How to Play TriadCity

The TriadCity Players' Guide

Exits

Exits are the physical connections that allow you to move from one Room to the next.

In TriadCity, there are six cardinal directions: North, East, South, West, Up, and Down. You may or may not be able to move in any of these directions from your present location. It's the presence of an Exit that makes this possible.

Exits can be physical things like doors, windows, or whatnot. But you should think of them in more abstract terms, because they can also be time tunnels, spiraling vortexes, or any number of other things. Maybe the best approach is to think of an Exit as lack of impediment which would prevent you from moving in a particular direction.

Not every Room has Exits. It's perfectly possible to get stuck in a place with no way out. Not every Exit may be visible to you. Not every Exit may allow you to cross it. Exits may be blocked or closed. They may be locked, or they may require magic or a secret word to open.

You should note that in TriadCity, Exits are inherently one-directional. This means that, although you can move through an Exit from one Room to another, you should not expect that you'll necessarily be able to move back to the original Room again. You might, you might not. Depends.

When you enter a Room, the Exits you are able to perceive will be listed. They appear at the bottom of the Room description, and look something like this:

[Exits: north east south west]

All of your senses come into play in determining what Exits are available. If you revisit a Room after raising your See Skill or another sense Skill you may be surprised to discover additional Exits you hadn't previously realized were there. Exits may also be hidden by Items inside the Room.

Moving through an Exit may cost energy in addition to whatever energy it may require to enter the Room. For example, it may be possible to clamber through a thorn bush to get into the clearing beyond, but it might be less costly to go around. Some Exits might cause you harm — those thorns may sting. Some Exits may incur a financial cost — think of toll crossings. Exits may not be available below certain levels, or they may be denied to specific alignments or genders. Some roads are easier to travel than others, for example there are "thoroughfare" roads, where moving will not cost energy at all — unless you're the wrong alignment. Exits may lead to random destinations — some of the more psychotic mazes are impossible to map. Exits may not always lead to the same destination every time. Yes, we do things like this — but not much. Crossing an Exit may cause events to happen: perhaps an alarm will go off. Or something wonderful could ensue: perhaps an Attribute boost. Don't always assume the mundane.

It's important to have an idea of your whereabouts before going through an Exit. Usually, having a reasonable estimation of what to expect in the next Room makes it easier to stay oriented should you end up in a place you didn't anticipate. Most of the time an Exit will take you somewhere geographically intuitive. Keeping an overall sense of where you are and how that location relates to others is very useful.

Players' Guide TOC

Not yet a member? Get started today!