: Generic Magical Skills like Spell Aiming, Magic Item Use and Mana Control
* Second column, top middle: Spell Circles/Spell Research
* Second column, middle and bottom: Lores, separated into sections

[[category:Guides]][[category:New Player]]

2017-01-13T23:12:52Z

HOST-GSAVALUKA: /* Reference */

The '''Aledotter Bloodline''' is a culture of the [[Burghal gnome|Burghal Gnomes]].

The Aledotter gnomes live outside dwarven caverns. They sometimes sneak inside these caverns to gather information about metallurgy and related skills. The Aledotter gnomes' main trade with other Burghal gnomes has, over time, condensed to focus on metals, armor and weaponry. A strong pride in their size is one of the hallmarks of this bloodline - the Aledotter gnomes believe that their stature gives them an advantage over larger and clumsier races. Many Aledotter women tend to choose their mates with a jaundiced eye towards size. Aledotter gnomes have a deep respect for [[Eonak]] and [[Gosaena]], but generally don't worship the [[Arkati]] in a deeply personal manner.

== Reference ==
*[http://www.play.net/gs4/info/races/cultures/burghalgnome.asp Races: Burghal Gnomes] on play.net
*[http://www.play.net/gs4/info/tomes/gnomes/other.asp History of the Gnomes: Other Bloodlines] on play.net

[[Category:Burghal Gnome Cultures]]
{{Burghal Gnomes}}

2016-12-16T23:31:47Z

HOST-GSAVALUKA: /* Reference */

== Agriculture ==
The size and stealth of the gnomes gave them every opportunity to observe the process of clearing, plowing, seeding,
and reaping the crops. They watched as vermin and disease attacked the plants, diminishing the yield. Using the knowledge of plants and animals they imported
from the forest, the gnomes improved irrigation and drainage, they trapped marauding birds and small mammals, they imported worms to aerate soil and bees
to pollinate, and they spread fertilizing and insecticide potions over the plants. When, in short order, the quality improved and the yield increased,
the gnomes began to break into the store rooms and liberate a share of the food, thinking of themselves not as burglars but as co-workers due a living
wage.

The gnomes knew they could not take all that was needed to feed the race directly from the fields and barns. Instead, each gnome was responsible for providing
for his own needs and the needs of his infant children. Some stole food from the fields, but others stole from homes and workplace pantries. As a result,
the pilferage was slow and steady and never significant enough to cause a hue and cry. Another result of this odd method of procurement can be seen to
this day in the fondness of Withycombe gnomes for stew. In most burghal gnome compounds, the cook will maintain a kettle of hodge-porridge slowly stewing
day and night. Whatever food comes into the household goes into the common stewpot, so that today’s flavor always owes something to the taste of yesterday.
== Housekeeping ==
In addition to fields and barns, the gnomes also infiltrated human homes. They observed housekeeping and the maintenance of lawns and gardens. Some gnomes
adopted deserving families as their special hosts, and they performed small tasks on their behalf. A window left open to the cold might be closed in the
night, or shoes left muddy might be found clean in the morning. Gardens tended by gnomes became the envy of human neighborhoods, and many a person credited
with a green thumb found herself receiving unjust blame for not sharing lawn maintenance secrets with the neighbors.
== Shopkeeping and Gems ==
The gnomes also studied the humans at work. From places of hiding in shops and guild halls, they learned every skill known to their hosts. Individual gnomes
adopted particular craftsmen, always seeking out the most worthy persons for their special attentions. They performed small housekeeping tasks, making
sure that the shop or workshop was clean and inviting for customers, but more importantly they sought out subtle ways to improve the quality of goods and
services. A gnome working with a tailor, for instance, might tighten the seams or elaborate on the embroidery of clothing, earning the craftsman a better
reputation and increased custom. As the shop prospered, the gnome would exact her share of the increased profits, sometimes in the form of goods but eventually
also in the form of silver coin. The gnomes eventually discovered another form of exchange in colorful faceted stones, and the love affair between burghal
gnomes and gems began. To this day, burghal gnomes prefer to do business with gems rather than the bulkier and heavier silver coin; rarely will a burghal
gnome leave home without a few gems for daily purchases. Withycombe gnomes are expert and innovative gem cutters, and the hallmark of their jewelry is
the simple setting that shows off the sparkle of the gem (the quality they value most).
== Innovations and Workshops ==
The burghal gnomes acknowledged that the humans, with their advantages in size and strength, could perform certain tasks with far greater ease than the
gnomes could ever hope to duplicate. They sought every means to compensate for their physical limitations, and innovation and experimentation became characteristic
of their race. In their workshops, they harnessed every available form of power: they tapped the power of earthnodes to experiment with various forms of
magic; they directed underground streams through pipes into their homes and workshops for necessary use but also to turn grinding wheels; they tapped boiling
springs as sources of heat, but also as a source of steam power for their machines. The gnomes learned to multiply and direct mechanical forces, first
with simple machines like the lever and the pulley, and then with mechanisms of increasing complexity. They built practical machines like the clock and
artistic machines like the mobile, but in time the purest expression of their love for engineering and design would appear in wondrous toys, puzzles, and
games.

The workshop of a burghal gnome is a place of great noise and industry, with the whirr of spinning wheels, the hiss of steam, and the crackle of harnessed
lightning. Burghal gnomes are notoriously casual in their dress, especially in the grip of a particularly vexing project, when a splash of grease or oil
might go unnoticed for days or weeks at a time. Between projects, however, their persons and their workshops are meticulously clean. Unfortunately, it’s
only the rarest occasion when a burghal gnome is between projects.
== Marriage ==
As their culture increasingly focused on the workplace and home workshop, the gnomes began to experience a radical change in their personal lives. Nowhere
is this more visible than in marriage. Over the centuries, Withycombe gnomes have come to look at marriage as an extension of work, as a task they undertake
for the good of the race rather than for personal satisfaction. In their marriage vows, they promise not to love and to cherish the positive qualities
of their mates, but to fix specific faults in their partners. They spend their marriage tinkering with each others’ habits and personalities, in the hope
of making each other better gnomes. As a consequence of this unique arrangement, burghal gnomes of bloodline Withycombe almost never divorce. Their differences
are seen signs of the strength of the coupling, and some Withycombe gnomes go so far as to choose their partners on the basis of their incompatibility.
(It is important for outsiders to note that Withycombe gnomes do love their mates, even though the basis for their love might be different from your own.)
== Coming of Age / The the arvyad’gno ==
Withycombe childrearing is also inextricably tied to the cultural focus on craft. At a very early age, children are apprenticed outside the home, as the
emotions between parent and child are considered a deterrent to workshop discipline. As a parting gift from the opposite-sex parent, the young gnome receives
a leather tool belt branded with the family and bloodline name; the same-sex parent provides the child with a tool etched with the surname of the new apprentice.
As the child gains knowledge and skill in a craft, the master makes additional gifts in recognition of significant achievement. When adolescence turns
to young adulthood, most gnomes have filled their belts with the tools of their trade and they stand ready for the arvyad’gno, or the “venture of fate.”
In this coming of age trial, each gnome is left alone in a room empty but for a burlap bag. Using the tools in their belt and their native wit, the gnomes
must assemble something from the parts and pieces found within in the bag. Some rumors suggest that each master creates her own task item, while others
insist that every burghal gnome since the days of Sjandor Withycombe has assembled the same item. The Withycombe gnomes hold secret the exact description
of this artifact, but many have revealed that words etched on the metal pieces serve as a clue to the order of assembly as they come together to form an
aphorism or short parable of Withycombe wisdom.

Gnomes who successfully complete the arvyad’gno receive the title of journeyman, and they are free to pursue their craft independently. Journeymen typically
work for some dozens of years, until they have accumulated the experience and capital necessary to buy out a retiring master (and his or her workshop).
Gnomes who fail to complete the arvyad’gno in the allotted time bear the stigma for all of their days. They rarely rise to positions of authority, and
they usually perform only menial tasks within the burghal gnome community. At the conclusion of the ceremony, both successful and unsuccessful applicants
are marked with their own blood as a sign of adult membership in the bloodline. Withycombe gnomes, many of whom choose to tattoo the bloodmark into their
skin, bear a sign of two straight lines with a diamond at either side.
== Religion ==
The centrality of the workshop also manifests in the religious life of the Withycombe gnomes. Eonak the craftsman has many adherents, as does Tonis the
fleetfooted, patron of thieves. Many Basingstoke gnomes also worship Lumnis and Fash’lo’nae for their connection to the search for knowledge. Like their
Basingstoke relations, the Withycombe gnomes celebrate their most important holiday as Founder’s Day, which for the Withycombe marks the anniversary of
Sjandor Withycombe’s first speech to the burghal gnomes in Tamzyrr. On Founder’s Day, the burghal gnomes clean themselves up and leave their workshops
to visit with family and friends. Presents are exchanged in honor of the gods, and to showcase the work that’s been done over the previous year.
== Cultural Leaders ==
It is on Founder’s Day that the Withycombe select a head gnome for the year to follow. The burghal gnomes have long been settled in their cultural ways,
and the criteria for head gnome have changed subtly over time. The gnome who does the most to improve the lot of the race is now seen as the gnome who
produces the most ingenious device, whether practical or whimsical in nature. The role of head gnome is largely ceremonial. He (or, rarely, she) visits
workshops of master craftsmen to kibbutz on their designs. The input of the head gnome is tolerated, but rarely welcome, as many gnomes give in to an excess
of pride after winning the competition for the title. The only serious business of the head gnome comes when a particular city’s population reaches excess,
and a pioneering group applies for permission to establish a colony in a new human city or town. For day-to-day business, the burghal gnomes are governed
by family elders, who in most cases are also workshop masters.
== Death and Burial ==
Withycombe lives end with very little ceremony. After a brief visitation of family and friends, corpses are wrapped in anonymous shrouds and deposited
in brick-lined vaults deep beneath the city. There the bodies lie, unmarked and unacknowledged, until even the bones turn to dust. In the course of time,
as space for new bodies becomes scarce, the gnomes sweep the remains of the eldest generation from the crypt and spread them into the winds that course
through the night in the skylit world up above. Only then is a funeral held, and the gnomes recount the major accomplishments of the lost generation. It
is believed that this system provides for historical objectivity, which might be threatened should the immediate relatives of the dead be called upon to
judge their work.
== Art ==
Withycombe gnomes have little in their culture that might be called art. While they mimic the artisan skills of the humans, their production tends to be
derivative at best. Some of their fancy-dress clothing, however, bears a unique style of embroidery design consisting of interlocking geometric shapes.
Basingstoke gnomes also favor the mechanical reproduction of nature, in items like the bejeweled metal songbirds sold on the Dhu Gillywack. For the Basingstoke
gnomes, such feats of design and construction represent the very height of aesthetic achievement. The Withycombe gnomes are also excessively fond of poetry;
but where the forest gnomes favor the imagistic lyric, the burghal gnomes value only rhyme, often at grave cost to meter and sense.
== Potential Locations ==
Burghal gnomes of Bloodline Withycombe have infiltrated most of the major cities and towns of the human empire, as well as select smaller outposts on the
fringes of civilization. It is far more likely for burghal gnomes to live openly in these smaller towns, where the prejudicial human laws are not as strictly
enforced.
== Reference ==
Information derived from official documentation at: http://www.play.net/gs4/info/tomes/gnomes/withycombe.asp

[[Category:Burghal Gnome Cultures]]
{{Burghal Gnomes}}