Subterfuge

Those of the Serpent class possess the skill of Subterfuge, through which they are able to use archery, illusions, and a variety of stealthy abilities to their advantage.

Abilities in Subterfuge

Ability	Description
Rattle	Knowledge of the coded Serpent Lord tongue.
Syntax: RATTLE <text> RATTLE TO <person> <text> Works on/against: Adventurers, denizens, room, and self Details: With this ability, you may communicate with others who have it with no fear of being overheard by other mortals.
Hide	Conceal yourself from view.
Syntax: HIDE EMERGE Extra Information: Emerge cooldown: 1.00 seconds of balance. Works on/against: Self Cooldown: 4.00 seconds of balance Details: Conceal yourself from view and then type EMERGE to cease concealing.
Scales	Coat yourself in protective, serpentine scales.
Syntax: SCALES SCALES SHED Works on/against: Self Cooldown: 3.00 seconds of balance Resource: 250 mana Details: So snake-like are you that you may cover yourself with mildly protective scales at will.
Garrote	Choke the life out of a target with your whip.
Syntax: GARROTE <target> Works on/against: Adventurers and denizens Cooldown: Balance cost varies based on weapon speed Details: Using a wielded whip, you can try to slip behind a target and choke the life out of him or her. Armour is rendered entirely useless to your victim. Furthermore, while it is difficult to do normally, if your target is fairly helpless (paralysed, tied up, frozen, fallen on the ground, sleeping, unconscious, or some other similar afflictions) then you will always hit with this. The higher your subterfuge, the more damage this ability will do.
Evade	Misleading your pursuer.
Syntax: EVADE <direction> Cooldown: 2.00 seconds of balance Details: No difficult feat for one with trained in the arts of subterfuge, you may silently evade past obstructions, at once losing anyone who may be following you.
Shadow	Shadowing a target in order to track them.
Syntax: SHADOW <target> Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 4.00 seconds of balance Details: From on the ground or in the trees you are able to shadow an adventurer from an adjacent location. This will cause you to enter their location and begin following them.
Flay	Flay the anti-venom sileris coatings from your enemies.
Syntax: FLAY <target> FLAY <target> REBOUNDING [<venom>] FLAY <target> SHIELD [<venom>] Works on/against: Adventurers and denizens Cooldown: 2.00 seconds of balance Details: Using a whip, you will be able to flay the waxy coating of the sileris berry from your opponent, enabling you to sink your fangs into his flesh once more; or to flay a rebounding aura or magical shield to attack with weapons once more. You can also use FLAY <denizen> SHIELD to flay the shield defence from denizens.
Waiting	Awaiting a target to be shadowed.
Syntax: AWAIT <target> Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 4.00 seconds of balance Details: Once activated, this ability will allow you to stand still and wait for another adventurer unnoticed. When the adventurer enters the location, you will begin to follow.
Pacing	The ability to anticipate and keep pace with others.
Syntax: PACING [ON|OFF] RELAX PACING Extra Information: Relax cooldown: 3.00 seconds of balance. Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of balance Details: At a constant endurance drain, you will be able to follow those while they sprint away.
Bask	Bathing in the hot sun.
Syntax: BASK Works on/against: Self Details: In an outdoor room you may bask in the hot sun, replenishing your strength and curing your afflictions. A desperate serpent may also bask in the presence of a lightwall.
Block	Obstructing departure with your body.
Syntax: BLOCK <direction> UNBLOCK Details: This will allow you to block much movement in a particular direction.
Swinging	Swinging up into the treetops.
Syntax: SWING UP SWING DOWN Cooldown: 2.00 seconds of balance Details: When in a forest location, you will be able to swing up into the trees.
Secret	Give someone an item without their knowledge.
Syntax: SECRET <item> to <target> Works on/against: Adventurers Details: This simply puts an item on an adventurer without him noticing.
Scan	Scanning the forest floor from the treetops.
Syntax: SCAN Details: While in the treetops, you can scan the ground for passerbys.
Bowmanship	Use of the valued projectile weapon.
Syntax: SHOOT <target> <direction> Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of balance Details: Use one of the various bows to shoot an adventurer in a line-of-sight location from you.
Seize	Grabbing unwary victims from the forest floor.
Syntax: SEIZE <target> Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 4.50 seconds of balance Details: While in the trees, you may seize an adventurer and bring him up to your level.
Shove	Sending a hapless victim crashing to the forest floor.
Syntax: SHOVE <target> Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 4.00 seconds of balance Details: While in the trees, you may shove an adventurer to the ground, possibly breaking his legs.
Noose	Covert and deadly assassination from the trees.
Syntax: CRAFT NOOSE NOOSE <target> Extra Information: Noose cooldown: 4.00 seconds of balance. Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of balance Details: While you are in the trees you can craft a noose from the vines hanging everywhere. Then, if there is a sole victim below you, you can NOOSE <adventurer>. This is a long process as you have to move with utter silence. If anyone else enters the location, your attempt will be ruined.
Aiming	Increase your accuracy in shooting.
Syntax: AIM <target> <direction> Works on/against: Adventurers Details: Increase the accuracy of your shooting.
Listen	Detect action and conversations nearby.
Syntax: LISTEN <direction> Works on/against: Room Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of equilibrium Details: Use your auditory acuity to listen in on conversations in an adjacent room.
Dispel	Rid your environment of illusions.
Syntax: DISPEL ME DISPEL <target> Works on/against: Adventurers and self Resource: 5 mana Details: Use this ability to dispel most illusions associated with yourself or another adventurer.
Lipread	The ability to understand what is said while deaf.
Syntax: LIPREAD Works on/against: Self Cooldown: 3.00 seconds of equilibrium Details: This will allow you to understand speech normally, even when you are deaf, and understand speech that has been disturbed by wind.
Eavesdrop	Listen even through closed doors.
Syntax: EAVESDROP <direction> Works on/against: Room Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of equilibrium Details: Your skills have improved to the point where you can now listen even through closed doors.
Slit	Cut the throat of a helpless victim.
Syntax: SLIT <target> Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of balance Details: Provided you are wielding either a dagger or dirk, this ability will allow you to slit the throat of your enemy who is bound or not conscious (sleeping, meditating, unconscious), causing significant bleeding damage.
Wind	Further increase your accuracy through wind compensation.
Syntax: None Details: Once you have this ability, your accuracy with bowmanship will be increased.
Ghost	Give yourself a ghostly appearance.
Syntax: CONJURE GHOST Works on/against: Self Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of equilibrium Resource: 50 mana Details: Give yourself a ghostly appearance.
Doublestab	Quickly administer two venoms to a target with your dirk.
Syntax: DOUBLESTAB/DSTAB <target> [venom1 venom2] Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 2.80 seconds of balance Details: If you are wielding a dirk that has been envenomed with more than one venom, you may use this ability to quickly deliver two venoms simultaneously to your target.
Envenom	Dip your arrows in venom.
Syntax: ENVENOM ARROW <colour> <venom> ENVENOM <weapon> with <venom> WIPE <weapon> Details: After you have coloured a group of arrows, you may cover the tips with venom if you have the ability to secrete the particular type of venom. You can also envenom normal edged weapons with this ability.
Seek	Sense for dimensional wormholes.
Syntax: WORM SEEK Works on/against: Room Cooldown: 3.00 seconds of equilibrium Details: This will tell you if a wormhole exists in your location and where it leads if one does.
Warp	Open and enter a dimensional wormhole.
Syntax: WORM WARP Works on/against: Room Cooldown: 4.00 seconds of equilibrium Details: When in the presence of a worm hole, this will allow you to enter it.
Illusion	Create an illusion of your choosing.
Syntax: CONJURE ILLUSION <illusion> CONJURE <target> ILLUSION <illusion> Works on/against: Adventurers and room Cooldown: 1.00 seconds of equilibrium Resource: 25 mana Details: Create an illusion of your choosing in the room you are in. This ability is unique in that you may bite someone _immediately_ after using it, before you have recovered equilibrium. You may embed a single newline in your illusion by including the character sequence \n at the appropriate spot. You may optionally specify a target for your illusion by adding the name of your intended victim after the word 'conjure'. For limitations and restrictions, please refer to HELP ILLUSIONS.
Crossbows	A powerful projectile weapon.
Syntax: SHOOT <target> <direction> Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of balance Details: The crossbow is more powerful, but less accurate, than the longbow.
Cloak	Hide your actions from others.
Syntax: CONJURE CLOAK CONJURE CLOAK <target> DISPEL ME Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of equilibrium Resource: 70 mana Details: This will conjure up a cloak that will disguise many actions from observers. DISPEL ME will remove a subterfuge induced cloak from your person.
Dash	Sprint in a particular direction.
Syntax: DASH <direction> [distance] (Between 1 and 11 rooms) Details: Sprint quickly in a particular direction.
Lightwall	Create a palpable wall of light.
Syntax: CONJURE LIGHTWALL <direction> SNUFF LIGHTWALLS Works on/against: Adventurers and room Cooldown: 4.00 seconds of equilibrium Resource: 45 mana Details: This will conjure a wall of light, which, when passed through, will afflict the unfortunate individual with the darkshade affliction. It also drastically speeds up the progression of the affliction for anyone standing in its presence.
Resonance	Allow sounds to resonate through a distant wormhole.
Syntax: WORM RESONANCE ON/OFF Works on/against: Room Cooldown: 4.00 seconds of equilibrium Details: Allow sounds to resonate to you through a wormhole.
Darkbows	Using the infamous darkbows of Hashan.
Syntax: SHOOT <target> <direction> Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of balance Details: The famed darkbows of Hashan are both expensive and powerful. Only slightly less powerful than a crossbow, they are far more accurate.
Splice	Create a dimensional wormhole.
Syntax: WORM SPLICE <target> Works on/against: Room Cooldown: 3.00 seconds of balance Details: This command takes two Serpents with the ability to splice. Target the other Serpent and then execute this command. It will take quite awhile, but when finished, a wormhole will be formed between your two locations.
Pinshot	Focus your fire upon the feet of your victim.
Syntax: PINSHOT <target> Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 3.00 seconds of balance Details: This powerful ability will focus your fire upon the feet of your victim, making it difficult for them to flee from you.
Appraise	View the contents of another adventurer's inventory.
Syntax: APPRAISE <adventurer> Works on/against: Adventurers Details: This will list an adventurer's entire inventory.
Backstab	Attack from the shadows.
Syntax: BACKSTAB <target> [<venom>] Extra Information: Initiation cooldown: 2.00 seconds. Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 2.00 seconds of balance Details: Only useable while hidden in the shadows, backstab is a delayed ability. After initiating it, you will spend a few seconds circling around to get directly behind your opponent, and then you will leap from the shadows to plant a dirk or dagger in his back.
Channel	Hurl an object through a dimensional wormhole.
Syntax: WORM CHANNEL <object> Works on/against: Room Cooldown: 4.00 seconds of equilibrium Details: Use this ability to throw an object through a dimensional wormhole.
Pickpocket	Deftly pilfer from unsuspecting targets.
Syntax: PICKPOCKET <target> [item] Works on/against: Adventurers and denizens Cooldown: 1.50 seconds of balance Resource: 150 mana Details: The ultimate test of stealth and dexterity, allowing daring thieves to liberate gold or objects from the possession of an unsuspecting target. You may also attempt to liberate a specific item from your target, but this is exceedingly difficult.
Bind	Hog-tie an unconscious or sleeping opponent.
Syntax: BIND <target> Extra Information: Failure cooldown: 0.50 seconds. Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of balance Details: If your target is sleeping or unconscious, and you have a length of rope on your person, you may hog-tie your unlucky target. This requires much longer to writhe out of than web does, for instance.
Colours	Dye your arrows to categorise them.
Syntax: INSPECT QUIVER DYE <number of arrows> ARROW[S] <colour> SWITCH <colour> Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of balance Details: First, one should inspect his quiver to discover how many arrows he has in it. Then, you may dye a number of arrows a certain colour. Colours you may use are red, blue, purple, green, black, white, grey, orange, gold, and silver. To switch to using a specific colour of arrow, simply SWITCH <colour>. If you wish to switch back to using undyed arrows, simply do SWITCH NORMAL.
Execute	Subject your enemy to a merciless execution.
Syntax: EXECUTE <target> Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 2.00 seconds of balance Details: While wielding a whip, you may attempt to execute a prone victim.
Sources	Sense out all dimensional wormholes.
Syntax: WORM SOURCES [FULL] Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of equilibrium Resource: 50 mana Details: Sense all wormholes in the local area.
Weaving	Weave and dodge like the cobra itself.
Syntax: WEAVING [ON|OFF] RELAX WEAVING Cooldown: 3.00 seconds of balance Drains: Mana Details: At the cost of a heavy mana drain, you may boost your effective avoidance massively. This is cumulative with whatever level you are at in your avoidance skill.
Yank	Use a whip to pull an opponent into your room.
Syntax: YANK <target> Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 2.50 seconds of balance Details: Using this ability, you may try to yank an adventurer from an adjacent room into yours with your whip. You must be wielding a whip to use this ability.
Vortex	Suck an unwilling target into a wormhole.
Syntax: WORM VORTEX <target> Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 3.00 seconds of equilibrium Resource: 500 mana Details: Suck an adventurer, willing or not, through a wormhole.
Snipe	The ability to sharpshoot.
Syntax: SNIPE <target> <direction> Extra Information: Cooldown if target not in the direction specified: 0.50 seconds of balance. Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 3.50 seconds of balance Details: Using this ability, you can improve your accuracy at shooting. Use it instead of the SHOOT command.
Cancel	Destroy a wormhole.
Syntax: WORM CANCEL Works on/against: Room Cooldown: 5.00 seconds of equilibrium Details: Destroy a wormhole if there is one in your location.
Secondsight	See wormholes with greater clarity.
Syntax: SECONDSIGHT Works on/against: Room Cooldown: 4.00 seconds of equilibrium Resource: 300 mana Details: Once activated, this ability will allow you to see wormholes as if they were regular exits.
Snake	A pet snake to assist you in combat.
Syntax: SUMMON RATTLESNAKE SUMMON RATTLESNAKE INVENTORY|INV Works on/against: Adventurers Cooldown: 5.00 seconds of equilibrium Resource: 100 mana Details: The first time you summon a snake, you may have to try many times before you're successful. Eventually though, the snakes of the wild won't be able to resist your serpentine charms, and one will come slithering to serve. Once you have your snake, you may summon it back at any time should you lose it (simply SUMMON RATTLESNAKE INVENTORY|INV] again). Your snake may be ordered to perform the actions listed in HELP DENIZENS. Note: City/House membership influences what precisely is summoned. Ashtan summon kraits. CIJ summon puffadders. Eleusis summon treesnakes. Mhaldor summon adders. All others summon rattlesnakes.
Phase	Alter your status in space-time itself.
Syntax: PHASE UNPHASE Works on/against: Self Cooldown: 4.00 seconds of balance Resource: 100 mana Details: This is probably the most effective concealment ability there is. While phased, you will be hidden from all mortal adventurers, aside from other phased ones. You will, further, be unable to interact with items, denizens, or unphased adventurers. The caveat here is that you may try to attack an unphased adventurer, which will automatically unphase you. Thus, phase can be used as an effective aid to assassinations. Be warned that you will lose endurance rather quickly while phased.