A.C.E. 1

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COMPLETE guide to : 'DUNGEON MASTER' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STARTING YOUR ADVENTURE Now your quest begins. You must choose your champions, take up the challenge to recover the Fire staff, and venture deep into the forbidding dungeon. If your guidance is true, you may restore balance to a ravaged world. If you fail, the all will surely succumb to Chaos. To begin your adventure, remove the game disk from the box. Make sure the disk is write protected! The game program will never need to write to the master disk, so you should keep it write- protected at all times. You will also need to have a blank disk available on which to save your inprogress game. This disk does not need to be formatted. The game program can format it for you when you are ready to quit playing. To start the game, turn the computer off and then put the disk into drive A. Adjust the volume control of your monitor to a little above medium. Then, turn on your computer. Within a few seconds, the FTL logo should flash across the screen and the game should begin loading. After the game has finished loading you will be standing at the entrance to the dungeon. To begin a new game, move the mouse pointer until it points to the word "ENTER" written on the stone wall of dungeon entrance. Then press the left mouse button to open the doors to the dungeon. CHOOSING YOUR CHAMPIONS Beyond the entrance to the dungeon lies the Hall of Champions, containing the souls of the champions who perished in the Dungeon. Before you can begin your quest, you must choose a party of no more than four of these champions to lead into the dungeon. The champions are imprisoned in mirrors along with their clothing, weapons, and other possessions. To free a champion from the mirror you must move the mouse pointer to the mirror and press the left button. This brings forth a menu which describes the champion's qualities and shows his or her possessions. Each champion is distinguished by the physical attributes of health, stamina, and Mana (magical energy). The value of each of these attributes is shown in the lower left corner of the menu as two numbers separated by a / . The first number shows the current level of each attribute. The second number is the maximum level. The current level will rise to the maximum level as the champion rests and will fall as the champion suffers injury, wields weapons, or casts spells. Each champion also has three bar graphs at the top of the screen which show the current values for health, stamina, and Mana as a percentage of the maximum. The champion's possessions are shown as pictures inside light grey boxes. The boxes represent space in the champion's backpack or sheath or other places to keep an object. You may pick up an object when the mouse pointer shows as an empty hand by moving the hand pointer over it and pressing the left mouse button. Notice that the hand pointer changes to resemble the object picked up. Now you can move this object to another location and place it there by pressing the left mouse button again. If the new location is already filled by another object, pressing the left button will swap the object you are holding with the object there. Some boxes represent places where only certain objects will fit. For example: only shoes will fit on your champion's feet. There are two special locations shown as an eye and a mouth. Objects may be examined by moving them over the eye and holding down the left mouse button. Objects are eaten by moving them to the mouth and pressing the left mouse button; however, only certain objects are edible. A champion may have developed skills as a Fighter, Wizard, Ninja, or Priest. You can review these skills by touching the eye with an empty hand and holding down the left mouse button. Fighters are skilled users of heavy weapons and generally have a greater physical strength than other champions. Ninjas are skilled users of precision weapons and also noted for their thiefly abilities. Wizards can marshall the forces of the magical realm for combat. And Priests are masters of the healing arts, being able to use their magical energy to create restoring potions and other remedies. Champions also have the additional attributes of strength, dexterity, wisdom, vitality, anti-magic, and anti- fire. You may review these by touching the eye with and empty hand and holding down the left mouse button. Strength increases the striking power of a weapon and also allows the champion to carry greater loads (such as armour). Dexterity is the precision with which a champion can wield a weapon or dodge blows. Ninjas possess higher dexterity than other champions. wisdom affects a champion's ability to learn spells and recover from wounds or resists injury. Anti-magic helps resist magic attacks and anti- fire helps resist injury from fire. If you resurrect a champion, he or she will return to life exactly as they were before death. Resurrected champions remember all the skills and abilities of their past memories and skills and take on a new identity. If you re incarnate a champion, they will lose their past memories and skills and take on a new identity. However, these skills are converted to greater physical attributes. Regardless of whether you choose to re incarnate or resurrect a champion, each champion will be able to learn new skills or improve on existing ones. Fighters and Ninjas gain more fighting ability by fighting. Priests and Wizards gain more skill by learning and casting spells. Champions can specialize in one skill, or learn a mix of all four skill areas. If you re incarnate a champion, you must give that champion a new name by using the menu or the keyboard. Press the down arrow or the Enter key after entering your champion's name (no more than seven letters) which will appear on all game menus. Your champion can also have a title of up to nineteen letters which follows his or her first name. The title is optional. Press the ok button to finish. CHOOSING THE PARTY LEADER When you have selected at least one champion, the mouse pointer will change from an arrow pointer into a hand pointer whenever it moves into the dungeon view or is near an object box. The hand pointer represents the hand of the party leader. The leader's name is always shown in a different color at the top of the screen. The leader is your direct link to the dungeon. The leader can pick up things your party finds, open and close doors, or do other direct actions in the dungeon. To select a new leader, move the mouse pointer until it points to the name of the new leader and then press the left mouse button. To pick up or put down objects, point with the mouse and press the left mouse button. You will not be able to pick up all the objects you can see in the dungeon. Some objects are too far away. The leader can also throw objects. To throw and object, pick it up and move it to about eye level and then press the left button. The object will travel as far as the leader can throw. Remember, it is the leader who is throwing, and gains throwing practice. The leader's hand can also move levers, press buttons, or operate other controls found in the dungeon. To operate a control, the party must stand directly in front of the wall that contains it. You will not be able to reach the control from any other position. Some things, such as locks, may require a special object, such as a key, to operate them. For example, to open a lock you must pick up a key, move it over the lock, and then press the left mouse button. OPERATING THE GAME The game screen is divided into three main areas. Information about your champions is shown at the top. Menus for controlling the game are shown on the right; and the large area at the left center shows either a view into the dungeon or the inventory for a particular champion. The four champion's pictured in the upper right hand corner. Each picture indicates the position and facing of a champion. The top of the screen is the forward direction. Notice that the color of each champion's picture matches the color of his or her bar graph. It is important to pay attention to how champions are positioned. champions using swords, or other swung weapons, must be adjacent to threats they are attacking or their attacks will not reach. To switch the position of two champions, move the mouse pointer over one member of the party and press the left mouse button. The mouse pointer changes to become the champion's picture. Now, move this picture over the picture of the champion you wish to swap with. Press the left mouse button again to make the change. All champions normally face forward. However, when threatened, champions will turn to face the threat. TUNIC: Under the fourth champion's window; The name of any object held by a champion shows here. Arrows: The six movement buttons turn and move the party inside the dungeon. The curved arrows turn the party by 90 degrees without moving in any direction. The up and down arrows move the party forward or backwards one step. The left and right arrows move the party left or right by one step without changing the direction that they are facing. The six keys under the HELP and UNDO keys on the keyboard are the same as the six movement arrows (Insert being left rotate and Clr Home for right rotate). You may move or turn the party by placing the mouse arrow over one of the screen buttons and pressing the left mouse button. CONTROLLING YOUR CHAMPIONS Each champion is represented by a box at the top of the screen which shows their name, their status and what they are holding in they are holding in their hands. The three bar graphs show, from left to right, the champion's HEALTH, STAMINA, and MANA. When a champion is injured the health graph will drop. When it reaches zero, the champion will die! When stamina drops below half the champion's carrying capacity will drop. The Mana graph will drop as the champion uses up magical energy to cast spells. Each champion has two hands. The hand on the left is the "ready" hand. It holds ammunition for range weapons such as bows or cross bows. A range weapon will not work unless the ready hand holds the ammunition it needs. After firing a range weapon, the ready hand will automatically draw new ammunition from the quiver. The hand on the right is the "action' hand in which the champion normally holds a weapon or other "action" object. An action object has special abilities. For example, a sword can thrust or a wand my cast magical power. Note: some actions that a weapon or object can do may be beyond the current abilities of a particular champion. For example, a novice fighter may need to practice swinging a sword before he or she can advance to a parrying or thrusting. Also, some objects, such as a bow, may require the champion to have another object, such as an arrow, in the ready hand. Each champion has an action button which shows a picture of the action object the champion is holding in their action hand (shown above the movement arrows). You press the action button to make the champion do something, such as fight, with their action object. Note that not all objects are action objects. The action button will be blank if the champion is holding an object which is not an action object. Also, all champions have actions they can perform with their bare hands. The action button will show an empty hand when the champion's action hand is empty. When you press a champion's action button you will see the champion's action menu for that object. A menu will appear in place of the action object. This menu shows the actions your champion can currently do with his or her action object. As champions get better at using an object they may be able to do more actions with it. The upper left corner of the action menu shows the name of the champion who can perform the action. The buttons below the name show what actions the champion can do. Press one to perform the action. NOte that some actions have other requirements. For example, a bow cannot shoot unless the champion also has arrow in his or her ready hand. Press the pass button to cancel an action menu and restore the action buttons. CASTING SPELLS Every member of the dungeon party can learn to cast magical spells. However, casting spells requires skill and practice. Spell casting draws upon magical energy. or Mana, stored in the champion's body. Beginning magic users can hold only limited quantities of Mana and thus can only cast low level spells. But, with practice, the novice spell caster can progress to higher levels. To cast a spell, you must first select which champion will cast it. The spell menu is just above the action menu. The top of this menu is a series of selector buttons for each champion. The top of the menu has four squares (well three and one rectangle) each square is in the same order as the champions above the screen. Select a new spell caster with the mouse pointer and press the left mouse button. The name of the new spell caster will then show. Below the champions selection square are symbols. These symbols represent the basic magic syllables of a spell. To prepare a spell, the magic user recites the syllables that make up the spell by moving the mouse pointer, in turn, over each symbol buttons. Each symbol recited drains the Mana level of the spell caster. Note that some symbols require more Mana to recite than others. If the champion's Mana drops too low, he or she may not be able to recite all symbols. Pressing the recant arrow (back arrow on the screen) causes the last syllable uttered to be called back and removed from the spell. This may be used to correct mistakes. However, the Mana expended in voicing the syllable is lost. One a spell is formed (below the symbol box), pressing this button will cast it forth. A champion may attempt any spell, but beginning spell casters may not have enough Mana to cast more advanced spells. Also, some spells only work if the champion casting it has attained the proper experience level. Other spells may require the caster to hold a special object in one of their hands. For example, a spell to create a healing potion requires an empty flask. INVENTORY Each champion has an inventory of items that he or she carries. To select the inventory of a particular champion, move the mouse pointer to the name of the champion shown at the top of the screen and press the right mouse button. Press the right button again to return to the dungeon view. You can also go from one champion's inventory to another by moving the mouse pointer to a new name and pressing the right button again. This is an easy way to transfer objects between champions. PRESSING F1-F4 WILL ALSO SO THE INVENTORY OF THE CORRESPONDING CHAMPION. Party members may carry objects found in the dungeon. Places which can hold an object are show as a box. Some of these boxes represent things which a champion wears. For example, shoes or boots may be placed on a champion's feet. A champion's hands also show in the inventory. The action hand is on the right and the ready hand is on the left. The pouch is a handy spot for small objects. The quiver carries arrows or thrown weapons. The champion's ready hand can automatically draw objects from here to reload during combat. Note that swords and some other weapons will only fit in the first slot. The backpack is a general-purpose place for storing objects. It has enough room for seventeen objects of an size. Should a champion become injured, the box around the injured body part will change to red. Injuries affect the champion's abilities in ways that are related to the location of the wound. Injuries can be cured by drinking healing potions. Objects can be examined by moving them to the eye and pressing the left mouse button. This will show the object's weight and can sometimes reveal other things about it. What is revealed depends upon the skills of the champion examining it. Touching the eye with an empty hand shows the champion's current attributes and skill levels. The eye works for as long as the left button is held down. A red box around the eye indicates that one of the champion's attributes has recently changed. The champion can eat food or drink water or potions by moving them to the mouth and pressing the left mouse button. Only edible objects may be consumed. Touching the mouth with an empty hand show food and water levels for the champion and also reveals if the champion is poisoned. When either bar turns yellow or red, that champion's abilities are impaired. A champion can die from thirst or starvation, so check these levels occasionally. Health, Stamina and Mana: These levels show more precisely the values indicated by a champion's bar graphs for Health, Stamina and Mana. The left value indicates the current level and the right value indicates that current maximum for that champion. Note: as champions advance in level, the maximum value will increase. If the Mana maximum level increases, for example, this would mean that the champion has more Mana for spell casting. Load: The value printed before the slash is the amount of weight the champion is carrying, represented in kilograms. The second value is the maximum weight that the champion can currently carry. If this line is printed in red, then that champion is overloaded and will move more slowly through the dungeon. Note that the party moves only as fast as its slowest member. Pressing the ZZZ's button will put the entire party to sleep. Sleeping is a fast way to rest and recover lost Mana, health, and stamina. The party will sleep until you press the "wake up" button or they are roused by an attack. You may exit the inventory by pressing the right mouse button, or by moving the mouse pointer over the exit box ( the one with an X) and pressing the left mouse button. You can examine the contents of chests by bringing up a champion's inventory menu and placing the chest into the champion's action hand. This opens the chest and shows you what's inside. As long as the chest remains in their action hand, you can add or remove objects. Pressing the diskette button will freeze the game and bring up the save- game menu (Esc on the keyboard will also freeze the game and Control S to save the game). If you can't finish the game in one sitting, you may save the current game and resume play later. Saving the game requires a blank formatted or unformatted disk. Unformatted disk must be formatted before the game can be saved on them. There is a format button provided for this. You may save a game to a disk and continue playing or you may save the game and quit. There is button provided for each option. To resume play later you should select the "reenter" option at the entrance to the dungeon. Game Hints Unlike other dungeon adventure games you may have played, Dungeon Master is a real-time game. This means that, just as in real life, the action doesn't stop while you figure out what to do. Because of this, preparation is all important. Your champions should have their weapons out and ready before they are surprised by hostile creatures. Remember, weapons are only useful if placed in your champion's action hand, and certain weapons, such as cross bows, require another object, such as an arrow, to be held in the ready hand. If you have extra arrows, they should be kept in your champion's quiver. Your champion will then automatically reload after firing the arrow in his or her hand. Practice your spells when you have the chance, and learn to prepare useful potions in advance. The more you practice your spells, the faster your wizards and priests will grow in abilities. Don't be discouraged if your spells don't work reliably at first. Start by attempting spells with lower power symbols. These spells are easier for novices to cast and work more reliably. However, even if your champion's spells fail, the practice advances his or her level of skill. Also, remember the division of skills for magic users: creating potions and invoking magical defenses requires priestly skills, while most other magical skills are the domain of the wizard. Fighters and ninjas need practice, too, if they are to get better at fighting. Try to choose your fights so that your champions have the advantage. This lets your champions gain fighting experience with less risk of dying. When face with less thato, if they are to get better danger, put your strongest champions in front and give them the best weapons. If a champion is using a swung weapon, such as a sword, he or she must be adjacent to the creature or the attack will not reach. Watch out for attacks from the rear and from the sides, and try to keep a retreat path open so you can fall back and let your champions recover. Here is where a few potions or spells prepared in advance can be real lifesavers! And, if the going gets too rough, RUN AWAY! Learn to be careful observer. Sometimes even the tiniest detail can be important. Perhaps a small but useful object lies just under your nose, or hidden beneath another object your ignored. Did you detect the telltale click of a hidden trap you just stepped on? Or did you hear the distant rattle of a door opening or closing? Sometimes it may be helpful to compile an accurate map of your surroundings. Maps can help you locate areas of the dungeon you haven't explored yet, or avoid re exploring a place you have already been. Also, a well drawn map can be an invaluable aid to safe retreat from danger. A map can also help locate traps or solve a tricky puzzles; but be warned even maps can sometimes deceive. Conserve your resources whenever possible. Torches only burn when held in a hand, so keep extra torches in a champion's backpack until they are needed. Remember to get fresh water whenever it is available, and grab as much food as you can get your hands on. Sometimes your only source of food may be the creatures you find and kill, so learn where they hide so you can get them when you need them. Mana is also an important resource. If you have available Mana, you should use it to prepare potions, heal injured champions, or ready attack spells in advance. And, as mentioned above, practice makes perfect. The Origins of Magick by the Grey Lord What knowledge of Magick we have conforms not to the rules of science, but to the arcane skills and unordered ways of art. Be therefore warned that the path to knowledge is not an easy road. It is said that once, long ago, there was no Magick in the world save the ultimate Magick which giveth life. Later, mankind learned the use of Magick through the control of Mana. This mystical energy is the source of al Magickal power. Those skilled in the art draw its essence from all things and feel its power as they would feel the wind blow or see the sun shine. But to those unskilled it is unseen, unfelt, unknown. Before you gain knowledge of Magick you must gain knowledge of Mana. However, this talent can only be a gift gained from another skilled in the arts. For it is a truth of Magick that you must know Mana to gain Mana. Once gained, the knowledge lasts forever. Thus I and others likewise passed the knowledge through generations. With practice and time your own skills can become as great as any who have lived. Know ye that the power of Mana is a power of nature harnessed by the mind. What the mind can conjure, the power of Magick will carry out. Yet, this power is not gained by mere imagining. It requires a knowledge of the true order of things. Our mind must do more than imagine fire to summon it. It must look beyond and see instead the true nature of fire. From this need was born to the art of spell casting. A spell is a visualization and recitation that focuses the mind on a specific task and channels Mana to carry it out. A spell is make of symbols which have both a form and a name. The beginning spell caster learns to pronounce the names as the symbol is seen in the mind. Each symbol must be recited in the proper order to produce the intended effect. However, Magick is not commanded easily. Even with sufficient Mana and proper recitation, a spell may fizzle if the spell caster lacks the experience to cast it. To gain experience, the spell caster should first master the spells before attempting those more difficult. The symbols of Magick are divided into the four known influences of power, element, form, and alignment. It is said that other influences were once known, but only these four are remembered today. Each influence is controlled by six symbols which represent the six basic orders of all things. the six orders can also be visualized as combining the four orders of the material plane with the two orders of the ethereal realm. Each order of each influence is represented by a specific spell-sound and symbol. Lest you be too quick to overstep your abilities, know that each symbol recited draws from and depletes the store of Mana carried in your body. The amount of Mana required depends upon the syllables that make up the spell. The six orders of each influence require differing amounts of Mana to invoke. For the influence of power, the weakest order is the syllable LO, and the most powerful is MONDAY. Thus, LO requires the least Mana to cast, and MONDAY the most. In time, your body restores Mana expended in casting a spell by drawing new Mana from the world around you. As you gain experience in your craft your body will learn to store more and more Mana. With patience and practice, a skilled user can command enough Mana to attempt the most powerful spells. All spells commence with the invocation of power. The influence of power determines the strength of a spell. Choosing a higher power symbol increases the power of the final spell, but also increases the amount of Mana required to invoke other symbols. After power, the influence of element is called upon to give substance to the spell. Element is called upon to give substance to the spell. Many useful spells require only power and element. The Magick torch spell, usually an apprentice's first, invokes first power and then calls upon the element FUL to bring light from fire. As the novice gains experience with this spell, he can attempt higher and higher power symbols giving greater and more steady illumination. Adding the influence of form to a spell channels the spell into a specific direction. The invocation of the form KATH, as an example, imparts explosive force to the selected element. Form is not required for all spells, but its influence greatly increases the versatility of a spell. The influence of alignment connects nature with the world of man: his professions and his concepts of good and evil. Thus, these influences are less predictable and require a great deal of Mana to control. The novice would be well advised to leave this influence to the master and the master would be well advised to avoid this influence whenever possible. As with all skills, only practice will guide the practitioner to higher levels of proficiency. And, only caution will spare him form foolish mistakes. SPELL SYMBOLS POWER Note: The following have symbols which I could not include here so I have drawn them as best I can and included the names in a degas file so look and copy the symbols from the degas file DMMSYMB.PI2. The power symbols are the starting point for all spells. Where the other symbols give substance to spells, these symbols impart strength. Starting from the weakest symbol, LO up to the most powerful, MONDAY, the spell caster may control the power of a spell to suit the situation. Each step on the scale is equal, so the additional Mana needed for a specific spell of the next level should always be the same. LO The shrinking pattern of LO elicits an effect opposite to MONDAY by drawing power away from the other syllables in the spell. The resulting spell is weaker, but easier for the neophyte magic-user to control. UM controls and directs the forces of stupidity and lethargy. Its weakening effect on other syllables is less drastic than LO, so spells of this power require more experience to cast safely. ON The effect of syllable ON is that of equality. The natural strength of the other syllables in the spell determines the power of the finished incantation. UM A subtle opposite to UM, the tilted square appears balanced on a point, poised for movement in any direction. UM's dull corners have become the sharp points of the symbol EE. Speed and intelligence are the forces that combine to make spells of this symbol more powerful (and costly) than normal. PA The basis for the symbol PA is still being debated by scholars, but the effect of the spell syllable is much better known. Its ability to increase the power of a spell is second only to MONDAY. MON Tapping the strength that builds mountains is the greatest of the power symbols, MON. Only a well practiced magic- user can control spells of this size and power. ELEMENTAL INFLUENCE YA Solidity and structure are the main components of the symbol YA, used to represent the elemental influence of earth. A useful syllable, YA is the basis of many protection spells. VI Water is the most precious of the elemental influences, for , more than a thirst quencher, water can both restore health and give life. The syllable VI petitions the aid of this least abundant element. OH The elemental influence of air is conjured with the spell syllable OH, and the properties of gases are often imparted to the result. In knowledgeable hands, this symbol can be used to temporarily alter solid objects so they no longer block vision. FUL The syllable FUL invokes the elemental power of fire. It extracts the essence of heat and flame from the air and all nearby substances and temporarily concentrates them under the control of the magic user. Further syllables can bottle this power or send it flying, before the inherent instability of the concentrated energy explodes into a devastating fire ball. DES The sun burns the desolate plain of the symbol DES. Like the barren desert it represents, this syllable invokes destitution, desolation, absence, the void. The power of the void is one of the few that can damage creatures of vapor and denizens of the ethereal plane. ZO The most dangerous of the elemental influences is not fire, but the negative material ZO. However, a great deal of Mana must be expended to keep this essence under control, for negative material can absorb the matter from any material object or being in an instant. VEN The queen of venom, the black- widow spider brandishes a single spot of color on her otherwise jet-black form. Hourglass- shaped, she seems to warn that time will soon run out for the unfortunate soul she bites. In the symbology of magic, the hourglass represents the syllable VEN, which encompasses and conducts all things poisonous. EW depicts the head and arm of a beast. This syllable is used to fashion the elemental component into the form of a creature. Though the conjugation of elementals is still useful to "sculpt" a spell to effect only the monsters targeted. KATH The expanding lines of the symbol KATH characterize the shock waves emanating from a single source. This follows, for the syllable KATH imparts explosive force to spells which already involve energetic elements suck a light or air. IR abstracts the arc of a wing, and , appropriately, imparts the ability to float or fly to a cast spell. By giving motion to the completed incantation, the spell can be sent traveling through the air. BRO The reciprocal arms of the symbol BRO represent the mutual support and honesty of true friendship. However, recently usage of this construct has drawn upon its power for the creation of beneficial potions. GOR Constructed from components of fire, lightning and the spear, the jagged line of the symbol GOR combines to invoke the attributes of an enemy. Like its opposite, BRO, recent usage has broadened the power of GOR to the creation of dangerous potions. CLASS / ALIGNMENT KU The sword of the fighter is clearly symbolized by KU, the evoker of all things martial. ROS The symbol for ROS depicts a hand reaching for an object of value, and as such, is the abstraction for a syllable that involves all aspects of the thief and his art. DAIN depicts the spell leaving the magician's raised staff, and in turn conjures the realm of the wizard and draws around the sills and power of their art. NETA The cross is unmistakable in the priestly character NETA. But, unlike the syllables for the other classes, NETA is influenced far less by the natural forces. Instead, the power of this symbol is related to the magic-user's standing with his or her god. But the favor of a deity is not easily bottled, so potions having this intent are rarely effective. RA is the most energetic and powerful of the spell syllables. The light and heat of the sun and stars are the sources tapped with this syllable. Fortunately, it happens to be a somewhat cooperative form of energy and is relatively easy to channel once the magic- user has learned how to draw it forth. SAR is the effective opposite of RA. The symbol depicts the head of a demon. The demon stands for darkness and evil and the guardian of night, the moon. The power of darkness is great, but unruly, so magic- users must expend more of their own Mana energy when attempting to control it. Evil owes no allegiance, and is therefore an inherently dangerous element to include in a spell. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <SOME IDEAS ON SELECTION OF CHARACTERS> Whether or not you resurrect or reincarnate your characters is a choice you must make at the beginning of the game. The benifit of resurrection is that you get the skills of a character immediately. The benefit of reincarnation is that you get to evolve your characters the way you want them. Reincarnation also allows you to name them. It is more important to gather a "blend" of characters. You will need two good fighters in front and a priest and a wizard at the beginning. Later, all characters can be made to be multiple characters having both fighter, wizard and priestly spell abilities. It is best to have multiple skilled characters. Strength is fine in the upper levels, but the lower levels require more and more magic. Use characters which have both capabilities. If, after a while, you don't like the characters you have, try again with a new set of characters. <SOME ITEMS OF INTEREST> Inquisitor sword: mana +3, swing, thrust, berzerk attacks Vorpal Blade Sword: mana +4, jab, cleave, disrupt attacks Good against non material beings. Diamond Edge Sword: stab, chop, cleave attacks Good against armor and hard shell monsters. Falchion Sword: swing, parry, chop attacks Hardcleve Axe: chop, cleave, berzerker attacks Good against armor and hard shell monsters. Flamit Gauntlet: swing, fireball attacks. Hellion Amulet: Unknown Shield of Darc: Block, hit attacks when in right hand. Ullumulet Amulet: Unknown Boots of Speed: Increase carrying ability Calista Head Band: Unknown Jewel Symal Amulet: Unknown Ekhardt Cross: Helps priests learn spells. Shield of Lyte: Light in weight armor. Gems : Unknown except where specificaly needed for puzzles. Stone Club: Throw, club attacks Bow: shoots arrows and slayer arrows. Speedbow: same as above with more damage and reload speed. Rapier Sword: jab, parry and thrust attacks Sabre Sword: jab, parry, melee attacks Tech Wand: mana +4, calm, spellshield, fireshield abilities. Yew Staff: mana +4, parry, light maker, dispell attacks Delta sword: Mana +1, chop, melee, thrust attacks Fury Sword: chop, melee, fireball attacks Bolt Blade: jab, chop, lightning attacks Axe: swing, chop, melee attacks Mace of Order: swing, bash, stun attacks Rabbits foot: none Mirror of Dawn: Unknown Moonstone: mana +3 Gem of Ages: Helps non mana characters start casting spells. Storm Ring: lightening attacks Eye of Time Ring: freeze monster attacks Horn of Fear: Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Staff of Manar: Mana +3, fireshield and dispell elementals <SPELLS:> Using magic in this game is like exercising your muscles. The more you use it the bigger and more efficient it becomes. Use magic in this game anytime you can. If done properly, you can get all four characters using magic. It will be of immense assistance in the lower levels of the dungeon. NOTE: Some items increase the "Mana" of your magic users and will allow non-magic users to begin casting spells. Place these items in their hands and start casting easy spells like "light or heal". They will begin to gain mana (casting ability) more and more. "Light" spells should be used by all members and allow you to save up on using the torches. Besides, the practice of casting this spell will help your characters move up in levels and their casting abilitys. If you are running out of food, don't fret, a "stamina" spell will allow your characters to continue to exist till food is found. Don't be afraid to "back-up" to where there was food to get more. Screamers and Worms tend to regenerate. Sometimes it is best to save a game, then try different spells or weapons at a particular monster (like the rock creatures) to see what has the best effect against them. Try everything on the "right hand" to see what it is capable of doing. The following is a partial list of spells used in this game, It is by no means total or completely accurate. Play with the different spell combinations, you may find something you can use. All spells start with a "power" symbol. At first all you will be able to use is "lo", but as your character becomes more proficient he will be able to incease the power of the spell. This means that the spell will be stronger and last longer. PRIEST SPELLS: (prefix with a power symbol) ya Stamina Potion. Great when you run low on food, or a character becomes overburdened and loses a lot of stamina. ya bro Magic shield potion. Cast into a empty flask to place a shield around an individual character. Useful when one character cannot handle another blow. (I did not use this spell at all.) ya bro dain Wisdom potion. Cast into an empty flask and given to a character inceases his wisdom for a while. (Another spell I never found a use for.) ya bro neta Vitality Potion. Cast into an empty flask and given to a character increases his "vitality". (I never found a use for this spell.) vi Heal potion. Cast into an empty flask and given to a character restores lost hit points. (I had one character who only carried these flasks. They are used a lot.) vi bro Cure Poison potion. Cast into an empty flask and given (Use the lowest power setting for this spell. Higher power levels do not increase its abilities.) Carry at least one for each character when in the upper levels. oh ven Poison Cloud. Cast into a monster party causes continual damage to take place as long as the cloud is evident and they do not move from the square it was cast on. oh ew ra See through walls. Allows you to see through one square of wall. Higher power settings only make the spell last longer. oh kath sar Monster confusion. (Never needed by my characters.) oh bro ros Dexterity potion. Cast into an empty flask and given to a character increases his dexterity. Good for giving your fighters the "edge" when fighting monsters. (They get more attacks per turn.) ful bro ku Strength potion. Cast into an empty flask and given to a character increases his strength. Good for fighters when attacking creatures of high hit points. (A potion I never used much.) ful bro neta Fire shield. Protects the party from minor fire spells like the ones the Beholders cast. (Forget using it for the Dragon. It won't help if you hits you with one of his breaths. zo bro ra Mana potion. Cast into an empty flask and given to a character replenishes his mana (ability to cast spells). (Priest has nothing to do and lots of mana? Empty a flask and cast this. You can always use this to cast heal potions, if needed. Nothing increases mana except time and this.) WIZARD SPELLS: ya ir Shield whole party. Good for the upper levels. Usualy not needed in lower levels if your characters have lots of hit points. ya bro ros Leave footprints. Useful in finding "spinner" plates but why use it when you have our maps? oh ew sar Invisibility. Obvious use. (Never thought of trying it. How dumb of me.) oh kath ra Lightening bolt. Good killing power. oh ir ra Light spell. Not worth the mana it costs. ful Torch spell. The first and most used spell in the game. ful ir Fireball. Good general kill-all spell. (But, some monsters are not effected or require several hits.) des ven Poison ball. Great for the stand and fight technique. It does continual damage until the cloud dispells. NOTE: don't walk into it or you will take damage also. des ew Weaken Non-Material beings. This is useful against the strange see-through monsters you encounter and the floor monsters. (You'll know them when you see them.) des ir sar Darkness spell. (Never needed this spell.) zo Open button doors. (Needed at one puzzle. This opens only doors with buttons. Only used once.) zo ven Poison potion. Cast into an empty flask and thrown at a creature creates a poison cloud (green looking) that does continual damage as long as the creature doesn't move from that spot. zo kath ra Zokathra spell is used to remove the gem from the wall on the lowest level. Leave alone until needed. I do hope you enjoy using this disk and hope it makes your enjoyment of Dungeon Master even better.