Shadowvale is filled with creatures who would like to beat you up. And some of them, alas, are capable of delivering some serious beatin’. Fortunately, when it’s really necessary, you have the ultimate weapon on your side.
The Nethergate Character Editor.
On the title screen, select Character Editor, and you will enter a new realm of absolute power, where unbelievable energies are available to be harnessed. You can give your characters higher statistics, magic items, spells, and other neat stuff.
 
The Main Character Editor Screen
Once you’re on the main character editor screen, select Open from the file menu to choose a saved game. You can now edit that party to your heart’s content (although, if Nethergate is unregistered, you won’t be able to use all of the features).
Of course, some people feel that using a character editor is cheating, in its purest, vilest form. Fortunately, there is an option which allows you to turn off the character editor permanently. Nobody will be tempted by its evil ever, ever again.
If, on the other hand, you can withstand the temptation, here are the editor options:
Edit Statistics - Brings up the Character Editor screen, as if you were about to do training. However, you can spend as many skill points as you want to improve your skills.
When you look at the lists of spells and potion making recipes, each spell and recipe will have a button to the right. If you know that spell or recipe, it will be lit. If the button is dark, click on it and it will light up. You will now know that spell or recipe. Alas, this doesn’t work for Nether Arts spells. Those are too rare and powerful for even the character editor to obtain.
In the character editor screen, you can also add and remove Advantages and Disadvantages. When you’re through, press the Done button.
Do Healing - Restores this character to full health, and removes the highly unfortunate dead, dust, or stone status. If the character is poisoned, diseased, paralyzed, etc. this heals those conditions too.
Energize - Restores all of a character’s spell points.
All of your character’s items will be listed at the right side of the screen. To look at a new character, click on his or her portrait. If an item is unidentified, it name will be in boldface. Click on the name of an item to identify it.
When you’re in the character editor, there will be two new menus at the top of the screen: Editor and Add Items.
The Editor Menu:
Edit Gold - Lets you set how many coins your characters own.
Editor Food - Lets you set how much food your characters own.
Uncurse Items - Removes any curses on the items you’re carrying.
Take Party Out Of Town - If your adventurers are in town and you use this command, when you next load the save file, they will be outdoors. You won’t see them at first (they are still standing inside the town). Move away from the town, and you will see them again.
This option is provided in case you’re completely trapped inside a town and can’t get out. Try to avoid, if at all possible, using this command. Jumping out of towns can cause the plot to take unexpected turns.
Reset Hostile Towns - Sometimes, if you steal from a town or attack someone, it will get angry at you. This option makes all angry towns like you again and brings back to life anyone in those towns you may have killed.
Turn Off Character Editor - If you just don’t like having the character editor around, select this. After you give a confirmation, the character editor will be permanently turned off.
There is, actually, a secret way to restore the editor if you come to regret its loss. To find out how, look on the Nethergate page on our web site (http://www.spidweb.com/nethergate).
The Add Items Menu:
This menu lists twenty different items. Select one of them, and it will instantly be given to the currently selected character (click on a portrait to select a character).
The purpose of most of the items is pretty obvious. The only unusual item is the Piercing Crystal. When this is used, it attempts to destroy all nearby magical barriers.
