For those who wish to start playing Eamon CS immediately, this Quick Start Guide summarizes the Players Manual, which dives deeper into the game's details. But it's still highly recommended you read through the Players Manual at least once. You will better understand the Eamon CS system and the history and mechanics of the world of Eamon.
The QSG uses terminology with which you should be familiar. "Rooms" are discrete locations on the game map typically linked together using compass directions. "Artifacts" refer to inanimate objects in the game world recognized by the parser; they can be interacted with and manipulated. "Embedded Artifacts" are only evident upon careful examination of something else's description (typically a room or other artifact). "Monsters" refer to animate or living entities in the game world recognized by the parser with which you can interact. The game database stores all this information to drive the adventure.
Eamon CS has no formal installer, so setting up for play consists of either downloading an archive file and unzipping it into a folder or cloning the repository directly from GitHub. However, there are prerequisites not included with the distribution that need to be present on your system for Eamon CS to be functional. This subject is covered extensively in the PREREQUISITES and POST-INSTALLATION TOPICS sections of the Technical Paper found on the Eamon CS website.
Eamon CS uses batch or script files stored under QuickLaunch to run programs, depending on your operating system. An EamonMH folder contains the files used to enter the Main Hall. When you enter, you will meet the Burly Irishman, who allows you to sign in as an existing character or create a new one. When you enter a name not found in his registry, he leads you through the character creation process. Alternately, you can join the men drinking beer, a mistake you'll likely make only once.
A set of pre-made characters of varying power levels is available if you want to use them. Run the EditCharacters batch or script file under EamonDD and choose menu options two, four, then one to get a listing of their names.
Intellect measures how intelligent, wise, and perceptive a character is; it affects the odds of learning skills and spells. Hardiness determines the strength and vitality of a character - how much weight is carryable and how many damage points are sustainable before death occurs. Agility helps determine the odds of striking an enemy during combat, dodging attacks, and (in some adventures) avoiding reflex-based special events, such as traps. Charisma reflects the character's physical appearance, poise, confidence, and persuasiveness; it affects merchant negotiations and influences monster reactions such that they may become allies or enemies.
All Eamon characters have weapon abilities, spell abilities, and armor expertise - or, for beginners, lack thereof. A weapon or spell ability represents the odds of striking an opponent in battle with the weapon or successfully casting the spell respectively, typically ranging from 1-100%. Higher values mean greater mastery. Worn armor negatively affects odds to hit, ranging from -65% to 0%; armor expertise gained can mitigate this penalty. Also, character stat bonuses or penalties can cause ability values to fall outside the normal ranges.
You will become familiar with an adventurer's tools of the trade - weapons and armor. There are five weapon categories, and all weapons in the game fall under one of these - Axe, Bow, Club, Spear, and Sword. Weapon artifacts have an Odds (or Complexity) that slightly impacts combat chances and indicates item build quality or use difficulty; this can range from less than 0% (low quality) to +25% or more (masterfully crafted). Armor types range from none (plain clothes) to full plate mail and beyond (magical armor); these protections absorb some or all damage inflicted, in most cases, but with a to-hit penalty in combat (see section 5). Also, a shield can be used for further protection by those with one-handed weapons.
There are four standard magic spells available for use. The Blast spell directs a burst of mystical energy at an artifact or monster to damage or injure it, respectively; the Heal spell can remove injuries from any monster, including the caster. The Speed spell doubles the caster's Agility for a brief time, while the Power spell has unique and unpredictable results that can vary between adventures.
The Main Hall is a central hub where Eamon characters meet, hang out, and go on adventures. Some shops offer needed supplies such as weapons, armor, and spells; a banker also provides his services. The nearby Village and Practice Area caters to a more upscale clientele, with various specialized merchants. Together, these shops and diversions pass for an economy in Eamon. There are many ways to spend (or, with bad luck, squander) that hard-earned gold!
You can modify every detail of a character to your liking by running the EditCharacters batch or script file under EamonDD and choosing menu option two. You will be on the Character Record Menu. From there, to list character names or details, select menu option four; note the unique ID (Uid) of the character you want to modify. Then you can use menu option two to edit or menu option three to delete. Other utilities may prove valuable as well. For example, menu option five can give you a status summary of all characters, including where they are adventuring. These details are otherwise obscured in Eamon CS Mobile by lack of access to the device's filesystem.
When in the Main Hall, choose menu option one to go on an adventure. Depending on which batch or script file you ran to enter the Main Hall, the adventure database is either a flat list of games or a hierarchy organized by category. It doesn't matter which database; if you make a selection, the result is the same. The adventure begins, and you are presented with the introduction story, if one exists. If you exit the game during the intro story or QUIT while playing, the character remains there until game completion, death occurs, or the character's state is manually changed. The local wizard accessed through the Burly Irishman's front desk can recall an adventuring character, as can the EamonDD program. You can also resume the adventure (if necessary) using the correct batch or script file under EamonRT and type QUIT HALL at the game's command prompt.
When the EamonRT adventure program starts, it displays its revision number and a welcome message, then proceeds into the "Main Loop." All commands and events return to this part of the program; the Main Loop displays information about the current room (and sometimes special details or events) and then prompts for a command. Typing "X" (or any unrecognized command) will display a list of all commands valid for the current adventure. Typing HINTS will give you information about playing Eamon CS and specific help for the in-progress game. Note: Players new to Eamon CS should immediately type HINTS and read the "General Help" section.
The Main Loop of a standard Eamon adventure displays: the current room's name, a list of monsters and visible artifacts in the room, and finally, the command prompt. Also, some adventures may have extra details or special events during the Main Loop.
When you initially see something in an Eamon adventure, the game displays a detailed text description for it. These descriptions can be repeated any time using the commands LOOK and EXAMINE.
The most basic input recognized by the Eamon CS parser is of the form: [COMMAND] [DIRECT OBJECT] [INDIRECT OBJECT]. The command is a verb, like GET. Often, a direct object follows the command, such as GET YARN. Prepositions (like in, on, to, from, with, etc.) following the direct object are noted, and removed. Any remaining words are assumed to be an indirect object. Example: REMOVE PIE FROM OVEN would be parsed into REMOVE (command), PIE (direct object), and OVEN (indirect object).
Beyond this simple form, the Eamon CS parser accepts full sentence input, supporting many advanced features such as direct object lists, pronouns, and various containment types. You are encouraged to explore this topic when it is convenient by reading the MISCELLANEOUS GAMEPLAY NOTES section of the Technical Paper on the Eamon CS website.
READY is used to equip a weapon for combat. EamonRT will automatically ready the character's best weapon when the game starts.
WEAR allows your character to put on armor or any other wearable artifact. Note: WEAR also is used to equip shields.
INVENTORY displays a list of the character's (or a friendly monster's) possessions, general health, and gold carried.
STATUS displays a "character sheet" with detailed information about your character and their present condition.
REMOVE has two functions: remove an artifact worn by your character or remove an artifact contained by another artifact (the latter referred to as a "container artifact"). Note: Eamon CS has four container types, with contents accessed using the corresponding prepositions. They are In Containers, On Containers, Under Containers, and Behind Containers.
You can use the wildcard direct object "ALL" with the GET and DROP commands (only). Note: while there is no REMOVE ALL command for container artifacts, you can often use the ATTACK command to break them; after their contents spill into the room, use the GET ALL command.
SAVE will save an exact position in an adventure, and RESTORE will return to that position. Up to five games can be saved in each adventure, with the option of giving each saved game a unique name. Note: faster, more convenient "quick save" and "quick restore" options are also available; use the HINTS command and select option one ("General Help") for details on how to use those features.
The QUIT command exits an adventure temporarily, leaving your character there; you can resume the game at a later time. The QUIT HALL command returns your character to the Main Hall in the same state as when the adventure started, all progress lost, and saved games deleted.
Characters that die while adventuring return to the Main Hall as such (and can then be revived with EamonDD). Those that survive are (usually) returned with armor worn and four weapons (of your choice); any excess loot carried out is also sold to a local merchant.
The Eamon CS Players Manual has descriptions of all standard Eamon CS commands. Also, there is a lot of useful information in the "General Help" section that you can access in all Eamon CS adventures using the HINTS command.
For those new to Eamon CS, it is highly recommended you use a medium to tough test character and play through the Eamon Deluxe 5.0 Demo Adventure first. This adventure guides new players through every general aspect of Eamon CS gaming, offering tips and examples all along the way.
Afterward, a new "real" character should be created and taken through the Beginner's Cave (or the Beginner's Forest) for the authentic Eamon experience. These adventures (as well as many others) are accessible via the Main Hall using any EamonMH batch or script file.