Characters Table

If your prog needs to access character data not in this list, contact Lasher.

Property	Description
`align`	Current alignment
`clan`	Character's Clan
`class`	Primary class
`clones`	Returns number of same type of mob in the room, excluding self. Always 0 for players.
`con`	Current constitution. NOTE: All stat values include equipment and spells.
`damtype`	Character's primary damtype - compare to FOCUS_variables below.
`desc`*	Character description - read only on players.
`dex`	Current dexterity
`explored`	Number of global rooms the character has explored.
`exploredhere`	Number of in-zone rooms the character has explored.
`gold`*	Gold on hand
`heshe`	He/She/It name for current char.
`himher`	Him/Her/It name for current char.
`hisher`	His/Hers/Its name for current char.
`hp`	Current hit points
`maxhp`	Max hit points
`hppct`	Percentage of HP remaining
`ingame`	Number of same mob in-game
`following`	Return name of character the target is following
`gid`	Unique integer ID on each char - used for comparison.
`groupsize`	Number of other people in player's group in room.
`gtarget`	Same as target, but the previously remember char does not still have to be in the same room.
`int`	Current intelligence
`key`	Mob key, blank for a player
`keywords`	Mob only - returns keywords of the mob. Useful with give etc.
`lastroom`	Room the character was last in.
`leader`	Return the name of the character's group leader
`level`	Level of character
`longname`*	Mob only - description of mob as seen in room.
`luck`	Current luck
`mana`	Current mana
`maxmana`	Max mana
`manapct`	Percentage of mana remaining
`mobkills`	Number of mobs the player has killed.
`moves`	Current moves
`maxmoves`	Max moves
`movepct`	Percentage of moves remaining
`name`*	Character name - read only on players.
`order`	Returns order of current mob in room among mobs with the same key. Useful for ensuring a prog only fires once.
`owner`	Return name of character's owner - only applies to pets.
`position`	Current position of character
`practices`*	Player only - practices on hand.
`questsdone`	Player only - number of quests the player has completed.
`race`	Character race
`racename`	Character racename
`room`	Returns room character is in as a ROOM type variable.
`roomkey`	Returns key of room character is currently in.
`saves`	Current saves
`sex`	Male returns 1, sexless returns 0, female returns -1.
`str`	Current strength
`subclass`	Character subclass
`target`	Returns mob's target as 'CH' type. See below.
`tier`	Current tier of character
`totlevel`	Total level as it would appear on rank 1.
`trains`*	Player only - training sessions on hand.
`wis`	Current wisdom

MUD Table Definitions

When using properties such as race, class, subclass and clan, the values returned are numbers. If you happen to know that Troll is race number 11, you could write something like:

 if ch.race == 11 then
   say("Hi Troll!")
 end

While this works, it is not very convenient. To help with comparing values in tables, several of the game tables have their contents loaded into Lua for easier comparison. The following are all valid:

 if ch.race == RACE_TROLL ...
 if ch.class == CLASS_MAGE ...
 if ch.subclass == SUBCLASS_ARCHER ...
 if ch.clan == CLAN_SHADOKIL ...
 if ch.sex == SEX_FEMALE ...
 if ch.position == POS_SITTING ...

Lua Object Return Types

Some of the properties on objects will return other objects on the stack rather than string or integer values. Once you have a variable of this type, all of the usual properties are available on it. For example, when 'targ = self.target' returns the mob's target, then all the properties of 'targ' are available using targ.level, targ.int, etc.

Comparing Lua Object Return Types

One other important point for builders to remember is that similar objects in Lua do not compare as equal. For example, if Razor triggers a program (ch) and the mob gets it's target (targ) then wants to see if Razor is already it's target, it cannot simply do if ch == targ. This is because the two variables are two different objects in Lua that just happen to point to the same underlying character in the MUD. Every character in the game has a unique 'gid' value and this is what should be used for comparison.

In the sample Lua code below, the mob checks if it has a target already. If it doesn't, it remembers the character triggering the prog. If it does, it wants to either inform the player that they are its target, or inform the player who the target it. The 'gid' character property is used for the comparison:

 targ = self.target
 if targ == nil then
   say ("I don't have a target")
   remember(ch)
 else
   if (targ.gid == ch.gid) then
      say ("Hi! You're my target!")
   else
      say ("My target's name is " .. targ.name)
   end
 end

As we get into more advanced Lua programming and store character information for later re-use (in prog timers for example), it is always the 'gid' that will be stored, never a direct pointer to the character themselves which can be become invalid if the target character quits/is killed in the meantime.

Characters Table

MUD Table Definitions

Lua Object Return Types

Comparing Lua Object Return Types

Related Pages