ISTARI

When the power of Sauron began to grow again in the Third Age, five great Wizards arrived to combat the evil. Only three were ever known, Saruman the White - the most powerful, and head of the Istari; Gandalf the Grey, the wisest; and Radagast the Brown, the most at home with Nature. Of the other two, Alatar and Pallando, very little has ever been spoken.

Within MUME, there are theoretically an unlimited number of Istari, as the Istari Quest is the route a player must take to reach immortality (see help Istari quest) — as such, the Istar is considered a "proto-Ainur". The Istari levels are 23 to 25, with a good aligned level 25 Istar being the Head of the Istari Council, the Tan Istar. It is the purpose of the Istari in the game to help low level players, and this is also the only way they can gain experience for themselves. It might not be a good advice to seek experience while leading the young heroes in evil areas; you have to pay way too much attention to them for gaining experience.

Istari should be there not only to help gain experience, but to advise new players of simple rules, and to teach them the basics of gameplay. It is not up to the Ainur to do this.

All Istari have a limit of ten years to prove their worth as an Istar. What happens if the shamed Istar fails is unknown to mortals.

Failure to adequately complete all conditions of the quest will have serious ramifications. The gift of Eru will be lost. This applies at all levels of the quest: metamorph and Istar.

See also:

LEGEND, METAMORPH, RANGER, "ISTARI QUEST", RULES ISTARI