combat

Fighting the creatures of the city's underside.

  consider <creature>   its level, and how a fight would go
  kill <creature>       start a fight (also: attack, k)
  flee                  try to escape through a random exit
  wield <weapon>        hold a weapon ready; unwield to put it away
  wield <weapon> offhand  a second one-handed weapon (help weapons)
  assist [<player>]     join a fight someone here is in
  autoassist on/off     join your party's fights by yourself

Fights run on their own: you and your enemy each swing every few
seconds until one of you drops. How often you swing depends on your
weapon: one-handed ones are quick, two-handed ones slow but heavy
(help weapons). Creatures swing every 3 seconds. You can't just walk away; flee
instead (quicker people get away more often). Some creatures attack
on sight. Your prompt shows your health, energy and how hurt your
enemy looks.

Hitting: Reflex and accuracy (from optics, glasses and some weapons)
help you land blows. Damage: your weapon, plus Body for melee or
Reflex for guns. Armor soaks up some of each hit.

Win and you get XP and a few credits, and maybe something the
creature dropped: it shows under a yellow LOOT badge until
someone picks it up (get <item>). Any creature might drop a
piece of gear no shop sells, about its own level, or a stim or
chip; bosses far more often. Bosses, like the overseer at the end of
every instance, may also drop BOSS LOOT: gear nothing else drops,
the best there is for its level. Lose and you black out, waking at the city gate
with some health back. You keep everything.

In a party, the credits from a kill are shared. With autoassist on
you jump into any fight someone in your party gets into where you
are; it's off to begin with.

Kas sells weapons, north of the dockworker. The sewers are the place
to start: see help sewers.

Examples:
  consider rat
  kill rat
  wield combat knife
  flee
  autoassist on