The Action Window

Move Around

Use the keys on the number keypad to the right of your keyboard to navigate:

Look Around

Whatever you're currently holding -- weapons, shields, etc. -- appears in your hands.

Press the Pg Up and Pg Dn keys to point the view up (so you're looking overhead) or down (so you're looking at your feet). Press the Num Pad 5 key to look straight ahead.

Pick Things Up, and Put Them Down

You can easily drag and drop stuff from the ground into your inventory, and vice-versa. (You can also do this by using the Pick Up and Drop icons on the toolbar, or typing Get and Drop at the text line.)

Find Out About Those Other People

Right-click on any person who appears in the Action Window to view their personal information profile, including:

• Name -- If it's in white, this is one of the good guys. If it's orange, you're dealing with an outlaw who has been known to attack innocent people. If it's red, the person is a murderer. And if it's blue, use your most civil manners, please: you are in the presence of a Guardian!
• Guild Affiliation -- The name of the person's guild, and his or her rank within the guild. If this person belongs to a secret guild, the name does not appear here.
• Age -- In Meridian years, a year is 20 real-time days.
• Description -- The person's autobiographical description: it may tell you something about who they are, what they believe, and what they're doing here.
• Web Page -- If the person has a personal web page, the address appears here. Click GO to move directly to this web site.

The Meridian 59 Web site appears here if the person has entered no other Web address.

• OK -- Click OK to leave the description box.

Find Out About Objects

Right-click on any object to find out more about it. This works for monsters, food, weapons, and more.

Fight

You get the up-close-and-personal first-person view of your combat moves. See Challenge Combat: The Arena for more information about combat.

See What Time It Is

Meridian has a two-hour day -- one hour of daylight, followed by one hour of night. If you're going to be out and about in the countryside at night, be sure you're carrying a torch, or have learned the Light spell, before you head out from town.

Use the Map

The Map may be your single most useful piece of equipment. As you explore the world of Meridian 59, the Map automatically keeps track of where you've been and what you've seen. Here are a few useful things to know about the Map:

• To view the Map at any time, press the Backspace key. The Map now replaces the Action Window. To return to the Action Window, press the Backspace key again.

It's wise to make sure you're reasonably safe from attack before you refer to the Map. Do not, for example, switch to Map during the middle of a tussle with a mutant ant. While you're standing there, distractedly pondering your location, you may end up as lunch.

• You appear as a blue arrow near the center of the Map. As you move, the Map moves, so you will always be near the middle.

Other people appear as blue dots. The red dots are creatures of assorted species. Keep an eye on their movements, and you'll be able to see trouble coming. You will only be able to see monsters that are in your line of sight or in close proximity to you.

• The movement commands -- the arrow keys, End, and Shift -- also work while you're on the Map. If you want to move quickly through open country, switch the Map, and cruise!
• Press the + key on your keyboard's numeric keypad to zoom in on a particularly interesting item. Press the - key to zoom back out to a normal view.
• The blue-star-filled squares you see scattered here and there throughout Meridian's towns are Map annotations. Put your mouse on them, and a tooltip appears telling you what's there. These annotations were provided to help you find your way around more easily.

You may also add your own annotations to the Map -- not just in the towns, but in the countryside as well. To do this:

1. Right-click on the spot you want to annotate.
2. Type your notes about this spot in the description box that appears. These notes will appear whenever you put the cursor on this blue square.

You can change the annotation's text -- edit it, or add new information -- at any time in the future by simply right-clicking the blue square again, and typing the new information here.

To get rid of a blue square you no longer need, right-click it, then click the Delete button in the description box that appears.