diff --git a/frontend/client.js b/frontend/client.js
index 6a5a78f..0542e8c 100755
--- a/frontend/client.js
+++ b/frontend/client.js
@@ -398,14 +398,14 @@ class MUDClient {
     // prompted.
     // In fact, we should ALWAYS be in a state of just-having-been-prompted.
     handlePromptMessage(data) {
-        let [promptText, options = {}] = data;
+        let [prompt, options = {}] = data;
 
         this.shouldReply = true;
 
         this.promptOptions = { ...{ class: "prompt" }, ...options };
 
         //
-        this.writeToOutput(promptText, this.promptOptions);
+        this.writeToOutput(prompt, this.promptOptions);
 
         //
         // The server has asked for a password, so we set the
diff --git a/frontend/style.scss b/frontend/style.scss
index c0332ea..1e9b154 100755
--- a/frontend/style.scss
+++ b/frontend/style.scss
@@ -148,6 +148,6 @@ h2 {
 }
 
 .faint {
-    opacity: 0.42;
+    opacity: 0.6;
     color: #44f;
 }
diff --git a/scenes/authentication/authenticationScene.js b/scenes/authentication/authenticationScene.js
index 7c4a066..1e1cd6e 100755
--- a/scenes/authentication/authenticationScene.js
+++ b/scenes/authentication/authenticationScene.js
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import { gGame } from "../../models/globals.js";
 
 /** @typedef {import("../../models/player.js").Player} Player */
 
-/** @property {Session} session */
 export class AuthenticationScene extends Scene {
     /** @type {Player} */
     player;
@@ -54,25 +53,24 @@ export class AuthenticationScene extends Scene {
 // |  __/| | | (_) | | | | | | |_) | |_
 // |_|   |_|  \___/|_| |_| |_| .__/ \__|
 //                           |_|
+/** @property {AuthenticationScene} scene */
 class UsernamePrompt extends Prompt {
     //
-    promptText = [
+    message = [
         "Please enter your username:", //
-        "(((type *:create* if you want to create a new user)))", //
+        "((type _*:help*_ to see your other options))",
     ];
 
     //
     // When player types :help
-    helpText = [
-        "This is where you log in.",
-        "If you don't already have a player profile on this server, you can type *:create* to create one",
+    help = [
+        "Enter your username to proceed with loggin in",
+        "Type _*:create*_ if you are not already registered, and want to create a new account",
+        "Only a username and password is required - not your email",
     ];
+    options = { username: true };
 
-    //
-    // Let the client know that we're asking for a username
-    promptOptions = { username: true };
-
-    /** @returns {AuthenticationScene} */
+    /** @returns {AuthenticationScene} workaround for proper type hinting */
     get scene() {
         return this._scene;
     }
@@ -123,12 +121,8 @@ class UsernamePrompt extends Prompt {
 //                           |_|
 class PasswordPrompt extends Prompt {
     //
-    promptText = "Please enter your password";
-
-    //
-    // Let the client know that we're asking for a password
-    // so it can set <input type="password">
-    promptOptions = { password: true };
+    message = "Please enter your password";
+    options = { password: true };
 
     get player() {
         return this.scene.player;
diff --git a/scenes/gameLoop/gameScene.js b/scenes/gameLoop/gameScene.js
index a7294fb..abe1cc8 100755
--- a/scenes/gameLoop/gameScene.js
+++ b/scenes/gameLoop/gameScene.js
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ export class GameScene extends Scene {
 }
 
 class GameScenePlaceholderPrompt extends Prompt {
-    promptText = `
+    message = `
                                                 ▄
                                                 █▐▀▀▀▌▄
                                                 █      ▐▀▀▀▌▌▓▌
diff --git a/scenes/playerCreation/createUasswprdPrompt.js b/scenes/playerCreation/createUasswprdPrompt.js
index e879219..54f0134 100755
--- a/scenes/playerCreation/createUasswprdPrompt.js
+++ b/scenes/playerCreation/createUasswprdPrompt.js
@@ -4,12 +4,12 @@ import { Config } from "../../config.js";
 
 export class CreatePasswordPrompt extends Prompt {
     //
-    promptText = ["Enter a password"];
+    message = ["Enter a password"];
 
     //
     // Let the client know that we're asking for a password
     // so it can set <input type="password">
-    promptOptions = { password: true };
+    options = { password: true };
 
     get player() {
         return this.scene.player;
diff --git a/scenes/playerCreation/createUsernamePrompt.js b/scenes/playerCreation/createUsernamePrompt.js
index ebfb6ad..2cb4da3 100755
--- a/scenes/playerCreation/createUsernamePrompt.js
+++ b/scenes/playerCreation/createUsernamePrompt.js
@@ -6,14 +6,14 @@ import { gGame } from "../../models/globals.js";
 
 export class CreateUsernamePrompt extends Prompt {
     //
-    promptText = [
+    message = [
         "Enter your username", //
         "((type *:help* for more info))", //
     ];
 
     //
     // When player types :help
-    helpText = [
+    help = [
         "Your username.",
         "It's used, along with your password, when you log in.",
         "Other players can see it.",
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ export class CreateUsernamePrompt extends Prompt {
 
     //
     // Let the client know that we're asking for a username
-    promptOptions = { username: true };
+    options = { username: true };
 
     /** @protected @type {PlayerCreationScene} */
     _scene;
diff --git a/scenes/prompt.js b/scenes/prompt.js
index 8c26da1..7ff5f28 100755
--- a/scenes/prompt.js
+++ b/scenes/prompt.js
@@ -30,19 +30,24 @@ export class Prompt {
      * Values: string containing the help text
      *
      * If you want truly custom help texts, you must override the onHelpFallback function,
-     * but overriding the onHelp() function gives you more control and skips this helpText
+     * but overriding the onHelp() function gives you more control and skips this help
      * dictionary entirely.
      *
      * @constant
      * @readonly
      * @type {Record<string, string|string[]>}
      */
-    helpText = {
-        "": "Sorry, no help available. Figure it out yourself, adventurer", // default help text
-    };
+    help = {};
 
-    /** @type {string|string[]} Default prompt text to send if we don't want to send something in the execute() call. */
-    promptText = [
+    /**
+     * Default prompt text to send if we don't want to send something in the execute() call.
+     *
+     * Array values will be converted to multiline strings with newlines between each string
+     * in the array.
+     *
+     * @type {string|string[]}
+     */
+    message = [
         "Please enter some very important info", // Silly placeholder text
         "((or type :quit to run away))", // strings in double parentheses is rendered shaded/faintly
     ];
@@ -51,12 +56,12 @@ export class Prompt {
     /* @example
      *
      * // if the prompt expects a username
-     * promptOptions = { username : true };
+     * options = { username : true };
      *
      * // if the prompt expects a password
-     * promptOptions = { password : true };
+     * options = { password : true };
      */
-    promptOptions = {};
+    options = {};
 
     /** @type {Session} */
     get session() {
@@ -74,27 +79,36 @@ export class Prompt {
      * It's here you want to send the prompt text via the sendPrompt() method
      */
     execute() {
-        this.sendPrompt(this.promptText, this.promptOptions);
+        this.prepareProperties();
+
+        this.sendPrompt(this.message, this.options);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Normalize / massage the properties of the Prompt.
+     *
+     * This function cannot be called from the Prompt base constructor, as the
+     * properties of the child class have not been set yet.
+     */
+    prepareProperties() {
+        //
+        // Lazy dev set property help = "fooo" instead of help = { "": "fooo" }.
+        if (this.help && (typeof this.help === "string" || Array.isArray(this.help))) {
+            this.help = { "": this.help };
+        }
     }
 
     /** Triggered when user types `:help [some optional topic]` */
     onHelp(topic) {
-        //
-        // Fix data formatting shorthand
-        // So lazy dev set property helpText = "fooo" instead of helpText = { "": "fooo" }.
-        //
-        if (typeof this.helpText === "string" || Array.isArray(this.helpText)) {
-            this.helpText = { "": this.helpText };
-        }
-
-        if (this.helpText[topic]) {
-            this.sendText(this.helpText[topic]);
+        if (!this.help) {
+            this.sendText("No help available at this moment - figure it out yourself, adventurer");
+            return;
+        }
+
+        if (this.help[topic]) {
+            this.sendText(this.help[topic]);
             return;
         }
-        console.log({
-            ht: this.helpText,
-            topic,
-        });
 
         this.onHelpFallback(topic);
     }
diff --git a/utils/crackdown.js b/utils/crackdown.js
index 686b15d..061a97a 100755
--- a/utils/crackdown.js
+++ b/utils/crackdown.js
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ const opcodes = [
     ["___", "___", "<span class='underline'>$1</span>"], //                 ___underline___
     ["(?:[,]{3})", "(?:[,]{3})", "<span class='undercurl'>$1</span>"], //   ,,,undercurl,,,
     ["(?:[(]{2})", "(?:[)]{2})", "<span class='faint'>$1</span>"], //       ((faint text))
+    ["(?:_\\*)", "(?:\\*_)", "<span class='bold italic'>$1</span>"], //     _*bold and italic*_
+    ["(?:\\*_)", "(?:_\\*)", "<span class='bold italic'>$1</span>"], //     *_bold and italic_*
     ["_", "_", "<span class='italic'>$1</span>"], //                        _italic_
     ["\\*", "\\*", "<span class='bold'>$1</span>"], //                      *bold*
     ["\\[\\[([a-zA-Z0-9_ ]+)\\[\\[", "\\]\\]", "<span class='$1'>$2</span>"], // [[custom_class[[text with custom class]]