Consider

[Tolomon]

In exploring an area the other day, I knew it was dangerous so I would often 'look' in a certain direction before heading into that room. I noticed a critter I had never encountered before and thought I should 'consider' it before entering the room. The 'consider' command doesn't appear to function this way. So I prepared myself for combat and moved into the room where the critter was. The critter then proceeded to give me the maiming of my life.

Here's the suggestion: Could the 'consider' command work on mobs in adjacent rooms, but be slightly less informative than if you're standing right next to the mob? Currently, the 'consider' command only works on mobs in the current room, which is more or less useless for rooms with mobs set to auto-beatdown upon entering.

So why not have the 'consider' command from a distance return slightly less information? Right now it returns something like:

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The dummy is more experienced than you.
The dummy is stronger than you are.

Why not:

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consider <direction> <target>
The dummy is more experienced than you.

ICly, you wouldn't be able to really determine loads of information about a mob from a distance, but you would be able to tell roughly how large it is and potentially how powerfully it is (assuming it isn't hiding, disguised, etc.).

[Selveem]

ICly, you wouldn't be able to really determine loads of information about a mob from a distance, but you would be able to tell roughly how large it is and potentially how powerfully it is (assuming it isn't hiding, disguised, etc.).

Really, the consider command is NOT very IC unless you're a bully. Even then, it can cause you to get ROFLstomped.

Regardless, I do think it should be able to be used multiple rooms in advance, but for simplicity's sake, a single room is fine.

Additionally, depending on the zone a single room away can be pretty close. If you're in the overmap, it can be pretty far. I think it's fair that these differences be ignored for the purposes of this enhancement.

I disagree that you wouldn't be able to size up an opponent as well being 20 feet away. 20 feet away I can tell how much better someone resembles a tank than I do. You can see the walk of a seasoned soldier and appraise how much the look in his eyes suggests the number of ways he can kill you. You can see a wizard's bulging spell pouch that he is a wizard of means (arguably one of the worst types to face) and gauge the finery he's wearing.

[Tolomon]

Oh, sure from 20 feet away you ought to be able to size anything up. IRL, my father-in-law calls it "situation awareness." I was thinking the distance was greater than that, something closer to say, 50+ feet.

Does each room represent a particular measurement or is it more circumstantial? Perhaps a greater example might help explain exactly what I was thinking:

Scenario: Tolomon is travelling on the road between Daggerford and Berdusk. I do a 'look se' and FK returns "There is a bandit wizard nearby southeast of here. There is a bandit cleric a ways off southeast." Tolomon now knows that the bandit wizard is closer than the cleric. Since the wizard is in the next room, I can 'consider' him, but the cleric is too far away for me to 'consider.' I'll need to move closer to 'consider' the cleric.

Something unique I just thought of, rangers could use this command at a greater distance. They are trained for that sorta thing after all. Although, that sounds more like a skill and less like a command. But the point is, I'd like to be able to consider entering a room before just barging in and immediately regretting that decision (Anchorman anyone?).

[Gwain]

Consider is one of the oldest surviving commands in the mud, its not always as accurate as it could be. I like to check canon sources based on the description of the monster instead of considering if I can find the time to do it. It tends to give me a bit more info.