From the DSL Fandom wiki. Original page: PK Guide. Text by the Dslmud Wiki contributors, under CC BY-SA 3.0. Copied here on 2026-10-16; changes made here are shared under the same licence.
A Newbie's Guide to Basic Functions andConcepts in DSL's Playerkilling Environment
This is a guide Eaga first wrote on the DSL forum, [http://www.dsl-mud.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63893&PN=1&title=for-newbies-playerkilling-in-dsl|here.]
Introduction Flee and Murder Transportation Spells The Effects of Stun The Three Stances Basic Maledictions Basic Skills Prompts Ticks, Lag, and Rounds Preparation/Preventative Measures Concealment and Guile
First off..
Greetings, fellow players! And welcome, potential new players!
Introductions
We all PK for several different reasons. 1) We might love the idea of pitting certain builds of characters against one another in an effort to try something new in the gaming environment. 2) You probably have something you want to prove in game like how X is awesome or how X is better/worse than Y. 3) You organize a group of friends to stomp an environment into the ground through teamwork. 4) To have fun!
There you have it, the four types of PK players:
Now, needless to say it, but every PK environment has its skeleton and learning curve. DSL is no different. Let's talk about basic DSL PK concepts so that you're better prepared to engage and react to what you see!
It is important to note that while me and many contributors will do our absolute best to equip you for what you can expect to encounter in the game, a lot of what you will learn will be through trial and error. Your mistakes in the game will make you sharp, so do not be discouraged should you die a couple times.
You will see classes use pretty powerful abilities and you will not know how to counter them without thinking about it for a while or until you stop and ask for advice from others. I recommend doing just that: find someone in the game kind enough to patiently sit down with you and answer your questions. Find yourself someone kind enough to act as your resource. We will fill in a considerable portion of the gaps here, but the majority of the cracks left over will be sealed through wisdom passed down from player to player.
Now without further delay, here is a list of compiled information you ought to know before becoming a part of DSL's playerkilling side of the game!
Flee, Wimpy & Murder
Contributors: Shalist || Syntax: flee Syntax: murder Syntax: wimpy || Pretty basic. In order to initiate combat with someone, you must type murder , which gets you 'hostile' (will talk about that soon) and puts you in combat with the target. The murder command is typically used by hitters, because melee damage is what they use to kill people. Mages will want to begin combat with spells (c 'spellname' ), because casting spells is how they get the job done in combat. If you're initiating combat for the first time against a target, you get what is a called an 'initiation round'.
This round's size is determined by how many 'attack' skills you have (second attack, third attack), dual wield (wielding another weapon nets you more attacks), spells (haste) and your current dexterity stat. More dexterity means more initiation attacks, less dexterity means fewer initiation attacks. Having two weapons wielded means more initiation attacks than with one weapon, but if you have low dexterity then they won't be quite as big.
A ogre barbarian with dual wield and 40dex will have smaller initiation rounds. A sea elf barbarian with dual wield and 100dex will have bigger initiation rounds.
After an initiation round, a hitter will open up with a skill instead of the 'murder' command in order to optimize their effectiveness since initiation rounds do not happen after the initial one. For example, if you are a warrior and you're already began combat with murder and got a nice initiation round, you'll want to chase them when they flee with a stun skill or a blind skill. Swashbucklers get a skill which allows them the ability to get multiple initiation rounds, but more on that later.
Performing any offensive act or being the target of an offensive act against another player gives you the 'hostile' flag, which makes you unable to recall through the conventional 'recall' command. In order to get out of an area and to your bindstone while hostile or a victim or hostility, you must use the 'word of recall' spell, which we will talk more about later. Those who are hostile can be attacked by ANYONE of any level, and those who perform an offensive action on someone that is hostile does not get the hostile flag themselves.
When you're in combat with someone, you cannot 'move' around using directions like normal. You must use the flee command, which sends you into one of the rooms surrounding the one you are in. A useful command to know is wimpy, which lets you establish an amount over 20% of your total health that enables you to autoflee if you go below the amount you set. So, if you set wimpy at 20% of your max hp, you'll autoflee at or after you go beyond that threshold.
Key Terms
//Murder//: Initiates combat on a target via melee //Initiation Rounds//: The large round following the usage of the 'murder' command //Flee//: Randomly assigns your character to a surrounding room and out of combat //Hostile/Victim//: Makes you unable to recall, makes you attackable by all //Wimpy//: Lets you to auto-flee if you take any damage while below 20% health
Concepts
----Transportation Spells
* Contributors: ZzZz |||| Syntax: c 'word' Syntax: c 'gate' Syntax: c 'teleport' || The above spells are found in the 'transportation' spellgroup you take while in class creation.
When you're either hostile or the victim of a hostile actions, you are unable to use the 'recall' command. In the event this happens and you need to go to your bindstone, you can use the 'word of recall' spell for the same effect. This spell CANNOT be used in combat though.
When it isn't safe to recall or use the 'word of recall' spell, gating to a mob in order to wait for someone to make a nexus to you is ideal, or if you just want to hide and be safe while outside of your clanhall. It is an expensive spell and casting level plays a part with it depending on your class, but it is a good escape spell that can be used in combat if you need to make a hasty escape.
When you absolutely need to get away and you don't care where, you may use the 'teleport' spell, which sends you to a random area on the continent you are currently standing on. You CANNOT use this in combat.
Key Terms
//Recall//: Sends you to the bindstone if you are in a clan, to your temple if you're in a kingdom //Teleport//: Randomly puts your character into a room on the same continent //Gate//: Allows you to gate to specific mobs
Concepts
----The Effects of Stun
* Contributors: Shalist
Stun is a very important status effect in the game. It does many things and lots of classes (and some races) have a stun ability available to them. Stun does the following:
So, basically, securing kills relies heavily on you or your group's ability to keep a target stunned. When you are stunned and you aren't comfortable with being the target or in combat, you should immediately flee. The effects of stun are temporary, but unless you want to stay and fight through it it is safer to just wait the two or three rounds outside of combat than inside.
When you are stunned and you escape from combat shortly after a stun skill, wait five to eight seconds before you try to cast any spells. If you try before then, you will likely fail which results in mana/resources lost and the possibility of you revealing your location.
It is important to note that the fewer exits there are in a room, the harder it will be for you to flee from a foe. Try to avoid rooms with fewer exists if you aren't comfortable fighting against someone who can stun you efficiently.
Some examples of stun abilities: dropkick, wind breath, powerswing, bash, trip.
Key Terms
//Stun//: The most important status effect in the same
Concepts
----The Three Stances
Syntax: stance <defensive/normal/offensive>
To add a layer of strategy to combat, you are given the option of choosing from three interchangeable stances that give you certain advantages and disadvantages. 'Stance defensive' takes away one attack from your combat rounds, but it also increases your ability to defend against blows delivered by your opponent. 'Stance offensive' takes away from your ability to defend, but it rewards you by giving you another attack in your combat rounds and increasing your hit roll.
'Stance normal' takes nothing and gives nothing away from your combat skills.
Managing these stances in combat is an important part of combat for people who aren't mages, because mages tend to stay in stance defensive the whole time to take full advantage of the defensive bonuses. If you are disarmed, you may stance defensive and avoid them until you get your weapons back. If you are stunned, you may stance defensive and flee to wait out the stun. If you have someone disarmed and blinded, you will want to go offensive and stun them if you are able.
Key Terms
//Stance//: The ability to choose between three different stances to mold to the events of combat
Concepts
Basic Maladictions
Contributor: Drekhan, Lunez
Maledictions are the spells used by casters that debilitate and harm their enemy's ability to do certain things or penalize their stats. Let's go over a few of them:
//Curse// This spell makes you unable to recall if it lands and hurts your ability to resist other status effects. It also hurts your hit roll a bit. This can be removed at town healers by using the 'heal curse' command for 50g or by a cleric using the 'remove curse' spell that some classes have available to them. If you are cursed, you are also unable to enter nexuses!
//Weaken// This spell drastically reduces your strength stat. If you are hit by this malediction, you'll deal less damage in melee and skills that require checks run through the strength stat will fail more often. Things like your ability to parry and shield block are greatly influenced by strength, so this naturally means you'll defend worse too. There is no direct cure, but it can be removed using the 'cancellation' spell. You can mitigate the strength penalties using gear with +str on them, if you have the option.
//Blindness// As the name of this spell suggests, those hit by this spell will be blinded. This means you won't be able to see what room you are in, you cannot change gear, recover disarmed weapons and shields and you won't be able to see the identities of those who walk in and out of rooms. Nor will you be able to see who you are currently fighting! Blindness is a dangerous malediction, so if this spell lands you either need to get out or you need to go to a town healer to get it cured with 'heal blind'. It can also be cursed using the 'cure blindness' spell that some classes have available to them. This spell also reduces your hit roll and lasts for a VERY long time depending on who cast it on you.
//Energy Drain// Not exactly a malediction, but it is found in the same spellgroup and is very destructive. If it lands, it deals minor magic damage to you and HALFENS your current total mana and movement. The only way to protect yourself from this is to wear lots of saves gear (we'll cover that later). If you find yourself getting energy drain, then you should run far away from them. Also important to note that a percentage of the damage dealt to your hp with this spell recovers the caster.
//Slow// This spell is expensive to cast, but it is a dangerous one to land. If you have haste when it lands, it dispels your haste spell and nothing else. When you have no haste spell up, it gives you a HUGE dexterity penalty. Not only that, but it adds one round of lag to every spell and skill you use until it is gone. You can get rid of it using cancellation or by trying to re-haste yourself.
So if you are cursed, you should get it cured or get out. If you are weakened, get somewhere safe and get it removed, get out or wear strength gear. If you are blind, go somewhere to get it cured or/and get out.
Key Terms
//Curse//: Makes you unable to recall //Blind//: Makes you unable to see your surroundings, people or your items //Weaken//: Hurts your strength stat //Slow//: Hurts your dexterity and gives more lag to your abilities //Energy drain//: If it lands, it deals minor magic damage and halfens your movement and mana
Concepts
----Basic Skills
Skills can range greatly in effects and duration. Skills can stun you, blind you, disarm your weapons or armor, and many other complex status effects to make combat interesting. We will cover some of the more common ones here:
//Dirt Kick// Dirt kick is a skill employed by warriors to temporarily blind the target. It can be used both in and out of combat, and blinds them for the remainder of the tick (a measure of time we'll visit soon). It slightly reduces the target's hit roll and lags (a concept we'll visit soon) the user for two rounds (another measure of time we'll visit soon). Those with more dex will land it more often. It is important to note that dirt kick deals very minor damage when it lands.
//Disarm// Disarm is a skill that rips the target's weapon from their fingers and sends it to the ground. It can only be used DURING combat, and it lags the user for two rounds. This skill is a strength/dexterity based skill, so if you have lots of both yourself it is easier to resist or land. This skill ONLY disarms the weapon in the primary weapon slot.
//Bash// The basic form of stun skill. Warriors slam their bulk into a target in the hopes that they get stunned. Sending them flying lags you for two rounds, slamming into them without sending them flying for three rounds and missing for three rounds. We've gone over what stun already does, so you know the importance of it and how deadly it can be. Heavier people bash better, so do people with lots of dexterity and constitution. Heavier people also resist this better. It is important to note that a landed bash deals minor damage when it lands
Key Terms
//Dirt Kick//: Gives an incurable blind to a target for a short time //Disarm//: Rips the primary weapon from a target's fingers and onto the ground //Bash//: Basic stun skill
Concepts
----Prompts
* Contributors: Enduriel |||| Syntax: prompt What you can insert: %h : Display your current hits%a : Display your alignment %H : Display your maximum hits%r : Display the room name you are in %m : Display your current mana%e : Display the exits from the room in NESWDU style %M : Display your maximum mana%c : Display a carriage return (useful for multi-line prompts) %v : Display your current moves%t : Display the current game time (%T works too) %V : Display your maximum moves%d : Display Dawn / Day / Sun Set / Night Time (%D works too) %x : Display your current experience%y : Display your current wimpy setting %X : Display experience to level%f : Display whether you are flying or not. %g : Display your gold held%l : Display the current language you are speaking. %s : Display silver carried%L : Display the XP until your merit. (level 51 %q : Display questpoints%S : Display battle stance %C : Display craftskill || When you create a new character, you are given what is called the 'basic prompt line'. This prompt line gives you the bare minimum of information about your condition; your current health, your current mana and your current movement. Your 'prompt' will show up after every command you enter into the game, so you are constantly updated with your current stats.
Before you enter DSL PvE, I recommend you come up with your own prompt to suit your needs. Here is a good basic one line prompt that you can use until you become more experience and find out what information is most important to you. Type enter the below string into your command prompt:
|| prompt {w (%h{Rhp{w/%H{Rhp{w) (%m{Mmp{w/%M{Mmp{w) (%v{Gmv{w/%V{Gmv{w) {W>> Stance {R%S{x%c ||
This introductory prompt will give you your current health and max health, your current mana and max mana and your current moves and max moves in addition to your current stance for combat.
There are several things you can do with your prompt to circumvent some status effects and to make things easier for you. For example, by putting the room exit string in your prompt, you'll be able to see the room exits even while blind.
Key Terms
//Prompt//: the feed you get after every command you enter into the game //Basic Prompt Line//: the preset prompt you are given at the start of the game
Concepts
Ticks, Lag and Rounds
There are three important measurements of time within DSL that everyone must have a firm understanding of: ticks, lag and rounds. Here is a nice old conversion chart for you
14 combat rounds = 1 tick = 14 rounds of lag = 42 seconds of real life time
When someone refers to a tick, a tick is a term expressing 42 seconds of real life time. Most spell and ability effects last for X amount of ticks. For example: fire blind from a fire flag lasts 0+1 ticks, which means it lasts for as last as the remainder of the current tick plus one whole tick. This means fire blind lasts 42+X, where X is the amount of seconds last in the initial tick.
There are scripts and certain features that help you anticipate ticks when they are about to happen, which can mean a world of difference in certain situations. For example, if you know that the tick is coming in four seconds, you get the maximum benefit from a dirt kick if you use it on somebody the moment the new tick begins.
Key Terms
//Round//: The three second length of time lag and combat happens in //Tick//: A basic unit of time in DSL in which most status effects last
Concepts
----Preparation/Preventative Measures
* Contributors: ZzZz
There are certain steps you can take, regardless as to which class and race you are playing, to avoid certain compromising situations in playerkilling that will, well.. get you killed. We will go over each of them:
//Gate Posts// A good way to avoid a group of large enemies is to gate to a mob far away from them. Since the gate spell only works on mobs on the same continent as you cast it, do some research as to which mob you want to target in a pinch. When in doubt, just teleport yourself. If you don't feel comfortable recalling, do either of these things.
//'Where'// Spamming the 'where' command will let you see where all players are in the area in which you use it in. This is especially useful when you are out training. Note that this command is effected by detection spells you have up, so spamming 'where' without detect hidden up when you are looking for a sneaky foe will not be effective. This will help you cut people off who are running away and it will help you avoid large enemy groups. 'Where' is lagless too, so spam away if you feel like you are suspicious!
//Weigh Yourself Down// Find heavy objects and carry them with you! This will help you resist some grabbing and bashing stun skills. Iron cannon balls are always in style.
//Potions// Always carry potions with you! If you are dispelled, they are a great way to spell yourself up without spending mana. Look into buying 'stoning' potions from Arkane which are used to break charm spells you are hit by and visit an area called the 'Crystal Palace' to buy escape potions. These are both very handy and powerful potions. They WILL save your life. Quaffing potions lags you for one round. Here's an expanded list of potions you should look for:
//Know Your Areas// Introduce yourself to as many hiding places and areas as possible. Mix up which areas you visit too and really explore them. Some places cannot be detected using the 'where' command like churches and inn rooms. General knowledge of areas will help you track down and kill enemies too.
//Blessing//
In anticipation of people who can cast spells on you, you should 'bless' up your gear! This is done by buying wands that contain the spell bless or by people who can cast the spell, removing your gear and methodically casting and zapping the gear you own. Bless adds 'saves' to your gear, an effect that helps you to resist extra damage effects caused by cutting through your saves and saving against maledictions. The more -saves you have, the more often you'll be able to resist!
Through the usage of the 'bless' spell and/or elm wands, everybody can improve the rate in which they resist offensive spells. To do this, remove the item, cast bless on it if you have the benedictions spell group or wear an elm wand found in the Coven and zap it. Then wear the item again and do this for each item you wear. Lowbies normally don't do this, but it is important to do so in lv51 playerkilling to take every necessary step to be sure you're not vulnerable to magic. Blessing is temporary, so beware.
//Fireproofing// Some items will melt, explode or burn up from certain attacks and damage! Protect your potions, scrolls, jewelry and magic staves by casting 'fireproof' on them, a spell found in the protections spellgroup. Fireproof is temporary, so beware.
//Poison// This may sound like something you don't want to do, but being choked or put into a magical sleep can be extremely deadly for you. To counteract this, poison yourself using an "anti-mage elixir". It will deal minor damage every tick, and any source of damage wakes up a sleeping player. On the other side of the coin, if you have a sleep ability available to you, carry around an "unholy symbol" so that you can cure the poison on a target you have put to sleep.
//Mount Up// If you have the 'riding' skill available to you, then you should be mounted when- ever you are outside of your hall and able. Some very powerful skills enemies can use on you CANNOT be used against you if you are mounted. For example: you cannot be choked, strangled, dirt kicked and some forms of stun cannot be used on you while on the back of a mount. In addition to this, damage dealt to you experiences a reduction and you deal a bit more melee damage. Important to note: ogres/trolls/giant ogres can still use bash on mounted targets, so be prepared for that.
Key Terms
//Quaff//: Allows you to consume potions for added spell effects //Where//: Lets you see all players in the area you're in right now //Bless//: A spell that improves how well you resist against spells //Fireproof//: A spell that protects your jewelry, potions, staves and scrolls from burning effects //Poison//: A tool used to counteract sleep abilities //Saves//: byproduct of some spell effects, helps you to resist against spells that require saves checks //Bless//: very useful spell, can be cast on self or on gear to help your spell resistance //Riding//: Very useful skill. Some forms of stun and some skills can't be used against you while mounted. You also experience a slight damage reduction and you hit a little harder
Concepts
----Concealment and Guide
Another interesting layer of DSL is the large array of abilities you can use to hide in plain sight or disguise your movements. These abilities can be either magical in nature or they can be physical. Let's go over some of them. If is important to note that just because you're hidden doesn't mean you can't be forced out of hiding using AOE abilities and some classes even have a way to detect hidden foes, also important to note that damage brings you out of hiding.
//Hide// Basic hide skill that quite a few classes get. This skill allows you to 'hide' in any room type so long as you do not type ANY commands in. The down- side to this skill is that you don't know if you are truly hidden, so it can be a bit of a risk especially if you play larger race like ogres who aren't very efficient at the skill. You cannot hide from people with 'acute vision' though. Hide as much as you want, it has no lag and costs nothing! Having the spell 'faerie fire' on you hinders your chances of hiding successfully.
//Sneak// Good skill! This skill allows you to move from room to room without giving everyone in that room an echo that you entered or left it. Pk is all about surprise and if an enemy doesn't see you enter a room, then you still have that advantage. This skill is best used with hide, so you can do your best to remained concealed until you reach your target. Additionally, 'sneak' makes you undetectable against people without access to the spell of detect hidden. Sneak has no lag, so use it as much as you want!
//Blend// A means of concealment using a spell. 'Blend' is a spell exclusively used by illusionists to become undetectable, but, like the hide skill, it breaks should you perform an action after using the spell. Another plus side to this is that you are TOTALLY unseen, so not even acute vision or soulsight can detect you. Costs mana and one round of lag.
//Nondetection// Another means of concealment using a spell. This spell is used by invokers to become totally undetectable. Best part? You can move around and stay undetectable, but people will still be able to see when you leave or enter a room. 'Nondetections only weakness is soulsight, which can be cast by shamans and vampires. Costs mana to use and one round of lag to cast.
//Nightmeld// A unique skill to nightshades that behaves in every way, shape and form as the hide skill, but it makes you undetectable like blend. The only down- side is that the skill can only be used in dark rooms or outside at night. 'Nightmeld' has no lag, so use it as much as you want!
There are a whole bunch more ways to hide and conceal, so definitely explore and ask around!
Key Terms
//Hide//: a skill that makes you difficult to see and find anywhere //Sneak//: a skill that conceals your movement //Nightmeld//: a skill that makes you undetectable //Blend//: a spell that makes you undetectable anywhere so long as you don't move //Nondetection//: a spell that makes you undetectable as you move around //Faerie Fire//: a weather spell that reduces your armor, plus more
Concepts
More to come..