A DefaultAnyTopic will respond to any conversational command at all (ASK, TELL, GIVE or SHOW) that is not otherwise provided for, subject to the scope restrictions on Give and Show that apply to DefaultGiveTopic, DefaultShowTopic, and DefaultGiveShowTopic noted above.
Since there is no way of knowing what the player typed to trigger a DefaultAnyTopic, this catch-all device must be used with caution. The situation where it's most useful is where an NPC is so intent on its own agenda that it's not really responding to what the player character (PC) has just said or done. This can occur in two rather different situations: the first is where the NPC is effectively ignoring the PC, or at least the specifics of what the PC is saying or doing (e.g. because the NPC is drunk or insane or preoccupied with some other activity, so its responses can't really be expected to connect with what the PC has just said); the second is where the NPC is pressing the PC for an answer and isn't going to be put off by an attempt to change the subject. The second of these possibilities generally occurs in Conversation Nodes, and we'll come to it then. The first might be illustrated by the demons NPC; being demons one might expect them to give some irrational and mischievous responses:
++ DefaultAnyTopic, ShuffledEventList
[
'<q>Look at him! Look at him!</q> a pair of the demons squeal,
<q>Shall we tear him? Shall we eat him?</q>',
'The demons burst into hoots of demonic laughter. ',
'<q>You stupid mortal!</q> one of demons screeches at you, <q>You
understand nothing! Nothing at all!</q>',
'<q>You don\'t thcare uth!</q> a lisping demon tells you, <q>Thtupid
little human!</q>',
'<q>Despair and die! Despair and die!</q> one of them cries at you,
<q>I am Anthrapax, stealer of souls!</q>\b
<q>And I am Princifax, leader of ghouls!</q> hisses a second.\b
<q>And I, most fearsome of all, am Incometax, bleeder of fools!</q>
declares a third.\b',
'<q>Have you come here to die?</q> one of them asks, poking you in
the ribs, <q>Death is good for humans; it get rid of that futility
you call life. Just say the word and we\'ll relieve you of it. Won\'t
we?</q>\b
<q>Yes! yes!</q> they all cry (apart from the lisping demon who of course
cries <q>Yeth! Yeth!</q>)',
'<q>You don\'t like us much, do you?</q> sneers the ugliest of the demons,
<q>Don\'t you know it\'s not politically correct to be prejudiced against
demons?</q>\b
<q>Not legal either.</q> one of his fellows agrees. <q>We demons have
rights.</q>\b
<q>So mind your manners or we\'ll sue you!</q> warns another, <q>Plenty
of lawyers in hell, you know!</q>'
]
[
'The demons howl at you derisively. ',
'One of the demons gives you a sharp jab in the ribs. ',
'<q>A human a day keeps the doctor away!</q> one of them chants, eyeing
you hungrily. ',
'<q>The only good human is a dead human.</q> Anthrapax opines. ',
'<q>Get lost, foolish mortal!</q> another demon snarls. ',
'<q>You\'re powerless here, pathetic little mortal.</q> Princifax tells you. ',
'<q>He doesn\'t know when he\'s beaten!</q> one of the demons giggles from
the back of the pack. ',
'<q>Thtupid little human, thtupid little human!</q> says the lisping demon' ,
'<q>We hate <i>all</i> humans,</q> Incometax informs you, <q>But <i>especially</i>
you - you are the most pathetic and degraded specimen of a superfluous and
misbegotten species!</q> ',
'<q>Turn back, foolish mortal!</q> they chorus, <q>We won\'t be patient with
you much longer!</q> '
]