Influence

The skill of Influence is a non-lethal form of interaction with the sentient denizens of Lusternia (non-player characters). Rather than slaughtering such denizens for such base reasons as gaining experience, you may instead enter into ego battles that are not considered as hostile (i.e., won't get you enemied). Influencing a denizen is an engagement in forces of personality to try to temporarily change that denizen's behavior. Losing an ego battle will result in a loss of experience similar to that of losing a battle in combat, whereas winning an ego battle will result in gaining experience similar to winning a battle in combat. There are five general types of ego battles: (1) Seduction, which will charm the denizen and cause him or her to attack your enemies; (2) Empower, which will raise the denizen's level; (3) Weaken, which will lower the denizen's level; (4) Charity, which will cause the denizen to give you gold or an item (if available); (5) Paranoia, which will cause the denizen to succumb to paranoid behavior and not act in a normal manner. There is a sixth form of ego battle that is not dependent on your skill in influence, but rather your rank in a city or commune, and can only be used on denizens of villages during the window of time when that village is 'in play' and not under any sphere of influence. Once the type of ego battle has been started, the denizen will become fixated upon it and only ego attacks of the same type will be recognized. Further, the denizen will become resistant to an ego attack used over and over. For example, a denizen will become resistant to begging (a charity attack), so it is more beneficial to alternate with other charity attacks. Once a denizen has won or lost an ego battle, he or she will be exhausted and not enter into another one for some period of time. The power of your influence skills increases the higher the prestige of the clothing and jewelry you wear. The exception to this are the charity influence skills, which is more effective with tattered rags than fancy clothes (i.e., the lower the prestige of your clothing, the better you are at charity influence attacks). Note that the speed at which you execute influence abilities is primarily determined by your race's charisma level. (See HELP RACES.)

Skill	Learned At	Description
Debating	Inept+0%	Match wits with others in a clash of egos.
Begging	Inept+0%	Panhandle for what you don't deserve.
Parley	Inept+50%	Negotiate with your enemies.
Rumours	Novice+0%	Spread the "stories" you've heard.
Teasing	Novice+50%	Point out how fat, ugly, and stupid others are.
Compliments	Apprentice+0%	Point out how fit, beautiful, and smart others are.
Analyze	Apprentice+33%	Read the expressions of another.
Flattery	Apprentice+66%	Dole out more praise than they deserve.
Supplication	Capable+0%	Grovel for alms.
Distrust	Capable+50%	Spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt about others.
Leadership	Adept+0%	Lead very large squads into combat.
Mockery	Adept+50%	Satirize another's inferior qualities.
Admiration	Master+0%	Honor and revere your superiors.
CharismaticSmile	Master+50%	Shrug off disloyalty with a smile.
Charm	Gifted+0%	Compel interest, attention, and admiration.
Divert	Gifted+50%	Draw attention to something new.
Amnesty	Expert+0%	Beg for forgiveness.
SuperEgo	Expert+?%	You are as good as you think you are!
Wheedling	Virtuoso+0%	Plead for the unearned.
Conspiracies	Virtuoso+33%	They are out to get you...
Appraisement	Virtuoso+66%	Negotiate your amnesty.
Derision	Fabled+0%	Master the fine art of ridicule.
Praise	Fabled+50%	Pay tribute those deserving acclaim.
Beguiling	Mythical+0%	Amuse others with your alluring personality.
Diplomacy	Mythical+50%	Make peace on behalf of others.
CharismaticAura	Transcendent+0%	Exude a compelling aura of absolute confidence.

Debating

Syntax

DEBATE <target> WITH [PETTIFOGGERY|PONTIFICATION|PASSION] MINDSET [CAUTIOUS|ANALYTICAL|PEDANTIC]

Debating may only be done on other players. It is a non-violent means of confrontation where the two sides set their influencing skills against one another. In order to debate, you choose a type of debate style, PETTIFOGGERY, PONTIFICATION, or PASSION. Everyone always has some sort of mindset to counter debates and may change it at any time among the choices of CAUTIOUS, ANALYTICAL, or PEDANTIC. Each mindset is immune from one debate style, weak against another debate style, and neutral to another. Debates drain ego and the first person to force his or her opponent to 0 ego wins the debate.

The loser of a debate will be unable to use his or her influence skills for approximately 10 minutes. Once you engage in a debate, you may only debate that one person and no one can come to your assistance.

Additional Notes:

Losing a debate does not cost any experience. The following are the results of debate attacks against various mindsets: Mindset Passionate Pontification Pettifoggery Pedantic Defender loses a lot Defender loses a little Attacker loses a lot Cautious Attacker loses a lot Defender loses a lot Defender loses a little Analytical Defender loses a little Attacker loses a lot Defender loses a lot

Begging

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH BEGGING

Ego Battle: Charity

Beggars can't be choosers, so if you're hard up for a few gold sovereigns, maybe someone could help you out. All you have to do is ask!

Additional Notes:

As with all influence attacks, be sure to repeat the attack until one side or the other triumphs. If you know more than one attack of the same type, cycle between them, as denizens can become immune to an attack if it's used too many times in a row. Charity attacks will cause the denizen to give you one of their possessions, or some gold.

Parley

Syntax

PARLEY <mob> WITH <amount> GOLD

There's no getting around it. If you want to end your status as an enemy, you'll have to pay through the nose. Find the organization's leader and parley an end to the enemy status. You may get a reprieve for a period of time or, if you pay a lot (and we mean a lot), you can have your enemy status removed permanently. The greater your power of influence, the less you will need to pay in tribute. Note that the more often a village leader is asked for reprieve, the more annoyed (and the more expensive) he gets. The analyze skill in Influence can give you a general idea of his mood.

Rumours

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH RUMOURS

Ego Battle: Paranoia

Shatter your target's ego by spreading vicious rumours.

Additional Notes:

Paranoia attacks make denizens too paranoid to participate in quests.

Teasing

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH TEASING

Ego Battle: Weaken

Never underestimate the power of childhood taunts. Tease your target cruelly and weaken his or her ego.

Additional Notes:

Weakening attacks make denizens lower in level and thus in health and damage.

Compliments

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH COMPLIMENTS

Ego Battle: Empower

With just a few well-thought compliments, inflate your target's sense of self.

Additional Notes:

Empowering attacks make denizens higher in level and thus in health and damage.

Analyze

Syntax

ANALYZE <mob>

With just a brief glance, you can determine a sentient being's personality type, how resistant he or she will be to an ego battle, and if he or she is fixated on a certain subject. For village leaders, you can also see how annoyed he is from requests for reprieve, which will be useful to know for higher level Influence skills.

Additional Notes:

A denizen's personality type determines which ego battle types he is most vulnerable to and most resistant to, as follows: Disposition Easily influenced with Immune to Friendly Charity Paranoia Greedy Weaken Charity Brave Empower Weaken Sensuous Seduction Empower Intimidating Paranoia Seduction

Flattery

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH FLATTERY

Ego Battle: Seduction

The first order in the business of seduction is softening up your target with some flattering comments.

Supplication

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH SUPPLICATION

Ego Battle: Charity

Poor you! You have no gold but your target is as rich as Trader Bob. Perhaps if you just ask really hard, he or she may give you something.

Distrust

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH DISTRUST

Ego Battle: Paranoia

Spark the seeds of distrust in your target by revealing scandals that surround him or her.

Leadership

You can now command squads of any size. (Squads is a skill in the Combat skillset.)

Mockery

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH MOCKERY

Ego Battle: Weaken

There's nothing more degrading than being mocked and you know how to push the emotional buttons of others to puncture fragile egos.

Admiration

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH ADMIRATION

Ego Battle: Empower

The poor thing is looking a little down. Pump him or her up with a few choice comments.

CharismaticSmile

Syntax

SMILE

The power of your smile can no longer be denied, such is its charisma. Now when you smile, you simply shrug off any afflictions that cause disloyalty.

Additional Notes:

Smiling will use equilibrium if you are afflicted with disloyalty, but won't otherwise.

Charm

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH CHARM

Ego Battle: Seduction

Charm the pants off a target with your suave and debonair self.

Divert

Syntax

DIVERT <mob>

With a simple diversion, you can snap your target's attention away from being fixated on a certain subject. This will stop a current ego battle in its tracks and allow a different type to begin.

Additional Notes:

You need to be at full ego to divert, and it costs half your ego.

Amnesty

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob leader> WITH AMNESTY

Ego Battle: Special

Want to travel with impunity in the enemy's territory without having to parley with gold? Seek out the leader and convince him or her to grant you amnesty.

SuperEgo

Syntax

None (automatic)

Your superego has come to the forefront and from now on your ego will be more resilient during any ego battles you may engage in.

Additional Notes:

This reduces how much ego you'll use up when attacked or when spending it on influences.

Wheedling

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH WHEEDLING

Ego Battle: Charity

In order to separate a target from his or her hard earned gold, sometimes it simply takes someone like you to talk fast and furious.

Conspiracies

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH CONSPIRACIES

Ego Battle: Paranoia

There are many conspiracies at work in the land, and some just may be out to get your target. Who knows? Maybe it's true.

Appraisement

Syntax

ASK <village leader> WHAT WILL I GET FOR <gold> [FOR <person>]?

You can get the village leader to reveal how much amnesty he will give you in exchange for some sum of gold if you use Influence's parley skill.

You can also attempt to ask for another person, but he or she must be in the same room as you.

Derision

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH DERISION

Ego Battle: Weaken

You can deflate a target's ego with spiteful comments that are just downright mean (though maybe true).

Praise

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH PRAISE

Ego Battle: Empower

Sing the praises of a target in order to inflate their ego.

Beguiling

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH BEGUILING

Ego Battle: Seduction

How can your target resist your charms? Surely, it is impossible with your powers to beguile.

Diplomacy

Syntax

PARLEY <target> WITH <amount> GOLD FOR <player> INFLUENCE <target> WITH AMNESTY FOR <player>

Ego Battle: Special

Your powers of diplomacy are great indeed. So great that you can parley or seek amnesty from leaders on behalf of others.

CharismaticAura

Syntax

CHARISMATICAURA <ON|OFF>

By draining your mana to maintain an aura of such compelling charisma, you can emit an aura whereby you find yourself far more influential than normal, and your loyal allies will be less willing to turn against you.

Villages

Syntax

INFLUENCE <mob> WITH <skill>

Ego Battle: Villages

Each city and commune grants up to three village influence skills which can only be used on villagers when the village is in play. Access to these skills depends not on lessons in Influence but on city or commune rank.