“You slowly awaken, stiff and groggy. Wide strips of cheap linen are wrapped tightly around your body. You have no idea where you are, or how you got there. Through the haze between you and the world, you distantly hear someone’s voice: “Well, another one finished. Lith, where’s the order from the Queen? What’s this one’s name?” An old man removes the linen wrappings from around your head. A vague sense of dismay crosses your mind when you realize you don’t remember where you were last. You strain to remember more…”
Thus started my adventure in Castle Marrach, taking me through my awakening and a series of options to customize my character. I was able to choose my eyes shape and color, my hair color, length and style, my cheeks, lips and nose shape, my skin color and my stature among other little details. Who or what I am, I still don’t know. And there I stood, covered in linen wrappings, trying to find my purpose in this new world.
I roamed out of room, lost and confused in the castle’s hallways, until a kind soul found me, took me to the Seamstress and provided me with clothes made by her own hand. She explained to me that we address to the ladies as Sera and the gentlemen as Ser, and that it is polite to curtsy when entering a crowded room. Sera Ravelyn showed me to the courtyard, the dining room, the kitchen and the bar, where I found others who were able to help me. Knowing where to get food and drink was help enough for me at the moment, the rest would come with time, and while at the bar I even had the pleasure of hearing Ser Ghent sing an amusing song about a bearded lady.
I familiarized myself with the Castle. The sauna and baths, or one of the northeastern balconies overviewing the snowy landscape surrounding the castle, are the best places to relax.
By now, you probably have this mental image of this magnificent castle isolated in the mountains and its majestic rooms impeccably decorated, and you probably want to see screenshots of it. Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you; but Castle Marrach isn’t a graphical game. It’s a storytelling game with no images except for maps, and all the action happens in text. The interface resembles a chat room, and you use simple commands and basic sentence structure to instruct your character.
Looking
You get a short description of every room you enter. Investigation is done with the “look” and “examine” commands. Look is quick and will give you a basic overview of an area. Examine may give you more detailed information but it takes longer, and other players will see you doing it. You can also use these commands to investigate specific objects. You can look at the rooms you enter, the people you meet (although it’s not polite to stare) or the objects you find, and then you can look at the details revealed in them.
Moving
The “exit” command will tell you which exits are available from the room you are currently in, but it may not show hidden door or secret passages, even if you have discovered them. You can type the direction (“north” or “southwest”) or abbreviate it to just one or two letters (“n” or “sw”) to move in that direction. Sometimes when there are several exits in the same direction, you can use the “enter” command (for example “enter brass door”).
Talking
You just need to use “say”, followed by what you want to say, in quotes. To say something out of character, use the “ooc” command followed by what you want to say, in quotes. You can speak directly to a person by using “say to” or “tell” followed by the person’s name. You can also “whisper” to someone as a means of private conversation. If you want to use some social gesture, just type the verb in (“curtsy”). You can also explain the emotion behind your character’s speech even more clearly by using adverbs (“slowly smile”). For more information about adverbs, check out Sera Tara’s and Adverbs list.
Objects
You can pick up objects by using “take”. To drop an object, use the “drop” command.
Some objects can be worn (clothes) or wielded (weapons). To see what you are wearing and carrying, use the “i” command to list your inventory. Taking off clothes and weapons requires the “remove” verb.
Skills
To see what skills you already have experience in, type “skills”. To learn a skill you must stay in the same room with a teacher, chatting with him during the period of time in which you are learning. You will randomly find teachers in the Castle who are able to instruct you in certain topics. However, many of the best teachers won’t teach you for free and in order to gain knowledge from them, you may need to do them favors, go on quests, or instruct them in equally high-level skills.
Who is who in Castle Marrach
To see who is online, use the “who” command. StoryBuilders are the ones who create the world you explore. StoryTellers tell stories without having to build worlds, and interact directly with StoryPlayers as guides or hosts. StoryPlayers are the people who log on to play the game. StoryCoders, StoryGuides and StoryHosts are staff who are willing assist you if you need help.
I had a very nice chat with one of the knowledgeable players of Castle Marrach, I believe he was part of the Awakeners Guild, and was very helpful and patient with my newbie questions. A special thank you goes to Darren Brimhall (Jayland) for the following “interview”.
You ask, “How does one learn skills, like sewing or painting?”
Jayland says, “Those you must ask around for, to find a teacher. For sewing, seek out those who are in the Seamstress Guild. Go to them to get your bearings. You can scroll those members for information. ”
You exclaim, “There is so much to learn!”
Jayland nods, “Yes, there is much to learn about the castle… And it always changes. Marrach is appealing because it goes more for Drama than action, a lot of which is player driven, with help from the StoryPlotters, StoryGuides and StoryHosts.”
Jayland says, “In short, you’ll have no idea what’s going to happen.”
You say, “So the surprise element is always there, that is a plus.”
Jayland says, “There’s also what your character does… That too can have an effect. In Jayland’s case, he is known as a Oathbreaker for teaching Eme, the Language of magic, illegally, so those who are in the Sorcery Program, or are friends of the Sorcery Program treat him like…well, you can guess.”
Jayland says “But the magic part is still being worked on…Nothing actual at this time.”
You ask, “How do I create my character’s profile then? Just by role-playing what I’d like her to be?”
Jayland says, “Yes… but within bounds. Marrach assumes that your character has come from a medieval age.”
Jayland says “When I created Jayland, he was from a British Empire, 1880-1920. Though Skotos liked it, they said it wasn’t fit for Marrach, so, I just meander…”
Jayland says “It would have been fun though…But I must realize that the game has it’s rules, and that I must obey them to play.”
You say, “So if I want my character to make lovely embroideries, all I need to do is emote?”
Jayland says, “Well, first you need to seek out a member of the Seamstress’ Guild.”
Jayland says, “To emote, all you need to do is know what verbs and adverbs would work. So you see, the use of emotes as action makes what you are doing more realistic as oppose to just say, laugh, or act. You can give such emphasis.”
You say, “Adds more depth to the action.”
Jayland says, “It’s what they’re there for.”
You say, “Thank you so much for your time.”
Jayland says, “It’s ok…If in dire need you can page a storyguide by “page storyguide (name)”. You can use “who” command to see if any are on. If none then use the “assist (your message)” command. ”
For more information about the basics of the game and getting started, visit https://www.skotos.net/games/marrach/guide.shtml and download the Player’s Guide.
Castle Marrach is an online multi-player text-dominant interactive role-playing game (wow, try saying that all in one breath!). It’s a lot of improvised speech on a stage where the actors are also the audience. You can sign up for a 30-day trial period and after that it will cost $9.95 US per month. The payment of this fee will give you access to two other Skotos adventures. The Eternal City, an ancient world of ravaged battlefields and lost realms, and Galactic Emperor: Succession, a world where players struggle to gain prestige to be able to rule the galaxy someday. And all you need is your computer, an internet connection and a good dose of imagination. Are you up for it?