5.1 The Format of an Object

---

#<virtual number>
<alias list>~
<short description>~
<long description>~
<action description>~
<type flag> <extra (effects) bitvector> <wear bitvector>
<value 0> <value 1> <value 2> <value 3>
<weight> <cost> <rent per day> <load rate> <timer>
{Zero or more Triggers}
{Zero or more Extra Descriptions and/or Affect Fields}

---

There can be an unlimited number of Extra Descriptions and up to 6 Affect Fields.

Virtual Number

This number is critical; it is the identity of the object within the game. It is the number that will be used to reference the object from zone files and is the number used to ``load'' objects from within the game. The virtual numbers must appear in increasing order in the object file.

Alias List

The list of keywords, separated by spaces, that can be used by players to identify the object. The object can only be identified using the keywords that appear in its alias list; it cannot be identified by a word that appears only in its name. Great care should be taken to ensure that the spellings of names and aliases match. Fill words such as ``the,'' ``a,'' and ``an'' should not appear in the Alias List.

Short Description

The description of the object used by the MUD when the object is used. For example, a short description of ``a long, green stick'' would result in messages such as ``The Beastly Fido picks up the long, green stick.'' The Short Description should never end with a punctuation mark because it will be inserted into the middle of sentences.

Long Description

The description displayed when the object is seen lying on the ground, for example, ``A furled umbrella is lying here.'' Unlike the Short Description, the Long Description should end with appropriate punctuation.

Action Description

Action Descriptions are primarily used for magical objects (staves, wands, scrolls, and potions) to specify what message displayed to the room when the magical item is used. The Action Description should be given in the act format specified in act.doc. If no Action Description is present, a default message will be used:

Staves: Rasmussen taps <object> three times on the ground.

Wands: Rasmussen points <object> at Onivel.

Scrolls: Rasmussen recites <object>.

Potions: Rasmussen quaffs <object>.

For objects which are readable papers, the Action Description contains the text on the paper.

Type Flag

A number which specifies what type of object is being defined; also controls the meanings of value0 through value4. The Type Flag must be one of the following numbers:

---

1    LIGHT          Item is a light source.
2    SCROLL         Item is a magical scroll.
3    WAND           Item is a magical wand.
4    STAFF          Item is a magical staff.
5    WEAPON         Item is a weapon.
6    FIREWEAPON     Item is a ranged weapon.
7    MISSILE        Item is a missile for a ranged weapon.
8    TREASURE       Item is treasure other than gold coins (e.g. gems)
9    ARMOR          Item is armor.
10   POTION         Item is a magical potion.
11   WORN           Currently not implemented.  Do not use.
12   OTHER          Miscellaneous object with no special properties.
13   TRASH          Trash -- junked by cleaners, not bought by shopkeepers.
14   TRAP           Currently not implemented.  Do not use.
15   CONTAINER      Item is a container.
16   NOTE           Item is a note (can be written on).
17   DRINKCON       Item is a drink container.
18   KEY            Item is a key.
19   FOOD           Item is food.
20   MONEY          Item is money (gold coins).
21   PEN            Item is a pen.
22   BOAT           Item is a boat; allows you to traverse SECT_WATER_NOSWIM.
23   FOUNTAIN       Item is a fountain.
24   SPELLBOOK      Item is a spellbook.
25   PORTAL         Item is a portal.
26   TILLER         Item is a tiller (ie to control a boat)
27   QUIVER         Item is a container for missiles.
28   PILL           Item is a pill (like a potion but eaten).

---

Extra (Effects) Bitvector

A bitvector (see section Using Bitvectors), to define the ``special effects'' of the object. Flags that are marked as ``cosmetic'' merely add an interesting message to the object when it is examined, but has no substantive effect otherwise. The flags have the following values:

---

1     a   GLOW           Item is glowing (cosmetic).
2     b   HUM            Item is humming (cosmetic).
4     c   NORENT         Item cannot be rented.
8     d   NODONATE       Item cannot be donated.
16    e   NOINVIS        Item cannot be made invisible.
32    f   INVISIBLE      Item is invisible.
64    g   MAGIC          Item has a magical aura and can't be enchanted.
128   h   NODROP         Item is cursed and cannot be dropped.
256   i   BLESS          Item is blessed (cosmetic).
512   j   ANTI_GOOD      Item can't be used by good-aligned characters.
1024  k   ANTI_EVIL      Item can't be used by evil-aligned characters.
2048  l   ANTI_NEUTRAL   Item can't be used by neutral align characters.
4096  m   ANTI_MAGIC_USER Item can't be used by the Mage class.
8192  n   ANTI_CLERIC    Item can't be used by the Cleric class.
16384 o   ANTI_THIEF     Item can't be used by the Thief class.
32768 p   ANTI_WARRIOR   Item can't be used by the Warrior class.
65536 q   NOSELL         Shopkeepers will not buy or sell the item.
      r   NOHUMAN        Item cannot be used by humans.
      s   NOELF          Item cannot be used by elves.
      t   NODWARF        Item cannot be used by drawves.
      u   NOGNOME        Item cannot be used by gnomes.
      v   NOHALFELF      Item cannot be used by halfelves.
      w   NOHALFLING     Item cannot be used by halflings.
      x   NOWOLFEN       Item cannot be used by wolfens.
      y   NOHUNTER       Item cannot be used by the hunter class.
      z   NOSHAMAN       Item cannot be used by the shaman class.

---

Wear Bitvector

A bitvector (see section Using Bitvectors) with the following values:

---

1     a   WEAR_TAKE      Item can be taken (picked up off the ground).
2     b   WEAR_FINGER    Item can be worn on the fingers.
4     c   WEAR_NECK      Item can be worn around the neck.
8     d   WEAR_BODY      Item can be worn on the body.
16    e   WEAR_HEAD      Item can be worn on the head.
32    f   WEAR_LEGS      Item can be worn on the legs.
64    g   WEAR_FEET      Item can be worn on the feet.
128   h   WEAR_HANDS     Item can be worn on the hands.
256   i   WEAR_ARMS      Item can be worn on the arms.
512   j   WEAR_SHIELD    Item can be used as a shield.
1024  k   WEAR_ABOUT     Item can be worn about the body.
2048  l   WEAR_WAIST     Item can be worn around the waist.
4096  m   WEAR_WRIST     Item can be worn around the wrist.
8192  n   WEAR_WIELD     Item can be wielded; e.g. weapons.
16384 o   WEAR_HOLD      Item can be held (the ``hold'' command).

---

Note that the TAKE bit controls whether or not an item can be picked up using the ``get'' command, whereas the HOLD bit controls if the object can be worn using the ``hold'' command.

Value 0, Value 1, Value 2, Value 3

These values are very central. They define the object's abilities based on the Type Flag. See the subsection ``Object Value Definitions'' below for a detailed description of the four Value fields.

Weight

The weight of the object. The weight controls how many strength points a character must have to take the object, and is used to calculate when bags and other containers become full.

Cost

The value of the object in gold coins; used by shopkeepers.

Rent Per Day

The cost per day to rent the object in the Reception.

Load Rate

The percent chance this object will load

Timer

The time (in tics) until the object rots.

5.2 Object Value Definitions

The meaning of an object's four values (value 0 through value 3) vary depending on the Type Flag of the object.

In the table below, ``unused'' means that the server ignores the value; it can be set to any number (but 0 is always a safe bet). ``unimplemented'' indicates a Type Flag currently not recognized by the server.

An index of spell numbers for use with magical objects can be found in the Appendix Spell Numbers.

LIGHT (Type Flag 1)

     value 0: unused
     value 1: unused
     value 2: Capacity of light in hours.
                0: Burned out light.
               -1: Eternal light source.
     value 3: unused

SCROLL (Type Flag 2)

     value 0: Level at which scroll's spells are cast.
     value 1: Spell number 1
     value 2: Spell number 2
     value 3: Spell number 3
          If less than 3 spells are desired, set unused values to -1.

WAND (Type Flag 3)

     value 0: Level at which wand's spell is cast.
     value 1: Charge capacity of wand (>= 1)
     value 2: Current number of charges remaining
     value 3: Spell number

STAFF (Type Flag 4)

     value 0: Level at which staff's spell is cast.
     value 1: Charge capacity of staff (>= 1)
     value 2: Current number of charges remaining
     value 3: Spell number

WEAPON (Type Flag 5)

     value 0: unused
     value 1: Number of damage dice
     value 2: Size of damage dice
     value 3: Weapon type for damage messages, one of:
               0    hit/hits
               1    sting/stings
               2    whip/whips
               3    slash/slashes
               4    bite/bites
               5    bludgeon/bludgeons
               6    crush/crushes
               7    pound/pounds
               8    claw/claws
               9    maul/mauls
               10   thrash/thrashes
               11   pierce/pierces
               12   blast/blasts
               13   punch/punches
               14   stab/stabs
               15   chop/chops

FIREWEAPON (Type Flag 6)

     value 0: type of missile fired
               1 arrow
               2 rock
               3 bolt
     value 1: number of damage dice
     value 2: size of damage dice
     value 3: Weapon type for damage messages, one of:
               0    hit/hits
               1    sting/stings
               2    whip/whips
               3    slash/slashes
               4    bite/bites
               5    bludgeon/bludgeons
               6    crush/crushes
               7    pound/pounds
               8    claw/claws
               9    maul/mauls
               10   thrash/thrashes
               11   pierce/pierces
               12   blast/blasts
               13   punch/punches
               14   stab/stabs
               15   chop/chops
  
  

MISSILE (Type Flag 7)

MISSILE (Type Flag 7)
     value 1: type of missile
               1 arrow
               2 rock
               3 bolt
     value 2: size of damage dice
     value 3: Weapon type for damage messages, one of:
               0    hit/hits
               1    sting/stings
               2    whip/whips
               3    slash/slashes
               4    bite/bites
               5    bludgeon/bludgeons
               6    crush/crushes
               7    pound/pounds
               8    claw/claws
               9    maul/mauls
               10   thrash/thrashes
               11   pierce/pierces
               12   blast/blasts
               13   punch/punches
               14   stab/stabs
               15   chop/chops 
  

TREASURE (Type Flag 8)

     value 0: unused
     value 1: unused
     value 2: unused
     value 3: unused

ARMOR (Type Flag 9)

     value 0: AC-apply of the armor.  Note that the effective change
               to AC is this value times a multiplier based on where
               the armor is worn.  Values >0 enhance the armor class;
               values <0 damage the armor class (cursed armor, for
               example).
     value 1: unused
     value 2: unused
     value 3: unused

POTION (Type Flag 10)

     value 0: Level at which the potion's spells are cast.
     value 1: Spell number 1
     value 2: Spell number 2
     value 3: Spell number 3
          If less than 3 spells are desired, set unused values to -1.

WORN (Type Flag 11)

unimplemented (do not use)

OTHER (Type Flag 12)

     value 0: unused
     value 1: unused
     value 2: unused
     value 3: unused

TRASH (Type Flag 13)

     value 0: unused
     value 1: unused
     value 2: unused
     value 3: unused

TRAP (Type Flag 14)

unimplemented (do not use)

CONTAINER (Type Flag 15)

     value 0: Capacity (max containable weight) of container
     value 1: Container flag bitvector (MUST be a numeric bitvector)
          1    CLOSEABLE      Container can be closed and locked.
          2    PICKPROOF      Lock on container can't be picked.
          4    CLOSED         Container is closed when created.
          8    LOCKED         Container is locked when created.
     value 2: The vnum of the key object that opens this container.
               -1 if it has no key.
     value 3: Reserved for internal use -- always set as 0.

NOTE (Type Flag 16)

     value 0: Language of writing (unimplemented).
     value 1: unused
     value 2: unused
     value 3: unused

DRINKCON (Type Flag 17)

See Appendix Item Values for Drink Containers.

KEY (Type Flag 18)

     value 0: unused
     value 1: unused
     value 2: unused
     value 3: unused

FOOD (Type Flag 19)

     value 0: The number of hours of hunger satisfied by this food.
     value 1: unused
     value 2: unused
     value 3: Non-zero if the food is poisoned, 0 otherwise.

MONEY (Type Flag 20)

     value 0: The number of gold coins in the pile.
     value 1: unused
     value 2: unused
     value 3: unused

PEN (Type Flag 21)

     value 0: unused
     value 1: unused
     value 2: unused
     value 3: unused

BOAT (Type Flag 22)

     value 0: unused
     value 1: unused
     value 2: unused
     value 3: unused

FOUNTAIN (Type Flag 23)

See Appendix Item Values for Drink Containers.

SPELLBOOK (Type Flag 24)

     value 0: Level at which spellbook's spells are cast.
     value 1: Spell number 1
     value 2: Spell number 2
     value 3: Spell number 3
       If less than 3 spells are desired, set unused values to -1.

PORTAL (Type Flag 25)

     value 0: unused
     value 1: room vnum the portal leads to
     value 2: unused
     value 3: how the player enters the portal
       0: enter
       1: climb
       2: board  

QUIVER (Type Flag 27)

     value 0: Type of missile held
               1 arrow
               2 rock
               3 bolt
     value 1: Maximum capacity of the quiver
     value 2: unused
     value 3: unused

5.3 The Trigger Field

Triggers are used to allow the room to perform certain actions when a specific trigger (ie a person entering the room) occurs. Triggers must be added to rooms for them to work. The order of triggers is important, if two triggers can go off by on action, only the first one listed will. The trigger field comes after the S for the room. A trigger field looks as follows:

---

T <trigger vnum>

---

Trigger vnum

The virtual number of the trigger to be added to this room.

5.4 Object Extra Descriptions

Object Extra Descriptions allow players to examine certain aspects of objects defined by the world builder, just like Room Extra Descriptions. There can be an unlimited number of Extra Descriptions per object. The format is exactly the same as for rooms:

---

E
<keyword list>~
<description text>
~

---

Keyword List

A space-separated list of keywords which will access the description in this E section.

Description Text

The text that will be displayed when a player types ``look <keyword>,'' where <keyword> is one of the keywords specified in the Keyword List of this E section.

5.5 Object Affect Fields

Object Affect Fields give objects magical properties. They affect characters when the object is worn, not when picked up.

The format of an Object Affect Field is:

---

A
<location> <value>

---

Location

The aspect of the character affected by the object. It must be one of the following numbers:

---

0    NONE           No effect (typically not used).
1    STR            Apply to strength.
2    DEX            Apply to dexterity.
3    INT            Apply to intelligence.
4    WIS            Apply to wisdom.
5    CON            Apply to constitution.
6    CHA            Apply to charisma.
7    CLASS          Unimplemented.  Do not use.
8    LEVEL          Unimplemented.  Do not use.
9    AGE            Apply to character's MUD age, in MUD-years.
10   CHAR_WEIGHT    Apply to weight.
11   CHAR_HEIGHT    Apply to height.
12   MANA           Apply to MAX mana points.
13   HIT            Apply to MAX hit points.
14   MOVE           Apply to MAX movement points.
15   GOLD           Unimplemented.  Do not use.
16   EXP            Unimplemented.  Do not use.
17   AC             Apply to armor class (AC).
18   HITROLL        Apply to hitroll.
19   DAMROLL        Apply to damage roll bonus.
20   SAVING_PARA    Apply to save throw: paralyze
21   SAVING_ROD     Apply to save throw: rods
22   SAVING_PETRI   Apply to save throw: petrif
23   SAVING_BREATH  Apply to save throw: breath
24   SAVING_SPELL   Apply to save throw: spells

---

Value

The number used to modify the Location.

For example, an A field which reads:

A
12 50

5.6 Object File Example

#901
shield minotaur~
a dark minotaur shield~
A dark minotaur shield has been left here.~
~
9 dgh 513
12 0 0 0
15 5000 1350 100 100
E
shield minotaur~
A strong, sturdy shield.  It brings to mind legends of a shield that
provided protection from poisonous gases.
~
T 18000
A
23 -4
A
4 2

This object is virtual number 901, is a Type 9 object (armor), cannot be donated, has a magical aura, and cannot be dropped. It can be picked up and worn as a shield. It has an AC-apply of 12, weighs 15 pounds, is valued at 5000 coins and costs 1350 coins per day to rent. It has a load rate and timer of 100. Its Affect fields indicate that this object affects spell saving throws by -4 and increases Wisdom by 2. Trigger 18000 is attached to this object.