Using commands
Avaria has a wide variety of commands for interacting with the world, communicating with other characters, and pursuing your own character's story. Most of these are simple and intuitive to use, while allowing additional complexity through the use of various syntax options. More detailed information can be found under the page for each command, but the following information should help players get started with some of the different functions of the game's commands.
Free-form Emotes
Free-form emotes using the EMOTE command are the fundamental basis for roleplay in Avaria. While there are a number of simple verbs with coded messaging (socials), much of the time you will probably be interacting using your own freely written emotes, combined with the various SAY options. EMOTE allows you great flexibility to describe exactly what your character is doing and how they're doing it. In the culture of SoA, emotes can generally be expected to run one or two sentences, and only occasionally longer -- enough to provide detail, but short enough to keep up a steady flow of interaction with the others around you.
A related command is EMIT, which offers the same flexibility but allows you to put out a message that doesn't start with your character's name. This can be useful for describing a scene, or simply for variety in emoting.
Communicating
Most communication with other characters takes place using a combination of SAYs and EMOTEs. You can simply use SAY or one of its many aliases to speak, or you can add speech as part of your emotes. Sometimes the particular SAY alias you use will affect the volume of your speech, either limiting it to close range or projecting it to multiple rooms.
Other means of communication involve showing what is going on inside your character's head, using the commands THINK and FEEL. These are generally visible only to staff, but can be used to elaborate your character's internal life as well as communicate it to any admin who might be watching.
Targeting Commands
Many different commands in Avaria can be targeted at another character, an item, or a room object. Most of these commands will work simply by using the syntax "<command> <target>", such as "look Aleph", "glare puddle", or "sit bench". But there are additional options for targeting that can produce more complicated emotes. In these cases the target must be preceded by a special symbol: ~, $, or /. These symbols function as aliases for one another and can be used interchangeably depending on what the player is most accustomed to.
Free-form Emotes:
>emote looks down at her hands, studying /Aleph from beneath her lowered eyelashes.
You emote: Nemi looks down at her hands, studying Aleph from beneath her lowered eyelashes.
The target sees: Nemi looks down at her hands, studying you from beneath her lowered eyelashes.
>emote jerks sharply away from $inspector, shooting $her a dirty look.
You emote: Nemi jerks sharply away from a stout black-haired inspector, shooting her a dirty look.
The target sees: Nemi jerks sharply away from you, shooting you a dirty look.
Status Changing Emotes:
>sit bench (frowning towards ~firestriker)
You go to sit on a wobbly pine bench, frowning towards a curved steel firestriker.
>sleep blankets (exhaling a last grumbling sigh at $inspector)
You go to sleep on some ragged blankets, exhaling a last grumbling sigh at a stout black-haired inspector.
Combat Emotes:
>punch vagabond left arm emote directs a swift punch at /vagabond left arm, smirking as she exclaims, "Don't make me break it again, criminal scum!"
You emote: Waraqa directs a swift punch at a sad-eyed vagabond's upper arm, smirking as she exclaims, "Don't make me break it again, criminal scum!"