Newbie Guide Disease, Poison, and Wounds

Newbie Guide Disease, Poison, and Wounds

This guide written and published by p(Baca/Endo)

"Then Aragorn laid his hands on Merry's head, and passing his hand gently through the brown curls, he touched the eyelids, and called him by his name. And when the fragrance of athelas stole through the room, like the scent of orchards, and of heather in the sunshine full of bees, suddenly Merry awoke, and he said: 'I am hungry. What is the time?' "

Merry, JRRT, The Return of the King

This guide is about diseases, poisons, and wounds... and how to recover from them.

Many parts of this guild reference to the MUME help pages which can be found at: https://mume.org/help/help_index

Bold words can be looked up in the games help files. Like help disease.

Am I Affected?

There are two useful commands to see if you are currently compromised buy a condition. Use the Info command or the Stat command. Both of these can show you what you are currently affected by, and in addition the Info command can show you if your base abilities have been changed. It could look something like this.

Affected by:
- poison (type: arachnia)
- a deep wound at the right leg

You can also examine someone to see what wounds they have, and how sever those wounds are. But you can only see poison or disease about once a minute when a message pops up showing the victim is still suffering. Here is an example:

Your body trembles as you fight the poison running through your veins.

You feel sleepy.

These messages will continue to show up, while the character is affected by the condition for it's duration. Sometimes the message changes over time, as you begin to recover.

If you happen to be affected by say a poison, a disease, and 2 wounds.... you are severely weakened. And should probably rest and regen for a while to recover back to fighting strength. A great way to rest and regen is to be full of food and drink, and resting or sleeping next to a nice campfire.

Diseases

There are a few different diseases in the game, but the main two that characters seem to get sicked by are the flu and the plague. You might also see amibia. None of these diseases will kill you, but they can make your character slightly less effective or increase regen and recovery times.

It is hard to notice the decrease in your regen rates, but it's annoying and will catch up with you after a couple of combats.

How do I Catch a Disease?

The easiest disease in the game to catch is the flu. You can get it by sleeping outside in the cold. And it can be fast too, like less then one minute of sleeping.

The plague is usually contracted from a few mobs in the game, that may bite you during combat. Some wolves and werewolves might spread the plague, among others.

Also be careful drinking from contaminated water sources, or drinking from an infected water skin from another player. There are some black ponds, and other foul water sources that can end up making you sick. Sometimes you might catch amibia or other illnesses.

Becareful falling or swimming in the river in Tharbad. Their sewers pour right into the river and you can catch both poisons AND diseases from the rancid, foul river water.

How can I Prevent Getting Sick?

• Preventing the flu can often be as simple as building a campfire before you sleep.
• Use the command weather local to check how cold it is, if it is chilly or colder you might wake up sick.
• You can also try sleeping in some indoor rooms that are warmer; maybe on a bed.
• You can also put on some warmer clothes like a scarf or wool gloves to stay warmer.
• There are also blankets in the game you can use to stay warmer as well.
• Type the command weather local to see how cold it is and if it is safe to sleep there. The colder it is, the more likely you get the flu.
• Another way to resist getting the flu is to recover from it by suffering through it and eventually getting better.
• Characters with really high Con score are slightly more resistant to catching a disease.
• The plague is harder to prevent, other then avoiding certain mobs in combat.

• Allegedly wearing a small tin ring can give you some small resistance to diseases.

Races and Diseases

Several races in MUME have some benefits against diseases.

• Elves are immune to the flu.
• Trolls are immune to all diseases.
• Orcs are resistant to catching diseases.

Flu

Affected by:
- disease (type: flu)

Your nose feels congested.
You sneeze.
You cough loudly.

The flu does not lower your stats or abilities, but does appear to lower your regeneration rates some.

Plague

Affected by:
- disease (type: plague)

You feel hot with occasional chills.
You scratch your buboes. You feel awful. You need help!
You feel very bad, you scratch yourself.

The plague can lower Con and can also affect your stats like this:

Str:15 Int:10 Wis:8 Dex:17 Con:16(17) Wil:16 Per:17.

Perhaps also lowers your regeneration rates some.

How to Recover from Disease

There are many ways to recover from diseases, some you can do yourself, some might require help from other players.

• Wait it out, but might take several MUME days before you recover.
• Eat a leaf cake, made from an herblore, it will cure the flu. This can only be made by players.
• Drink an infusion, they cure the flu and amibia.

An infusion is type of potion from near the Shire area of the game. They load in multiple rooms in the game.

• Use the cure disease spell. It might take more then one casting if it is from a lower level caster or someone with a low % praced.
• Heal spell also cures any diseases in addition to it's other affects.
• Drink a small green bottle a rare potion that loads in a few rooms in the game. They cure any diseases.

If a water skin is infected by a disease, you can cast remove poison on it to disinfect it.

Or throw away that water skin somewhere, and simply buy a new, fresh one from a shop.

Poisons

There are a few different poisons in the game, you can be affected by one or more at a time. Poisons can come from eating the wrong foods, being stabbed by a poisoned blade, or bitten or stung by many different mobs. There is even a poison spell in the game.

When you type stat it will look something like this:

Affected by:
- poison (type: arachnia)
- poison (type: poison)

How do I get Poisoned?

Eating or drinking certain foods can poison you. Some berries, mushrooms, and even odd bits of flesh in the game.

Mobs like bees, snakes, spiders, fungi, and others all might poison you. There are other mobs in the game that can poison as well.

The poison spell is not very threatening, don't worry too much about this one. Also if you hit the mob trying to cast it, it will stop the spell.

It is possible to save vs a poison bite or sting, or the poison spell. Poison delivered to you on an envenomed weapon is harder to save against.

Some players in the game use the envenom skill to poison their weapons, daggers, spears, swords, axes, or arrows. You can also make vials of poison with herbal kits and if you know the herblore. Some mobs load poison vials as loot. When used in PK or PvP, this can be a scary surprise. It is highly effective when combined with backstab.

Being poisoned can look something like this:

Your throat hurts, as you breathe in a cloud of slimy spores from a brown fungus.

A green snake bites you!
The venom enters your body!

How can I Prevent Getting Poisoned?

The easiest way is to know which foods are poisonus. Just don't eat them. If something makes you sick, don't eat it again later!

There is a very useless spell called detect poison. If cast on some food or a mob, it will tell you if it is poisonous or not. Skip this spell, and save your pracs for getting remove poison instead, if you are a caster.

Also, some mobs are poisonous and can poison you. If you are worried about poisons, just avoid those mobs or flee from the fight sooner. One tip, if a mob is bashed, it cannot poison or bite you while bashed.

Also beware rattlesnakes. They are renowned for their ability to poison with venom. Avoid rattlesnakes at lower levels.

There is also a magical item that can help you resist being poisoned called black arm wrappings.

Races and Poisons

Several races in MUME have some benefits against poisons.

• Trolls are immune to poisons.
• Orcs are resistant to poisons.
• Dwarves are resistant to poisons.

Strength of Poisons

Poisons come with different levels. You might get a poison from a mob that only lasts like 4 minutes, but getting it from a higher level mob the same poison will last 12 minutes.

Or the poison will do less or more damage to your hits, moves, or mana.

So weaker or lower level poisons have shorter durations, deal less damage, and reduce your base abilities less.

Stronger or higher level poisons have longer durations, deal more damage, and reduce your base abilities by more.

Surviving lower level poisons isn't really very difficult, but some of the higher level poisons in the game can end up killing you. Or making you so weak, something else is going to kill you.

All different types of poisons can come in different strengths and last for various durations. Some may only last for 4 RL minutes, other for 14 RL minutes. Some only drop a stat -1, others can drop your abilities -4 total or more!

Almost every poison in the game has 'stages' where as they fade, they do get weaker and weaker. So you might get some of your regen back, or Dex or Str back as you slowly recover.

Types of Poison

• You might get (poison) or (aganar) from eating the wrong things.
• Some snakes, bees, and plants can give you (poison).
• Spiders give the (arachnia) poison.
• Some snakes give the (venom) poison, rattlesnake is VERY strong venom.
• Fungi give the (psylonia) poison.

Poison

The message from this poison is:

- poison (type: poison)

You feel terribly sick.
You feel bad.

This poison does a small amount of hit point and move point damage.

It can also affect your stats like this:

Str:9(12) Int:13 Wis:16 Dex:17(19) Con:12(13) Wil:9 Per:18.

Str:16(19) Int:12 Wis:6 Dex:16(18) Con:17(18) Wil:12 Per:13.

Arachnia

The message from this poison is:

- poison (type: arachnia)

You feel sleepy.

This poison does a medium to large amount of move point damage.

It can also FORCE your character to rest, FORCE your character to sleep that you can wake up from, or at higher levels, sleep you with with a magical sleep effect that you cannot wake up from.

It lowers Str and Con and can affect your stats like this:

Str:9(12) Int:13 Wis:16 Dex:19 Con:8(13) Wil:9 Per:18.

Psylonia

The message from this poison is:

- poison (type: psylonia)

A hot flush overwhelms your brain and makes you dizzy.

This poison does mana point damage, and it can be alot!

It lowers Int, Wis, and Will and can also affect your stats like this:

Str:10 Int:14(17) Wis:16(18) Dex:10 Con:15 Wil:17(18) Per:11.

Venom

The message from this poison is:

- poison (type: venom)

Your body trembles as you fight the poison running through your veins.

This type of poison can kill you from stronger, higher level mobs. It can end up doing alot of hit point damage over time.

You can wait this poison out... but from a rattlesnake, it might kill you before it's gone.

It lowers Dex, Wis, and Con and can also affect your stats like this:

Str:13 Int:14 Wis:13(15) Dex:17(19) Con:12(13) Wil:9 Per:18.

Aganar

The message from this poison is:

You feel a low fever.
Oops, that tasted very strange!

- poison (type: aganar)

Your scars redden and heat up.

This is a lower level poison you can survive easily. You get it by eating meat from a very few mobs, such as toads or frogs.

It can also affect your stats like this:

Str:11(9) Int:18 Wis:18 Dex:10 Con:11(13) Wil:16(17)

How to Recover from Poison

There are few ways to recover from poisons, some you can do yourself, some might require help from other players.

• Wait it out, this works with most low level poisons, but might take several minutes before you recover.

This method works best if you are full of food and drink, and maybe resting next to a nice campfire.

• Drink antidote, made from an herblore, it will cure any poisons. This can only be made by players.

Added bonus, this antidote helps to resist new poisons for new next few minutes.

• Drink an antidote potion, they cure any poisons, made from an herblore. Also called a brown bottle.

A rare potion that loads in a few rooms in the game, or on a mob.

• Use the remove poison spell. It might take more then one casting if it is from a lower level caster or someone with a low % praced. The most common poison removal method.
• A magical ring called a remove poison ring, it casts remove poison spell on you.
• Helpful tip! Dying from a poison removes it from your affected by!

Wounds

There are ways to get hurt other then just hit point loss... wounds!

You can be affected by one or more wounds at a time. Their affects stack, so having alot of wounds can eventually really weaken your character. Mostly you get wounds from being hit in combat. Some other games might call this a "critical hit".

It would look something like this:

A black bear hits your left leg hard.
You feel a sharp pain there!

That message means you got a wound, or just knocked a bandage off of a wound you already had, or made a wound worse.

How do I get Wounds?

Being in combat and being hit; you've got a chance for taking a wound. And if you have a light wound (or worse wound) at a location, you've got a chance for the wound getting hit and it becoming a worse wound.

A light wound can be hit into a serious wound for example.

Locations for wounds to happen are: -head -body -left arm -right arm -left leg -right leg

Some mobs or creatures might get wounds at other areas, such as:

a clean deep wound at the tail
a clean serious wound at the right foreleg

If you do NOT treat a wound, they can get WORSE. Wounds start out as clean wounds, but do not stay that way.

Here are some examples of a wound going untreated.

- a light wound at the right leg
- a light wound at the right leg (dirty)
- a light wound at the right leg (dirty, suppurating)
- a deep wound at the right leg (dirty, suppurating)

Once a wound is suppurating, it's going to progress to a worse and worse category. Making it harder to treat and recover from. Dirty wounds you can still treat, without too many issues...

The Harm spell is the only spell in the game that gives a wound to the target, often deep or worse.

No other spells in the game can give wounds, no matter how much damage they do.

A successful backstab attack also gives wounds, often deep or worse.

The Missile skill cannot give any wounds.

How can I Prevent Getting Wounds?

There isn't really a good way to prevent getting wounds. Over all having good defense and getting hit less in combat helps prevent wounds. So trying to have a good DB or PB can help.

Or using spells that increase DB, such as shield or strength.

Spells that help with defense such as bless, armour, or sanctuary.

But over all anytime you are in combat with a high OB mob or high damage mob, you've got a chance for taking a wound upon being hit.

You can prevent your wounds from getting WORSE by treating them. That way they don't become dirty or suppurating.

Also, if you get hit on a bandaged wound, it might just knock the bandage off, and not make the wound worse.

Races and Wounds

One race in MUME have some benefits against wounds.

• Trolls do not bleed from wounds, and they do not get worse.
• Trolls also seem to heal up as if bandaged, without bandaging.

Types of Wounds

Wounds come in various strengths and severity.

light
deep
serious
grievous
critical

The more sever the would is, the more it bleeds for and the more it reduces your base abilities.

Light wounds do not bleed damage and do not lower your base abilities. Do not worry too much about a light wound, but get it treated before it gets worse. You can have several bandaged light wounds without any penalties that negatively affect you.

After that deep and worse wounds DO bleed for periodic damage, and reduce your base abilities. The bleeding damage happens every game hour/tick/real life minute.

A critical wound can bleed for 8 damage for example.

It is possible to die from bleeding out while wounded, this type of death is commonly called a 'bloodlack'.

If you are at 'bad' or 'awful' hits, and have 2 bleeding wounds.... you are in trouble.

This bleeding damage interrupts, so it can stop a spell from being cast, stop a backstab in progress, or a sneak or a hide from being successful.

It might look something like this while you are wounded:

Str:19 Int:12 Wis:6 Dex:16(18) Con:15(18) Wil:12 Per:13.

Str:9(12) Int:13 Wis:16 Dex:19 Con:8(13) Wil:9 Per:18.

The base ability reduction depends on where the wound is at. A wound to the head can lower Int for example, and a wound to the body can lower Str and Con.

A deep wound does not lower your base abilities very much, but even more sever wounds can lower some of them alot.

How to Recover from Wounds

• Read the help file on bandage. You can bandage yourself, other characters, or even bleeding mobs!

• The examine command can be used on other players to see if they have any wounds, and what state they are in, bleeding, bandaged, dirty, or otherwise.

Bandage is a command that allows you to treat wounds. You apply a bandage to the wound that prevents it from doing any bleed damage, and helps it to heal up faster. Bandages also prevent a wound from getting dirty, and progressing to worse wounds.

It is possible to fail the bandage attempt. This failure happens more often if you don't have very high % in the bandage skill or if the would is very sever. Light wounds are the easiest to bandage.

The bandage command can also be used on characters or mobs that are 'dying', and bring them back to 'awful'. It's like a VERY weak, situational, cure light spell, that only works on dying targets.

The bandage command has 3 levels of success, mostly based off of your % in Bandage skill:

• poorly bound
• bound up
• securely bound

Poorly bandaged wounds, the bandage can fall off. Meaning the wound will need to be treated again to keep it clean. Also I've noticed that poorly bandaged wounds don't bleed... but do not seem to heal as fast either. Here are some in game examples:

- a critical wound at the right leg (poorly bound)
- a critical wound at the body (securely bound)
- a critical wound at the body (securely bound, suppurating)
- a critical wound at the body (poorly bound, suppurating)
- a critical wound at the body (bound up, suppurating)

Wounds will close up or heal up over time. Light wounds tend to heal up faster then serious, or example. Dirty or suppurating wounds tend to take longer to heal up.

critical -> grievous -> serious -> deep -> light

• There are 2 spells that help with wounds as well: Cure Critic and Heal

Cure critic will close wounds, even dirty ones. If you have multiple wounds, or several deeper wounds, it might take more then one casting of cure critic to close them all up. The one advantage of this spell is that you do not need a recovery time or healing time, it's instant.

The Heal spell will also function as a cure critic spell.

• A magical ring called a cure critic ring or cc ring, it casts cure critic spell on you.

• There are a couple of magical scrolls in the game that can cast heal spell on you.

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Link back to the wiki guides:

• Guide