What is Twelve Sands? | New Player Guide | Gameplay Questions | Who's behind it?
What do I do first?
If you're a new player, and you're unsure of what to do, here are a few pointers to get you moving.
The Basics
When you first sign in to Twelve Sands, you'll find yourself in the middle of Capital City. On the top left side of the screen is a section indicating your name, your level, how much gold you have, and your health. On the right, you'll see a reminder of where in the world you're located. In this case, you're in Capital City. At the very bottom of the screen are two bars indicating your XP (experience points, accumulated through activities like combat), and your fatigue (a measure of how much you've done so far today). Your fatigue will reset to 0% each night, so the goal is to do as much as you can each day without getting too tired.
Just underneath the title bar which reads Capital City is a description of the area. Since Twelve Sands is primarily a text-based game, it's helpful to read the description to get an idea of where you are, and what you might intend to accomplish in each zone. Below this is a list of places that are adjacent to your current location. Combat zones and other special areas are identified as such, so if you read carefully, you won't end up in combat unexpectedly.
Artifacts and Equipment
In order to engage in combat with any degree of success, you're going to need to pick up a weapon, and some armour! By default, you start out with some basic equipment, but you might be interested in upgrading to something a little better.
Head in to the Initiate's Corridors, an area designed to help characters who are new to the world. Next, go to The Weapon House, a small shop that can offer you a way to better equip yourself for combat. Move your mouse to the list that says "Artifacts for sale", and hover over some of the items in the store. You'll see a popup box that lets you know about the artifacts in the store, and what the benefits of each are. For now, look at the Ornamental Dagger. It does the most damage out of the weapons available at your level, since the Carving Knife is a level 3 artifact. You're only level 1, so the Ornamental Dagger is your best bet. Click on the "buy" button, and you'll purchase one for yourself.
Now, click on your name, in the top-left corner of the screen. This is your character page. On the right side, you'll see a list of artifacts that you have equipped, like weapons and armour. If you want to equip the artifact that you just purchased, you can click on the link immediately under "Equipped Weapon" that reads "Equip something else." You should now see a list of the artifacts that you own. Move your mouse to the Ornamental Dagger that you just purchased, and click on the "equip" link beside it. You have now equipped a stronger weapon, and should be more effective in combat!
Remember, merely buying an artifact doesn't equip it automatically, so if you decide to upgrade in the future, make sure to return here to equip the new pieces!
Engaging in Combat
Now that you're all ready to go, it's time to return to Capital City to find a fight! If you ever need a quick way to return to Capital City quickly, scroll to the very bottom of the page. There will be a link that actually says "Capital City", which you can click on, in order to return to your home area. Click this now, and you should move back home. Look at the section of the page that says "Combat and Travel", and you will see a zone called The Peaceful Meadows. Click on this link.
Once you arrive in the Peaceful Meadows, you should see a number of things. A new description will let you know what the zone is like, and who (if anyone) is around with quests and extra information. In our case, we just want to get in a fight quickly. Look down to the Combat and Travel section for this zone, and you'll see something that says Disorganized Kobold Camp. You can see that beside this link, it's identified as a combat zone. This means that if you click on the link with the zone's name, you'll be getting ready to fight a foe in the zone. Since you've equipped your armour and weapon, go right ahead!
In combat, you'll see a set of prompts very similar to navigating through the world. After a description of the outcome is given, you have options like attacking with your weapon, running away, or using items that you may have accumulated through your travels. In this case, click on the attack link. You might miss at first, or do a small amount of damage, but if you've equipped some armour and a good sturdy weapon, you should have no problem slaying your first monster.
If you've made it this far, congratulations! You can return to Capital City at almost any time (if you're in the middle of a fight, you'll have to finish that first before you can get home!). There is an infirmary if you're ever really injured, but note that you'll restore some health after each fight. If you keep at it, you'll increase in levels, and get the chance to learn some interesting and helpful new skills to assist you in your travels.
Above all, stay focused, and have fun in the Twelve Sands!