Vampires! A Dark Alleyway - FAQ

[Ginger - The Waitress]

This is simply a copy and paste from everything that you can find under the FAQs section of the game itself. I did not write any of it but you may want to skim though and take a look at things.

Please note that the links either have more information or link to the FAQs site itself.

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Index
The FAQ now functions as a series of sections, moving, hopefully, towards the specific question you want to ask. Each section will have its own text, which may cover the most common questions for that section, then possibly links to other sections which may be relevant.

Related questions:

• I can't log in!
  There are several reasons why one might not be able to log in.
  
  
• How can I donate?
  Ideally, donation is by Paypal. If you don't have a Paypal account, you can sign up here. If you have an account, donate with this link. You can specify which vampire you want powers attributed to, which powers you want to focus on (if you have the base set already), and make additional comments in the Paypal comments field.
  
  
• What powers are there?
  
  
• How do I get powers?
  The only clue I will give as to how to get powers in the city is that you should start your search with pubs.
  Powers can also be gained as thank-yous for donating towards the server costs of running the game.
  
  
  
• My question is about in-game things.
  (click to go to that section)
  
  
• Can I sign up more than one vampire?
  As a general rule, no - if several vampires belonging to the same person act in concert (eg. attacking the same target, collecting money for use by one main vampire or pooling their resources in any other way, being sired by the same vampire), I may delete any number of them. That said, a couple of vampires acting fully independently is okay, and will go unnoticed. *Don't* have one sire the other (it's fairly obvious that that's cheating, yes? You can't get nutrition by draining your own blood!)
  Making lots of vampires for a friend (or an enemy) is also disallowed; the blood they gain will be removed, and the player who creates the false-vampires risks their main vampire being deleted.
  
  
• My question relates to server administration.
  (click here for the info)
  
  
• What are the rules in the chatrooms?
  
  
• I would like to make a suggestion.
  I already have lots of changes queued to be made, and your suggestion will probably be a lower priority than them, as well as likely having been made before. Still, feel free to persist.
  
  
• Someone is spamming my IRC server, forum, guestbook, etc. with their vampire link.
  
  
• My question was not answered anywhere in the FAQ
  
  
• How do I...?
  (click to get more info)
  
  
• What happens when I...?
  (click for more info)
  
  
• Why...?
  (click for more info)
  
  
• What are...?
  (click for more info)
  
  
• What is cloning and why is it considered cheating
  
  
• Is there a high-score table?
  There is no 'live' list of the vampires with the most blood, or most coins, since this would tend to unfairly set up the vampires with the highest 'score' as targets. However, vampires who wish to publicise their strength can do so at this site, which has a manually maintained database with which vampires can rank themselves (and draw attention to themselves).

[Ginger - The Waitress]

I don't know my password. Can you send it to me?

If there was an email address given for the account, for password retrieval, then you can recover the password yourself - simply try to log in and you will be offered a link to have the password emailed to you, unless your vampire has been deleted or you are having a problem with cookies. Don't forget when logging in that your vampire name is case-sensitive.

If no email address was given then I can't send you your password because if there's no email address on the account then I have no way of knowing whether you are the real owner of the vampire or someone trying to steal it. You can create a new vampire.

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My vampire has been deleted!

There are two ways a vampire can be deleted. If a player who hasn't donated has been inactive for three consecutive weeks, their vampire is completely eradicated from the database. There is no way to get such a vampire recovered, there are no records stored of vampires deleted in this manner.

The other way a vampire can be deleted is for cheating; in these cases, the vampire is not actually stricken from the database, but rather the account is locked. This happens when a player creates several vampires and uses them as a group, pooling resources or ganging up on other vampires, or for signing up lots of vampires for the blood bonus. If this has been done in error, it is possible for a vampire to be reinstated, but it's not likely - it's usually pretty obvious when it's cheating and when it's not.

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I am having a problem with cookies.

If you have cookies disabled, this can be remedied in Internet Explorer from Tools->Internet Options, the Privacy tab. There, you can either:
Click 'Advanced' and choose to accept first-party cookies, or
Click 'Edit' (under Web Sites) and enter 'http://quiz.ravenblack.net/', then click Allow.

If that doesn't help, it's possible that you are encountering an odd glitch that Internet Explorer occasionally has; to remedy this, you need to do the following:

If you are using a browser other than Internet Explorer, I can't help you. Try a different browser or a different computer to see if it works elsewhere.

[Ginger - The Waitress]

What do I get for donating?
Bear in mind that some of the powers can be acquired in the city, and that all but Second-sight are or will be available that way. Still, by way of thanks for donations, you get some powers for your vampire.

The first $5 you donate gets you one levelled power of your choice (not Suction, Perception or Surprise) to level 1, the power Second-Sight, the removal of ads while you are logged in, and the removal of the 120-visit-per-day limit while you are logged in.

After that, each additional donation of $3 will get you one levelled power of your choice (not Suction, Perception or Surprise) to level-1, and each additional $5 will get Suction, Perception or Surprise.

If (and only if) you have all the powers at level-1 (including Suction, Perception and Surprise), each additional $5 donation will upgrade a level-1 power of your choice to level-2, and each additional $10 donation will upgrade a level-2 power to level-3.

Having donated does not give you immunity to being deleted for cheating, spamming, or other breaches of the rules.

The above does not apply to the Neutrality power - you can increase other powers beyond level one without getting any Neutrality levels. If you want to alter your Neutrality power by donation, a $5 donation can change it to any level you want. Similarly, a $5 donation can get a BattleCloak, but a $20 donation is required to remove it, to discourage abusive swapping..

In summary:
First $5: Second-Sight and any one of Celerity-1, Stamina-1, Thievery-1, Shadows-1, Telepathy-1, Charisma-1 or Locate-1.

After that, in any order:

• Celerity-1: $3
  
• Stamina-1: $3
  
• Thievery-1: $3
  
• Shadows-1: $3
  
• Telepathy-1: $3
  
• Charisma-1: $3
  
• Locate-1: $3
  
• Suction: $5
  
• Surprise: $5
  
• Perception: $5

Once you have all of those (bear in mind you can get these all in-game):

• Any level-1 power to level-2: $5
  
• Any level-2 power to level-3: $10

And please remember to specify which powers you want, along with your vampire name, when donating.

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Is there any other way to donate?
Yes, I can take donations by money order (or cash at your own risk). Payable to Raven Black, and sent to:
Raven Black
8802 Rachel Ct.
Ellicott City, MD 21043

Don't forget to include your vampire name. Including an email address too can be helpful, as well as specifying which powers you want.

This is not my residential address, so there's no point in showing up there in an attempt to meet me in person.

Please, no non-US money orders - the bank will not credit them.

[Ginger - The Waitress]

What powers are there?

The following powers are available:

• Celerity (3 Levels Available): the Vampire's action points normally recharge once every 30 minutes. Each level of Celerity reduces this by 5 minutes.
  
• Suction: the Vampire extracts an extra pint of blood from each victim, at no extra cost.
  
• Surprise: the Vampire can enter a square that would usually be considered overcrowded.
  
• Perception: the Vampire can detect nearby vampire hunters, and hear the sound of clinking coins.
  
• Stamina (3 Levels Available): the Vampire usually has a 50 Action Point maximum. Each level of Stamina increases this by 10. Stamina also affords extra resistance against some attacks.
  
• Shadows (3 Levels Available): Vampires usually disappear from sight if they don't move for 4 days. For each level of Shadows, a Vampire disappears one day sooner.
  
• Locate (3 Levels Available): Using Locate, you can find out where a Vampire is. At level one you can only tell distance; at level two you can tell distance and direction; at level three you can tell exact location. Uses one action point per target. Used from the "More Commands" screen.
  
• Thievery (3 Levels Available): At level one, up to 25% of the target's money can be stolen; 50% at level two, 75% at level three. Higher levels also have their chance of failure decreased. A 'rob' option appears next to the usual 'drink' option if you have this power.
  
• Telepathy (3 Levels Available): The vampire is able to send telepathic messages to other vampires, no matter where they are. At level one it costs ten action points to send a telepathic message. At level two it costs six. At level three it costs two. Sending a message to your sire or one of your childer costs half the action points of communicating with other vampires, ie. it costs only one action point to communicate with one of your childer using level three telepathy.
  
• Charisma (3 Levels Available): A vampire with Charisma can get directions from humans more quickly, and discounts on purchases (in pubs, 10%, 20% and 30%; in shops, 3%, 7% and 10% as level increases).
  
• Second-sight (available only to donating Vampires (at least $5), as it increases server load): the Vampire can examine the statistics of other Vampires. Uses half an action point per target. Used by clicking on the name of the target vampire.

There is also the power of Neutrality, which is a two-edged power; it prevents you from using Holy Water, and reduces damage done to you by Holy Water (reduced to 1, with Neutrality-3), it prevents damage from Scrolls of Turning used by or on you. When a Neutral vampire robs a non-Neutral, or vice-versa, half their take is claimed by the Peacekeepers Guild.

Similarly, BattleCloak makes a vampire only able to engage in combat with other BattleCloaked vampires, though it doesn't effect Thievery or biting. A BattleCloaked vampire goes into Torpor if their blood goes below 10, which makes them unable to engage or be engaged in combat at all. Torpor ends when blood goes above 250.

[Ginger - The Waitress]

Is there, or can you send me, a map?
The only maps are those made by players. Even if I had a map, I wouldn't send it to people - you need to explore. You may be able to get some of the people on the mailing list to provide you with more information about building locations, though.

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What do the different coloured squares mean?
The different coloured squares are quite simple. The squares with blue background are impassable for some reason - either the square is overcrowded (possibly with shadowed vampires such that you can't see them), or it's the city limits. Other colours indicate different sorts of buildings, or street signs. You can tell what the buildings are by entering the square they are in.

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Someone gave me directions to a guild, and it's not where they said.
There are several reasons you could be encountering this problem. Firstly, did you listen carefully to the directions? Generally, people giving directions will say which street corner a guild is near - guilds are not in the intersection. They are also hidden, so you can't see any sign of them unless you are in the same square as the guild, unlike other buildings which you can see from adjacent squares.

The other reason you might not be able to find a guild is that they move regularly - you have to get there within a few days after getting directions, and, ideally, as soon as possible, since you might have gotten directions on the day the guild is scheduled to move.

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People keep stealing my money! How can they do that?
If you keep getting large amounts of money stolen, your real problem is that you haven't learned to use banks. They're there for a reason.

Addressing the other common question along these lines, how it is that people can steal your money, the answer is that they have the Thievery power, and you, presumably, do not. You can get the power if you can find a guild willing to teach you.

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Why have I sired fewer people than I had before? Why do I have fewer siblings? Why has my ancestry changed?
The lists of siblings, childer and ancestors all display only those vampires that exist at this time. If your siblings, childer or ancestors are deleted due to inactivity, they will be removed from your lists. Siblings cease to be connected, if the siring vampire dies.

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Why am I not a master vampire? How do I get to be?
Being a master vampire does not confer any special status or abilities - it merely indicates that you were not sired by another vampire. If your sire dies due to inactivity, however, you will become a master vampire.

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How are people you've sired determined?
Each person that comes to the site via your link, and enters a name, is one childer sired. Only the ten of your childer who have drunk the most blood will be shown on your vampire page. Any childer that die due to inactivity will be removed.

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What are sires? What are siblings? What are childer?
The list of sires that appears on your vampire page is, in order, your sire, their sire, *their* sire, and so on until you reach a master vampire. Your sire is the vampire that first brought you to the city.

Siblings are other vampires that were also sired by the same sire as you - the close siblings that are displayed are those siblings whose blood count is most similar to yours.

Childer are those vampires to whom you are sire - those vampires you have brought to the city.

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I can't find a street I was directed to!
The streets are not simply in alphabetical order - the west half of the city has streets named for animals and trees, whereas the east half is named for stones and moods, so if you're looking for Eagle, and it's not at E, that's because you're at the wrong E - you need to go half way across the city, to the west.

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What's this graveyard I found?
It's simply a memorial for a well-liked player who died (the player, not the vampire). The graveyard has no special effect of any sort. It would be appreciated if vampires would be polite when there, out of respect for those who cared about the deceased.

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What does a pink or red vampire name mean?
The pink or red coloured vampires have the power of Neutrality - this means that Holy Water, Scrolls of Turning and Thievery have a reduced effect on them, and that if they use one of these it will have a reduced effect.

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What's this lair/chateau/hall/crypt/castle thing?
It's a nonmoving building belonging to the named vampire. It's more a status symbol than anything else - the vampire in question has donated at least $100, beyond donations for powers.

Other vampires can have homes of their own on a similar basis - though the donation required will increase the more often it happens, to make sure the city doesn't become consumed with owned buildings (current required donation for a building is $250).

Owned buildings may have an effect similar to that of Shadows upon their owner.

[Ginger - The Waitress]

When will there be changes to the server?
I don't know. I make changes and improvements when I have time. It's a time consuming chore, and I do have to do other work as well. Whenever changes are made, there is a message displayed to all vampires directing them to the news page where the update will be described.

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Can you change my vampire's name?
No, unless it is offensive and you wish to change that. I won't change vampire names because many vampires like to target those who have attacked them in the past - if names were changed, there would be no way to hold anyone accountable. It would also make more unnecessary work for me.

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Can I get a copy of the script?
No, I am very protective of my code. I could be persuaded to part with it for a very large amount of money that I'm sure you have no interest in offering.

[Ginger - The Waitress]

What are the rules in the chatrooms?
(These rules were written by one of the moderators, Devil Miyu.)

RavenBlack Bloodchat is a place where the players of the "Vampires! A Dark Alleyway" game get together to discuss and share game-related ideas, meet friends and make friends, hang out, socialise and perhaps even roleplay for a bit. It is also a place where one can seek out help and assistance in regards to the game. Basically it's a fun place to chat and socialise.

Who are the people who often visit Bloodchat?

There are different types of people who come to chat. Most of them are what people call "n00bs" or "newbies". These are people who are new to the game, doesn't know much about the game and who are mostly in chat just to goof off and talk to other people. These are the type of people who generally take up to almost half of the chatroom population.

The other type of people are what we refer to as "lurkers". These people log on to chat but they seldom say anything to anyone. These people are generally shy and often times want to be left alone. They just like to log on to chat to simply watch what's going on in there.

Then we have the "regulars" and the occassional game-veteran visitors.

The game-veterans or sometimes referred to as "Elders" are people who've been in the game for more than 2 years, they know their way around things and most of them are clan leaders or elders. These people drop in once in a while to chat.

The "regulars" are people you see almost everyday in chat. These people hang out and talk and have fun. Generally they stick to a specific room. These people are for the most part friendly. And are pretty much well-versed with the chat rules. They are also among the first ones to remind those in the chatroom about certain rules that are in violation. So if you're misbehaving, you can pretty count on these people to tell you to cut it out and stop whatever it is you are doing.

There are several chat "regulars" who frequent the place and assist the chat moderators in keeping an eye on chat and make sure everyone gets along fairly well. These people inform the moderators as to who's causing problems, by either taking a screen shot of the incident or copying and then pasting it, then emailing it to the moderators or even sending it and alerting the mods via PM. (private message)

What happens next?

The moderators then either kick the person out of the chatroom or ban them from that specific room, depending on the offense committed by the person. Moderators can and will permanently ban a person from the entire chat if a person is found to be in severe violation of chat rules. Repeat offenders will also be permanently banned from chat.


Bloodchat Moderators:
Another type of people found in chat are what we call chat "mods" or "mod". These are the people who monitor the chatrooms, enforce and uphold the rules. They are there to help those who are in need of assistance or have questions regarding the game. These moderators "donate" or "volunteer" their time to assist others, and make sure that the chatrooms are pretty much "friendly".

Who are the moderators?

The list of names of chatroom moderators have been removed. This was done to stay true to what's posted by RavenBlack which is this:

"There are several moderators with the power to do this, and they are not highlighted in any way. All chat is logged, so complaints can be examined later."

Something to keep in mind:
Moderators are not paid to monitor the chatrooms. They do not get any compensation such as coins in the game or special privileges in the game. They volunteer their time to make sure that everything runs smoothly in the chats. They don't ask much in return save for that you simply follow the rules, do what you're told and treat them with respect. They are there to help should anyone require assistance in the game or have questions about the game.

Bloodchat Rooms:
There are 11 (eleven) main chatrooms for bloodchat. You may also create your own private room by typing " /room [name of room here] ". Please keep in mind that the entire chat is logged. Main rooms as well as private rooms and PMs (private messages) are logged and recorded.

As per RavenBlack...

• The General rooms are intended to be for out-of-character general socialising.
  
• The City rooms are intended for game discussion, and may or may not be in-character.
  
• The Roleplay rooms are intended to be entirely in character.
  
• The existence of a PG-Rated room should not be taken to imply that other rooms are X-Rated.

The following are the 11 main chatrooms of Bloodchat...

The Bloodchat moderators have pieced together a set of rules on top of RavenBlack's general chatrules. These rules were already dicussed among the moderators and are pretty much things that are not allowed in chat because it is not only annoying, it also bothers the other people in chat. So in order to maintain order in chat and keep a safe and friendly environment, we have rules.

As per RavenBlack...

The following is an extensive list of rules that have been discussed by the moderators as well as explainations as to why such was made as a rule in chat.

Anyone found in direct violation of these rules and the rules set by RavenBlack will end up being kicked or banned from chat.

Anyone found to be in severe violation of the chat rules or who repeatedly and blatantly break any of these rules, will be permanently banned from Bloodchat.

Generally, you will be warned of your actions if they are in violation to the rules. First time offenses will be overlooked. You will only be warned once. If you have been warned about an offense in the past, that counts as your warning. Keep in mind that blatantly breaking rules will not elicit any warning; an immediate kick and ban will follow.

Chat rules...

No caps.
Typing in all CAPITAL LETTERS will result in a kick. Repeat offenses will result in a ban.

Why is this not allowed?
It is considered rude and is viewed as yelling in the chatroom. How does one convey yelling without the use of caps? Well... there is this nifty invention called the exclamation point. If you're not aware of what it is, this is what it looks like --> !

If that doesn't work for you, you can try typing " /me yells [insert whatever here]"

Although an occassional slip up of certain abbreviations such as "LOL" or "LMAO" can and will be overlooked depending on who is moderating the room you are in. One word in caps will also be overlooked.


Excessive profanity, even in the x-rated chat rooms, will be moderated. Mild swearing in appropriate context will be ignored.

Why is this behaviour moderated?
Well, for some, it is considered offensive. But do keep in mind that just because this is something that is generally overlooked if used in appropriate contexts, that doesn't give a person a reason to use obsceneties as every other word in their sentences. Nobody likes a potty-mouth. You can be kicked or even banned from the rooms for this one.


Creating several "alts" or "clones", in order to gain entrance to chatrooms you've been banned from, is an immediate banning, without warning.

First of all, what are "alts" or "clones"?
These are other characters created and controlled by the same person. Now RavenBlack clearly states that you can have alternate characters in game provided that there are no interaction between those players. However... if you were banned from chat and you create another character so that you can come back to chat is considered against the chat rules.

Why is that not allowed?
Well, when a moderator bans you from chat, it is simply to keep the chat free of inappropriate behaviour. It kind of defeats the purpose if you are able to immediately log back on to Bloodchat under another name. We don't want people thinking, "Oh well you ban this one name, I'll just make another and another." That is not allowed and could also result in getting you deleted from the game itself.


Flooding, Spamming and Scrolling is a kickable offense. Excessiveness of these will result in a permanent ban from chat.

What is Flooding?
Well flooding is when someone rapidly types messages on to the screen to fill it up or "flood" it. It is mainly for attention and annoyance purposes. It will look something like this:

< example+user > lol!!
< example+user > asgaj;ljh'pha;h
< example+user >
< example+user >
< other_user > omg stop it!
< no-name-vamp > cut it out plz!
< example+user > NO!! U PPL SUCK!
< example+user > asdfjkl wwtou[oaga;lma'ojg
< example+user >
< example+user > s
< example+user > h
< example+user > u
< example+user > t
< example+user >
< example+user > u
< example+user > p
Devil Miyu kicks example+user
example+user has left

Posting ascii images (images created using text) is not allowed as well because it is also considered as a form of flooding.

Posting song lyrics will be moderated. Although one or two lines are acceptable. Posting the entire lyrics or majority of the lyrics of a song will result in a kick.

This is viewed as flooding as well. Many people have complained of such behaviour in chat that we felt it necessary to make it a rule. This too can get you banned if you keep doing it.

"ASL" is not allowed in the main chat room

RavenBlack Bloodchat is not a dating service. If you feel you must ask someone the dreaded "asl" question, we ask that you do so via PM (private message) as it not only disrupts the chatroom, it also serves as an annoyance which often leads to fights in the main room.

We also ask that you refrain from posting your screen names for any of the instant messenger clients, email addresses, phone numbers and other personal stuff of that nature in the main chatroom. If you must give out your personal information, please do so via PM (private message)


Talk of boredom is not allowed.
An example of this...

< example+user > I'm sooooo bored!
< example+user> omg u ppl r so boring!
< other_user > its too quiet in this room
< example+user > gtg this room sux its 2boring in here l8ers peeps!
Devil Miyu kicks example+user
example+user has left

Why is this not allowed?
Frankly, no one is forcing you to log on to Bloodchat and stay there. It is not our job as moderators of the chatroom to entertain you nor is it the job of other people to be your source of entertainment. Find something to do if you're bored. Initiate conversations or simply just leave. Stating that you're bored only serves to aggravate and annoy a lot of people.

With the exception of the game links and things listed in the game's FAQ section, posting links and promoting other websites in chat is strictly forbidden as well as frown upon. Posting your biter link in chat will get you banned.

Why is this not allowed?
It is considered spamming. Do keep in mind that most of the people who come to chat are new to the game. Promoting your personal website in chat, your biter link or your clan's url or any other link is not allowed. The only links or websites allowed to be posted in the main room are anything of ravenblack.net, The FTA (Freedom Trade Alliance) and LiS (Lost In Shadows) as it is strictly an information only group which would be beneficial to the "newbies". It is also frowned upon to post links via PM (private message). If an individual complains about someone posting links in a PM, the poster will get kicked from the chat room and could possibly be banned.


Real life threats, OOC (out-of-character) threats made to a mod or an individual will result in an immediate permanent ban from chat.

That one is self explanatory. Such actions will not be allowed or even tolerated in the chatrooms.


- Challenging a moderator's authority...
- Insults directed towards a moderator...
- Any kind of harassment towards a moderator...
- Any form of disrespect towards a moderator...
- Extensively arguing and/or desputing a moderator's judgment...
...will result in you getting kicked and banned from chat.

A fine example of this is when a mod kicks a person from chat and the person returns to the chatroom and starts mouthing off the moderator and giving that moderator "attitude", rest assure you will not only get kicked again but possibly get banned from the chatroom.

- PMing the moderator and insulting the mod because of a kick or a ban will get you permanently banned from chat.

- Sending "friends" to harass or repeatedly ask mods to lift the ban will only make the matters worse and can result in getting them kicked or banned as well.

- Harassing other people either via AIM, YIM, msn messenger or email because of a moderator will cause you to be banned from chat. Or if you've already been banned from chat, it will only serve to make your ban a permanent one.


The unmentionables...

Bloodchat has several topics that are not allowed in the chatrooms, public or private and even via PM. Keep in mind that the entire chat is logged and recorded. If you speak of such topics or if someone files a complaint about you regarding these topics, you will immediately be banned from the entire chat!

The following are topics that are not allowed in chat:

- Rape
- Sex with minors
- Sex with animals
- Incest
- Self-mutilation (ie, cutting, burning, etc.)
- Abortion
- Drugs
- Gay/Lesbian marriages
- Homosexuality
- Religion
- Politics
- Suicide and Depression
- Computer hacking
- Racial comments and racial slurs
- Mutilation of animals
- Mutilating people especially children or babies

Please keep in mind that these rules aren't made to intimidate or dissuade anyone from logging on to chat but rather, to ensure that all the chatrooms in Bloodchat remain a friendly and non-alienating environment. Chat moderators will always strive to do their best to enforce and uphold these rules for everyone's own good. Please keep these things in mind whenever you log on to Bloodchat. Take care and thank you.

Sincerely,
~Devil Miyu
amicus vampir? generis
Keeper and Protector of The Shadow Realm

[Ginger - The Waitress]

You should add rankings of the top vampires.
The top 100 vampires (by blood) would change so little that it would hardly be worth displaying. While ranking all the vampires, so they could see relative progress, would perhaps be good, ranking the entire list of vampires, even if only done nightly, would be quite a hefty operation, and a lot of coding time that could be spent doing something better.

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You should add more powers.
There may be more powers added later, but for now there are other enhancements where I would rather focus my attention. Adding things is a lot of work, and I do have other responsibilities too.

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You should add more objects.
I intend to, after I've made other changes, such as those mentioned with regard to powers.

[Ginger - The Waitress]

How do I enter a building?
You just have to enter the square that contains the building, then any options related to the building will appear beneath the map-view. If a building square is highlighted in blue, that means the building is full and you can't enter until someone leaves (unless you have the Surprise power). One way to make people leave a building is a with a Scroll of Turning.

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How do I get objects?
Objects such as scrolls and potions can be got from shops, in exchange for coins. When you are in a shop, the option to purchase things appears beneath the map view.

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How do I use objects I've bought? How do I speak?
Objects that don't work automatically can be used from the "More Commands" screen, the same place where 'say' is available. The "More Commands" option is always available as a link just beneath the map view.

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Why do I have negative action points? How can this happen?
If you refresh the page several times without moving, it costs an action point (because of some players refreshing repeatedly so as to be able to rob people who entered their square, without having to spend action points moving - which caused unnecessary server load). Also, asking for directions or travelling on transit cost several action points, and are possible whenever you have any action points, even if not enough.

You have to wait for these action points to be regained *past* zero before you can act again.

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How do I get more action points?
You get more action points by waiting. If you have the Celerity power, the amount of time you have to wait per action point is reduced. If you have Stamina, your maximum action points value is increased. Action points recharge whether you are logged in or not - just as you are always vulnerable to attack, unless you fall into shadow.

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What does 'dead and buried' mean, as a location?
When a vampire's location is shown as 'dead and buried', it means they have been deleted from the game (not for idleness, which removes all record of them, but either because they asked to be deleted or because they cheated).

Note, requests to be deleted will only be honoured for vampires who have donated, as other vampires can just leave it alone for three weeks and be automatically removed. Requests to be deleted will also require confirmation of identity, ideally in the form of the vampire's password, since email sources are easily forged.

[Ginger - The Waitress]

What happens when I put money in a bank?
Money in a bank is safe from being stolen. If you want to spend it, you have to withdraw it from a bank first. The banks are all linked, so money deposited in one can be withdrawn from another. Banks do not pay interest, they just keep your money safe.

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What happens when I use an object?
Most objects are single-use only, so they are destroyed when used. If you can't determine the effect from the object description (which is available in the shop, or from the My Vampire screen where your inventory is displayed), then you can determine the effect by trying it. No more specific information about the effects of objects will be given, you'll have to learn by experimentation.

[Ginger - The Waitress]

Why didn't I get blood when my friend signed up with my link?
Signups from the same IP address are not counted, because of cheaters. One other unfortunate side-effect of this is that some ISPs (most notably AOL) shove their customers through proxy servers, which sometimes means that two users who live near each other, even if they don't have the same IP, will end up being counted as the same IP address (the address of the proxy server).

Sorry, but I haven't the time give you the blood you've missed out on if this has happened.

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Why can't I create a vampire?
Sometimes when you try to create a vampire, you will get the message "Too many vampires have been created from this machine today." Sometimes this is not actually because vampires have been created from your machine, but because you are being connected through a proxy server which many vampires have been created through. Most notably, this can happen with AOL, who pass all their web traffic through a few proxy servers. There are a few courses open to you.

• You could create a vampire from a machine which doesn't go through the proxy server.
  
• You could get a friend to create a vampire for you and then give you the password.
  
• You could simply try again the next day - the quota for the IP address might not have been exceeded next time.

[Ginger - The Waitress]

What do the different coloured squares mean?
The different coloured squares are quite simple. The squares with blue background are impassable for some reason - either the square is overcrowded (possibly with shadowed vampires such that you can't see them), or it's the city limits. Other colours indicate different sorts of buildings, or street signs. You can tell what the buildings are by entering the square they are in.

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What are guilds?
Guilds are hidden buildings where, for a price, you can learn powers.

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What are shops?
Shops are buildings where you can purchase objects.

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What are scrolls? What are potions?
Scrolls of Turning, Scrolls of Teleportation, Potions of Holy Water and so forth are objects that can be purchased in shops, and can be used from the More Commands screen (sometimes requiring other conditions such as the presence of other vampires).

You can see what you are carrying from the My Vampire screen, and also get descriptions of the objects by moving the mouse pointer over the questionmark icon next to each object (which is also available in shops).

Questions regarding the specific effects of each object will not be answered here. Experiment and find out for yourself.

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What are the numbers in parentheses after our names?
The numbers in parentheses (or brackets) after vampire names are representative of the internal strength of that vampire, measured in pints of blood.

[Ginger - The Waitress]

What is cloning and why is it considered cheating?
There are two acts which are referred to as cloning.

The first is siring other vampires without actually inviting additional players, by simply signing up several vampires oneself, or getting one friend to sign up several vampires. If one does this for the blood bonus, this is cloning, and will be penalised.

The other form of cloning is when a single player controls several vampires, and uses them as a team in any way. "Acting as a team" includes, but is not limited to, occupying a square to capacity, pooling resources, ganging up on other players and 'combined robbing' (where if one vampire finds a rich target for thievery, the clones also immediately rob the same target).

Clones (multiple vampires controlled by a single player) are allowed, provided they do not act as a team.

The penalties for disallowed cloning activities vary based on the severity of the offense and how clearly the evidence points to clones being in use. If the evidence strongly indicates clones then all but one of the vampires in question will be deleted, and the remaining one penalised in blood, coin or objects to, at an absolute minimum, the amount gained from the cloning activities.

Note, if several people are playing from the same computer they may be detected as clones, thus it is best if players sharing a computer also avoid acting as a team.


Additional note - some players in clans have expressed concern over having a 'banker vampire' or treasurer in their clan, and whether this will be considered cloning. The answer can be extrapolated from the above - provided none of the vampires giving money to the banker vampire, or receiving money from it, are on the same computer as it, it is okay. One exception - if the clan contains clones of another player, all of whom give money to the banker, that is cheating on the part of the player with the clones, and the banker may lose the exact amount of coin given to them by the clones (since those coins shouldn't have existed). The banker will not be additionally penalised, as they are not responsible for other players' cheating.

[LesNott]

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