Room Program Triggers

Room programs support 71 triggers that fire in response to movement, speech, combat, environmental events, and more. This page documents every trigger available to room programs.

Table of Contents

How Triggers Work

Each trigger is attached to a room program with a phrase that controls when it fires. The phrase meaning depends on the trigger type:

Phrase Type Meaning Example
Percent chance Fires N% of the time 50 = 50% chance
Keyword substring Fires when text contains the keyword hello matches “say hello there”
Direction number Matches an exit direction 0=north, 1=east, 2=south, 3=west, 4=up, 5=down
Direction name Matches a direction by name string north, east, portal
Vnum/name match Matches an object vnum or keyword 3001 or sword
Exact name match Case-insensitive exact match fireball
Direct execution Always fires (no phrase needed) —

Variable Bindings

When a trigger fires, the script receives context through variables:

Variable Alias Description
$self / $this $i The scripted room
$enactor $n Character who triggered the event
$victim $t Victim or target
$victim2 — Secondary victim (rare)
$random — Random character in the room
$obj1 $p Primary object parameter
$obj2 — Secondary object
$token $q Token parameter
$here — Current room (same as $self)
$phrase — Matched phrase/argument
$trigger — Trigger phrase pattern that matched
$register1–$register5 — Numeric registers for passing data

Movement Triggers

greet

Fires when a character enters the room and the room can “see” them (character is visible and standing).

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = entering character
  • Notes: Most common room trigger. Does not fire for invisible or sneaking characters.
** Welcome message for visible entrants
room echo {CThe crystals in the walls pulse with a soft glow as $n enters.{x

grall

Fires when a character enters the room, regardless of visibility or position. Like greet but ignores sight checks.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = entering character
  • Notes: Use when the room should react to all entrants, including invisible or sneaking characters.
** Magical ward detects all passage
room echo {MThe ward flickers — something has passed through.{x

entry

Fires when the scripted entity itself enters a room. For room programs, this fires when the room is loaded or entered in an instance/dungeon context.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = entering character
  • Notes: Primarily useful in dungeon/instance contexts where rooms are dynamically loaded.

exit

Fires when a character attempts to leave the room in a specific direction. The character must be visible and in a valid position.

  • Phrase: Direction number (0=north, 1=east, 2=south, 3=west, 4=up, 5=down)
  • Bindings: $n = departing character
  • Notes: Can prevent movement by returning a blocking result. Use * to match all directions.
** Block exit south unless puzzle is solved
if varexists $n puzzle_complete
else
  room echoat $n {RThe stone door will not budge.{x
  break
endif

exall

Like exit but fires regardless of the character’s visibility or position.

  • Phrase: Direction number (exact match)
  • Bindings: $n = departing character
  • Notes: Use when the room should detect all movement attempts, including invisible characters.

preenter

Fires before a character enters through a portal or special entrance. Can prevent the entry.

  • Phrase: Direction name string or portal
  • Bindings: $n = entering character
  • Notes: Use to gate access to portals or special room transitions.

move_char

Fires when a character is moved programmatically (by a script, not by walking).

  • Phrase: Direction name string
  • Bindings: $n = moved character
  • Notes: Only fires on scripted movement (e.g., transfer, gtransfer), not player-initiated movement.

Speech Triggers

speech

Fires when a character says something in the room that matches the phrase.

  • Phrase: Keyword substring match
  • Bindings: $n = speaker, $phrase = what was said
  • Notes: Matches if the spoken text contains the phrase as a substring. Case-insensitive.
** React to the magic word
room echo {YThe ancient runes on the wall begin to glow!{x
room alterexit north door open
room echo {GThe northern passage slides open with a grinding of stone.{x

Action Triggers

act

Fires when an action message (from act()) visible to the room matches the phrase.

  • Phrase: Keyword substring match
  • Bindings: $n = actor
  • Notes: Matches against the raw act message string. Useful for reacting to combat messages, emotes, social commands, etc.
** React to someone praying
room echo {WA warm light fills the room in response.{x

Combat Triggers

fight

Fires each combat round while fighting is happening in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = one of the combatants
  • Notes: Fires repeatedly during combat. Use low percentages to avoid spam.
** Occasional combat narration
room echo {rBlood spatters across the stone floor.{x

afterkill

Fires after a character kills another character in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = killer, $t = victim (now dead)

startcombat

Fires when combat begins between two characters in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = attacker, $t = defender

prewimpy

Fires before a character attempts to wimpy (auto-flee at low HP). Can prevent it.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character attempting wimpy

wimpy

Fires after a character successfully wimpies.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character who wimpied

Damage Triggers

damage

Fires when a character in the room takes damage.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = damaged character
  • Notes: Fires on all damage sources (combat, spells, scripts, environment).

check_damage

Fires before damage is applied, allowing the script to modify the damage amount.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character about to take damage
  • Notes: Use $register1 to read/modify the damage amount.

Spell Triggers

spellcast

Fires when a spell is cast in the room.

  • Phrase: Exact spell name match (case-insensitive)
  • Bindings: $n = caster, $t = target
  • Notes: Use to create anti-magic zones, spell reflection effects, or special reactions to specific spells.
** Anti-magic zone
room echoat $n {DYour magic fizzles and dies in this dead zone.{x
break

Item Interaction Triggers

drop

Fires when a character drops an object in the room.

  • Phrase: Object vnum, keyword, or percent chance
  • Bindings: $n = character, $o = dropped object
  • Notes: In room programs, the phrase matches against the object’s vnum or keyword.
** React to dropping the gem into the pedestal room
room echo {YThe gem begins to glow as it touches the ancient stone!{x

get

Fires when a character picks up an object from the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character, $o = picked-up object

throw

Fires when a character throws an object in the room.

  • Phrase: Vnum or keyword match
  • Bindings: $n = thrower, $o = thrown object

wear

Fires when a character equips an item while in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character, $o = worn object

eat

Fires when a character eats something in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

preeat

Fires before eating. Can prevent the action.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

drink

Fires when a character drinks in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

predrink

Fires before drinking. Can prevent the action.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

board

Fires when a character boards a vehicle or conveyance in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

bury

Fires when a character buries an object in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character, $o = buried object

Door and Exit Triggers

knock

Fires in the room where someone knocks on a door.

  • Phrase: Direction number of the knocked door
  • Bindings: $n = knocker
  • Notes: Room-exclusive trigger (only room and token). Fires in the room where the knock originates.
** React to knocking on the north door
room echo {wA hollow echo reverberates from the north door.{x

knocking

Fires in the adjacent room when someone knocks on a connecting door.

  • Phrase: Direction number (from the adjacent room’s perspective)
  • Bindings: $n = knocker
  • Notes: Room-exclusive trigger. Fires on the other side of the knocked door.
** The room on the other side hears the knock
room echo {wYou hear a faint knocking from the south.{x

open

Fires when a character opens a door or container in the room.

  • Phrase: Direction number or percent chance
  • Bindings: $n = character

close

Fires when a character closes a door or container in the room.

  • Phrase: Direction number or percent chance
  • Bindings: $n = character

Position Triggers

rest

Fires when a character rests in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

prerest

Fires before resting. Can prevent the action.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

sit

Fires when a character sits in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

presit

Fires before sitting. Can prevent the action.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

sleep

Fires when a character goes to sleep in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

presleep

Fires before sleeping. Can prevent the action.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

stand

Fires when a character stands up in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

prestand

Fires before standing. Can prevent the action.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

wake

Fires when a character wakes up in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

prewake

Fires before waking. Can prevent the action.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

Timed and Random Triggers

random

Fires periodically with a percent chance each tick.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: None (no specific enactor)
  • Notes: Fires on the room’s random pulse. Use for atmospheric effects, periodic events, and environmental narration.
** Atmospheric description
room echo {DA cold draft whispers through the corridor.{x

tick

Fires every game tick.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: None
  • Notes: Fires more frequently than random. Use for time-sensitive mechanics.

delay

Fires after a previously set delay timer expires on the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: Preserved from the script that set the delay
  • Notes: Set a delay with room delay <pulses>, then the delay trigger fires when it expires.

Death and Repop Triggers

death

Fires when a character dies in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = dying character
** Death narration
room echo {DThe room grows colder as $n falls.{x

death_protection

Fires when a death protection effect activates for a character in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = protected character

death_timer

Fires when a character’s death timer expires in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

extract

Fires when an entity is extracted (removed from the game world) in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = extracted entity

preanimate

Fires before an animate/resurrection spell is cast in the room. Can prevent it.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = caster

preresurrect

Fires before a resurrection attempt in the room. Can prevent it.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character being resurrected

reset

Fires when the room’s area resets (repop).

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: None
  • Notes: Room-focused trigger. Fires during the area reset cycle. Use to restore room state, respawn environmental objects, or reinitialize puzzles.
** Reset the puzzle state
room varset puzzle_state number 0
room alterexit north door closed
room echo The mechanisms click as they reset.

Recall Triggers

recall

Fires when a character recalls from the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = recalling character
  • Notes: Room-exclusive trigger (only room and token).

prerecall

Fires before a character attempts to recall from the room. Can prevent recall.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character attempting recall
  • Notes: Room-exclusive trigger. Use to create no-recall zones.
** Prevent recall in the boss room
room echoat $n {RThe dark magic here prevents your escape!{x
break

Regeneration Triggers

regen

Fires on custom regeneration events in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = regenerating character

regen_hp

Fires when HP regeneration occurs for a character in the room. Can modify the amount.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character, $register1 = regen amount

regen_mana

Fires when mana regeneration occurs for a character in the room. Can modify the amount.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character, $register1 = regen amount

regen_move

Fires when movement regeneration occurs for a character in the room. Can modify the amount.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character, $register1 = regen amount

Reckoning Triggers

prereckoning

Fires before a reckoning world event begins in the room. Can prevent it.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = affected character

reckoning

Fires when a reckoning world event is active in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = affected character

Quest Triggers

quest_cancel

Fires when a player cancels a quest while in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = player

quest_complete

Fires when a player completes a quest while in the room (before rewards are given). Can modify rewards.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = player

quest_incomplete

Fires when a player turns in an incomplete quest while in the room (before rewards are given). Can modify rewards.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = player

Miscellaneous Triggers

kill

Fires when a character initiates an attack on another character in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = attacker, $t = target

flee

Fires when a character flees combat in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = fleeing character

login

Fires when a player logs in while in the room.

  • Phrase: Direct execution (no phrase)
  • Bindings: $n = player

clone_extract

Fires when a cloned room is being extracted/destroyed.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: None
  • Notes: Room-exclusive trigger (only room and token). Fires during cleanup of dynamically created rooms.

xpgain

Fires when a character gains experience points in the room.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character gaining XP

prebite

Fires before a bite attack in the room. Can prevent it.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = biter

prerecite

Fires before a character recites a scroll in the room. Can prevent it.

  • Phrase: Percent chance (1–100)
  • Bindings: $n = character

verb

Fires when a custom verb command is used in the room.

  • Phrase: Keyword match (the custom verb keyword)
  • Bindings: $n = character using the verb
  • Notes: Allows creating custom room commands. Players type verb <keyword> or just <keyword> to activate.
** Custom "pull lever" command
room echo {YYou pull the rusty lever. Gears grind overhead.{x
room alterexit east door open

showcommands

Fires to display available custom verb commands in the room.

  • Phrase: Direct execution
  • Bindings: $n = character requesting command list
  • Notes: Paired with verb triggers. Output here appears when a player checks available room commands.

Complete Trigger List

All 71 room triggers in alphabetical order:

# Trigger Phrase Type Category
1 act keyword substring Action
2 afterkill percent Combat
3 board percent Item
4 bury percent Item
5 check_damage percent Damage
6 clone_extract percent Death/Repop
7 close direction/percent Door
8 damage percent Damage
9 death percent Death/Repop
10 death_protection percent Death/Repop
11 death_timer percent Death/Repop
12 delay percent Timed
13 drink percent Item
14 drop vnum/keyword Item
15 eat percent Item
16 entry percent Movement
17 exall direction number Movement
18 exit direction number Movement
19 extract percent Death/Repop
20 fight percent Combat
21 flee percent Misc
22 get percent Item
23 grall percent Movement
24 greet percent Movement
25 kill percent Misc
26 knock direction number Door
27 knocking direction number Door
28 login direct execution Misc
29 move_char direction name Movement
30 open direction/percent Door
31 preanimate percent Death/Repop
32 prebite percent Misc
33 predrink percent Item
34 preeat percent Item
35 preenter direction/portal Movement
36 prerecall percent Recall
37 prerecite percent Misc
38 prereckoning percent Reckoning
39 prerest percent Position
40 preresurrect percent Death/Repop
41 presit percent Position
42 presleep percent Position
43 prestand percent Position
44 prewake percent Position
45 prewimpy percent Combat
46 quest_cancel percent Quest
47 quest_complete percent Quest
48 quest_incomplete percent Quest
49 random percent Timed
50 recall percent Recall
51 reckoning percent Reckoning
52 regen percent Regen
53 regen_hp percent Regen
54 regen_mana percent Regen
55 regen_move percent Regen
56 reset percent Death/Repop
57 rest percent Position
58 sit percent Position
59 sleep percent Position
60 speech keyword substring Speech
61 spellcast exact spell name Spell
62 stand percent Position
63 startcombat percent Combat
64 throw vnum/keyword Item
65 tick percent Timed
66 verb keyword match Misc
67 wake percent Position
68 wear percent Item
69 wimpy percent Combat
70 xpgain percent Misc
71 showcommands direct execution Misc

Room-Exclusive Triggers

These triggers are only available to room (and token) programs — not mob or object programs:

  • knock — Door knock in the room
  • knocking — Door knock heard from adjacent room
  • prerecall — Before recall (can prevent)
  • recall — After recall
  • clone_extract — Cloned room being destroyed
  • reset — Area reset cycle (also available to area/instance/dungeon/event)