-ð- PLAYERS HANDBOOK for LEGENDS (LEGENDSlite) version 6.0 -ð- Documentation and program written by: Jeffrey D. Hoffman Copyright (c) 1992-1995. All Rights Reserved. Forward Part I: Scribblings from the creator Part II: If you read nothing else, read this! Heed this warning, experienced adventurers - the realm has changed greatly since you were last here. Many things shall be new to you, and I shall attempt to give you a detailed overview of those changes, and to point you where to go in the manual for more information. LEGENDS game play has changed a lot over the past year, and now it is time to bring you up to speed. 1. The new combat system is entirely new and features some great new skill that both you and monsters have. (See chapter III.V) 2. Incredible party-adventure capabilities with the JOIN and GROUP commands. (See chapter III.II) 3. The spell system is entirely different with 60 brand new spells divided into two magical classes: mage and cleric. (See chapter III.VI) 4. Thieves have three new skills in addition to lock picking. (See chapter III.VII) 5. Purchasing and selling items has been improved, but has had some risk added. (See chapter III.IV) 6. Communication commands have been shrunk, optimized, and in some cases (the YELL command) localized. (See chapter III.III) 7. Real-time healing occurs only when you are sitting and doing nothing. 8. In addition to full healing, the healers can also cure poison, remove curses from items, bless you, and protect you. 9. Resetting quests (The Champion's Test and the Guild Quests) allow for unlimited adventuring as they begin fresh every time they are solved. Unfortunately, there are lots of other improvements and changes that experienced adventurers will have to become accustomed to. Most of the items above refer to specific chapters and sections of this handbook, and they wouldn't be there if I did not think it was important for you to study those sections. Part III: Final notes For all practical purposes, whether you are playing LEGENDS or LEGENDSlite, the software will be universally referred to as LEGENDS. As you will see, there are no differences from the your perspective between the two versions of the software. Secondly, I would also like to discuss genders, as I always do. To avoid confusion in this documentation, I will universally refer to players as a She despite the fact that characters may be portrayed as either male or female, if you are a creative, innovative player. Chapter I: Generating your character Part I: Your character's attributes Within the fantasy world of LEGENDS, you will portray a character of your own creation, with his own attributes, name, race, and occupation. Every character you create will be different, possessing different abilities and weaknesses. One character may be extremely powerful with magic but may not be able to take a lot of damage, verses a character that is physically strong, but slow on the battlegrounds. Your character's skills are based on six attributes: Strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma. A description of each attribute and a brief explanation of how they affect your character is provided below. Attribute values range from 3 to 18.99. Any attribute that reaches 18 will automatically receive additional random points varying from 18.00 to 18.99. Although the difference is only a hundredth of a point, having a higher 18.xx value in an attribute can result in incredible bonuses for your character. You create a character by individually selecting the best values from the randomly generated list and placing them with the corresponding attribute. The values are labeled through and the highlighted attribute is the one for which you are selecting a value. After you have selected six of the seven available attributes from the list, you will receive an addition 1-6 random points for disbursement amidst the six attributes. You can move up and down the list of attributes with the orward (down) and ack (up) the list. The <+> and <-> keys increase or decrease an attribute by one point, respectively. You can not lower an attribute beyond its original setting, and you can not cause an attribute to exceed 18.99. Strength, the prime requisite of any fighter, measures your character's overall strength, endurance, and stamina. This score directly affects how well your character strikes an opponent during battle, and how much damage will be inflicted with that successful hit. This attribute also defines the maximum amount of weight your character can carry at any given moment. Dexterity defines how agile your character is, and also affects your character's hand-eye coordination, reaction speed, and balance. Being quick on the battlefield is important, because you will be able to avoid damaging attacks from your opponents. Dexterity is a prime requisite for thieves. Constitution encompasses your character's physique, fitness, and physical resistance to hardship. Having a high constitution will cause your character to withstand more damage as your experience level increases. In addition, a high constitution increases your chances of surviving a resurrection, and you will heal faster during periods of rest. Intelligence is your character's reasoning and memory skills. This score is a prime requisite for any character that would like to use magic. A character of high intellect will be able to control more magical forces over a longer period of time than one with a low intelligence. Intelligence is a prime requisite for clerics and mages. Wisdom describes your character's enlightenment, judgment, and willpower. This ability plays an important part in resisting evil forces, controlling magical powers, and having life stolen from your character. Charisma determines how physically attractive your character is. Although the average fighter doesn't really care how well groomed he is, shopkeepers tend to be more friendly to respectable-looking characters, and will be more easily persuaded to lower prices during a daily barter. It is also important to realize that an extremely low score for any of these attributes will work against your character. However, certain attributes have less purpose for certain occupations. For example, a fighter will do well even if he has an intelligence of three, whereas a sorcerer with high intelligence and wisdom does not require an eighteen in strength to survive. Part II: Selecting your character's name I can't tell you what to name your character. However, I can offer you one important guideline that you should keep in mind while selecting a name for your character. Select a name that is worth believing in. No one, especially other players, will respect a dwarf fighter named KillMe. Select a name that you can build on, one that you can believe in. Remember, this is a role-playing game and during medieval times, many people were known only by their names. A name can inspire hope, respect, or fear, if it is selected carefully. Part III: Selecting your character's race When generating a new character, it is important to realize that race and occupation selection are as important as your attributes. As I mentioned before, the race you select will increase and decrease your attributes. (See chart I.I, below.) There are six different races in the known realm: Dwarf, elf, gnome, halfling, hobbit, and human. Each race possesses different fighting, magical, and bartering skills. The race you select should influence how you role-play your character, so I have included detailed descriptions of each race (see below) to help you better understand what that race is like. Pay particular attention to the strengths and weaknesses of each race. If you select a race that has poor magical abilities, but want to play a magic user, you have made a bad decision, and your character will not last long in the realms. Dwarves are short, stocky creatures that are easily identified by their height and shape. They have dark eyes, dark hair, little sense of humor, but enjoy beer, ale, mead, and even stronger drink. They have a particular interest in precious metals, especially gold. They are ill-disposed toward magic, and tend to have little talent with it. In contrast, they make excellent fighters, warcrafters, and engineers. Elves tend to be somewhat shorter and slimmer than normal humans. Their features are delicately chiseled into each individual, and they speak with great emphasis on the melody in their voices. Despite their fragile appearance, they are quick and strong by birth. They enjoy dancing, frolicking, and romance. Elves have great respect for things of beauty. They do not make friends easily, but a friend (or enemy) is never forgotten. Elves have the strongest ties to magic within the realm. Gnomes are kin to dwarves, and for the most part, are noticeably smaller. They have dark tan or brown skin, and pride themselves on their less rotund appearance from their distant cousins. They have a sense of silliness and have a great fondness for practical jokes. They prefer to live in places of rolling hills or well-wooded areas. Halflings are short, generally plump individuals that remind many of small humans. This race is both sturdy and industrious, generally peaceful and quiet. They enjoy homespun tales of adventure, good living, and rough humor. They are exceptionally talkative when in the company of good companions. They also have a natural ability to magic, and enjoy toying with it on many occasions. Hobbits are the most common mixed race in the realm. They appear much like halflings, but are less plump despite their cravings for rich and wondrous food. Despite their appearances, they have a history of adventure spun into their ancestors. They are dazzled by magical forces, and many aspire to one day control the ability. They are fast on their feet and good in combat. Humans need no definition because they are the easiest character to role-play, since after all, you are one. One quick note, however, is that in this realm, they do have the ability to work with magic, and over the years, they have become very proficient in its use. Chart I.I: Adjustments Race Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha --------------------------------------------- Dwarf +1 0 +1 0 0 -1 Elf 0 +1 0 +1 0 +1 Gnome 0 0 +1 0 0 -2 Halfling 0 0 0 +1 +1 0 Hobbit 0 0 +1 0 0 -1 Human 0 0 0 0 0 0 Part IV: Selecting an occupation Basing your character's occupation on his attributes is a wise decision. LEGENDS has no restrictions on what race can do what occupation, so it rests on your shoulders to use good judgment. A bad combination of attributes, race, and occupation will lead to a short life on the battlefield. On the other hand, a wise mixture of those three elements can lead to a life of adventure, fame, and respect. LEGENDS offers four different occupations, taking the different aspects of magic, combat, and skill to its most primitive forms: cleric, fighter, mage, and thief. These occupations are each different with proficiencies and deficiencies. The following section explains, in detail, what types of tasks each form of employment will offer the player who selects it. Clerics are individuals who have a great respect for nature, and all of her wondrous creations. In return for that respect, nature offers her own respect to a cleric, by granting the ability for clerical magic to control natural forces like wind, rain, and lightning. In addition, clerics are kind, gentle, and polite, and for this reason, their magical skills can also heal wounds and restore life to those who have been killed. They are fierce fighters and rely heavily on religion, which tends to discourage blade weapons and encourage maces, flails, and staffs. Fighters can be seen anywhere you go within the realm. They are reformed, respected warriors who understand what death means. They will not kill senselessly, but they will fight for a cause, and if that means slaying something or someone along the way, they will not hesitate. They have no magical skills, but through their experience, they have a growing respect for those who use magic. They work well with any blade weapon, although swords are the weapon of choice for this occupation. Mages are respected, extremely powerful, mysterious, and intriguing. Masters of spellcraft, their spells are destructive, deadly, and accurate. Although most sorcerers are excellent with a quarterstaff, they tend to fall back in combat and launch their deadly attacks from behind those with melee weapons. Creativity is a natural ability of sorcerers, given their wide range of magical abilities, although they have yet to master any sort of healing spell. Mages are fighters at heart, and although they refrain from swords, they will also use halberds, bardiches, and other polearms. Mages and clerics may resent one another at times, usually over drinks, but during the heat of battle they both respect each other's abilities a great deal. Thieves know the unknown, open the unopenable, and steal the unstealable. They are stealthy, dark characters who can be one of two types: respectful or disrespectful. Driven by a natural craving for large amounts of money, the disrespectful thief is hated, feared, and lives a life of rebellion. They hide out in dark places, wear dark clothes, and make elaborate plans to steal other important things. Disrespectful thieves often backstab their own party members in order to gain personal fortune. On the other hand, respectful thieves work well in adventuring parties, because their aim is to steal things from the hands of evil to be used for good. They are appreciative of a party that permits them to join. All thieves are good adventurers for their abilities to get into places normal adventurers can not fathom. Chapter II: Getting started -- A tutorial for new players Once you have created your character, you will find yourself standing at the founding stone of MidDraaven, the largest towne of the realm. In your character's inventory, in addition to a ample supply of gold coins, you will find a map of the towne which will assist you in finding each of the stores you need to visit to outfit your character. Be sure to visit the healers and use the HEAL command to discover what options you have in the event that you are ever ailed by poison or are in need of healing. Visit any other places that you would like, as MidDraaven is richly decorated with gardens, turrets, towers, the castle, an observatory, and more. One important place to visit is the Castle of Lord Paramount, but you needn't visit the castle until you have outfitted your character. Part I: Outfitting your character Armor is the most important equipment available to you. Visit "Thundrax Forge" and speak with Halgen Wingstaff, resident armourer of MidDraaven. Using the PURCHASE command, Halgen will provide a list of all of the armors that are available today along with their selling price. Select an armor from the list that offers the highest protection (The protection value of a suit of armor is rated as the first number of the two set within the parentheses. The second number represents any magical value.) It is important to reserve a good supply of gold coins for other armor accessories such as gloves, boots, helmets, etc. In addition, you will also need a weapon, so it might be a good idea to travel to each of the three stores (armory, accessories, and weapon shoppe) to get an idea of how much certain items are going to cost you. You can not, however, figure out exactly how much it will cost you to outfit your character, because it all depends on how well you barter. For detailed information on how to haggle over the price of an item, see chapter III, part III. Your skills as a trader will improve (or in some cases reduce) the savings you make over the original price of an item. Once you have purchased some armor, you need to actually put it on. Your armor does you no good if you are not wearing it. Use the READY command to ready the armor. Refer to the armor by name. As an example, if GeoffreyPhoenix walked into the armor store and purchased a suit of chain mail armor, he would type: Command: ready chain mail armor Using the STATUS command, he would then see that he is wearing chain mail armor on his body. The final stop you have to make is to the general equipment store. Here you can purchase illumination sources. Torches are simple light sources that last for a brief period. Lanterns last longer. If the store owner has any imported, magical lights (such as a torch +1) it is usually worth the extra gold to get such a source of illumination. They last far longer than normal lights. Don't forget to READY any gloves, helmets, or shields you purchased, along with the weapon you have selected. Do not ready your lantern or torch until you have reached the dark entrance of a dungeon. Now that your character is equipped, it is time to discover what adventures await you in the realm. Type QUESTS to see a list of the known quests in the realm. These are adventures that you can go on that are always active and they are good sources of experience and treasure. The first quest available to you is known as the Champions' Test. By typing QUESTS CHAMPION, you can read all information that is available to you on this quest. All quests can be researched with the QUESTS command, but much of what you read will refer you to NPCs in the towne. So, as the Champions' Test infers, we must journey to the throne of the realm. Part II: Becoming a champion Once you have made the short journey to the Castle of Lord Paramount and found the throne room, use the ASKABOUT command to find out important information on the Champions' Test. By typing ASKABOUT CHAMPIONS' TEST, your character will ask Lord Paramount to tell her about the quest. Once Lord Paramount has finished speaking, you must leave MidDraaven through the western gates and journey into the foothills there. The Champions' Test encompasses four levels of dungeon, each with a different set of puzzles or tests. Because of the diversity of the challenges, you may find it important to bring other adventurers along. It is not unheard of for a group of adventurers to go through the test several times so that each may claim the ending symbol - which clearly marks them as a Champion. For more information on forming an adventuring party, see chapter III, section II. The dungeon is speckled with monsters of various abilities. Before engaging in some heavy combat, use the STATUSBAR command to bring up a listing on your current hitpoints and spellpoints (if any) that displays to the left of the command prompt. You might, for example see this: (8 hp, 7 sp) Command: The STATUSBAR is useful for keeping an eye on your current status, without having to constantly type STATUS. Make sure you keep your hitpoints above zero. Otherwise, you'll be killed. Use the ATTACK command to attack any monsters that you come across. If the monster was carrying any gold or items when you killed it, you will see them drop to the ground. Use the TAKE command to snatch anything that was dropped. Before you go tearing off into the dark corridors of the Champions' Test, now is a good time to practice you map making skills. It is much too easy to get lost in the winding caverns, maze-like passages, and dark chambers. Without a map, many adventurers have died while wandering those corridors, calling for help, days past their torch burning. Upon completion of the Champion's Test, you can return to MidDraaven triumphantly. Part III: Joining a guild The second quest on the QUESTS list is one in which you must (or at least should) join the guild for your occupation. The cloth map of MidDraaven clearly indicates where your guild is. It is important to join the guild because without being a member, the GuildMaster will not speak with you, and often they are important sources for information. To join a guild, you must physically go to the building where your guild is housed, and type JOIN GUILD. The GuildMaster will escort you to the proving grounds where you must prove yourself before the guild. Return for that test with a ring for your guild and you will become a member. Once these tasks are completed, you are ready for the further adventures in the realm. There are terrible horrors awaiting you in the realm, and justice needs to be done. Good luck! Chapter III: The art of being an role-player This section describes, in detail, the various aspects of role-playing in LEGENDS including the simple things like moving through-out the realm, forming parties to share experience with, to the more advanced things like magic, combat, and solving puzzles. Part I: Moving through the realm Movement is accomplished by way of several simple commands. In order to move out of a room, type in the direction you would like to go. You can select one of ten directions: north, northwest, west, southwest, south, southeast, east, northeast, up, and down. For a shortcut, you can simply type the first letter of the direction you want to go and press return. The shortcuts are: N, NW, W, SW, S, SE, E, NE, U, and D. Every room will have different passages and exits from which you can choose. Along the way you are bound to run into doors. Doors come in every shape and size, and are made from all sorts of materials. In addition, doors can also be open, closed, locked, or hidden. Open doors can either be passed through by moving out of the room in the direction that the door stands in, or they can be closed using the CLOSE command. As an example, if there is a wooden door in the north wall and you want to close it, you would type CLOSE WOODEN DOOR. Closed doors must be opened before you can pass through them, obviously. Using the OPEN command, you can open a door, and then pass through it in the direction that it lies. As an example, the wooden door mentioned above is closed, and now you can open it by entering OPEN WOODEN DOOR. In addition, some doors have locks, and it is possible to lock a door, provided you have the key for it. Using the LOCK command, you could lock the above wooden door by typing LOCK WOODEN DOOR. In order to open a locked door, you must find the key for it. Using the key, you can UNLOCK the door. Using our wooden door example, UNLOCK WOODEN DOOR would unlock the door. Hidden doors are actually secret passages that can be opened only by performing certain actions. Seasoned adventures know that it is possible to discover a variety of secret doors just by SEARCHing a room or the prominently displayed features of the room, like tapestries, bookshelves, and mirrors. Some times it is as simple as pulling on a torch in the room and a doorway slides open. Other times, you may have to solve a puzzle or speak a magical word that will cause a section of wall to open. Part II: Party adventuring Now, more than ever, adventuring in a group or party is extremely important for your own survival and for solving quests. Many of the obstacles that you will encounter, such as monsters, may require the skills of a character who's occupation is different than yours. Forming a good party early will save you time in the long run. Experienced adventurers know there is nothing more frustrating to be standing in front of an ethereal creature that receives no damage from your simple blade weapon, without the aid of a spell-wielding friend. A successful party will include a character from each occupation. In addition, there is no need to limit the number of fighters, thieves, mages, or clerics in your party to one, either. On the other hand, larger parties means less experience for everyone during combat, and also less treasure to divvy up at the end of a successful quest. To form a party, all individuals involved must first select a party leader. Each character must then use the JOIN command to begin following the selected party leader. At this point, all characters involved will follow the party leader wherever she leads them, but during combat, experience will not be shared. To complete the party, the party leader must then use the GROUP command on all of the members of the adventuring group. Once the group is formed, any member who types GROUP and presses return will get a list of all the people in the group, along with the stats of the members involved. A completed example party, with higher-level characters, might look like this: Command: group Members of GeoffreyPhoenix's adventuring party: GeoffreyPhoenix [ 392/ 392hp, 273/ 273sp, 7500000exp] Urk [ 198/ 198hp, 0/ 0sp, 2500000exp] LithiumGodSlayer [ 448/ 448hp, 0/ 0sp, 6500000exp] SlashStormBringer [ 583/ 583hp, 689/ 689sp, 45000000exp] Experience, during combat, is split based on the following system. Each character in the party receives a portion of the total experience gained from slaying a monster. This amount is proportional to what percentage their level makes up of the total number of levels for the group. For example, in GeoffreyPhoenix's party, there are a total of 128 levels. (30+17+28+53 = 128) After combat, 100,000 points of experience from killing a monster would be divided like this: GeoffreyPhoenix (Level 30) (30/128) * 100,000 = 23438 experience Urk (Level 17) (17/128) * 100,000 = 13281 experience LithiumGodSlayer (Level 28) (28/128) * 100,000 = 21875 experience SlashStormBringer (Level 53) (53/128) * 100,000 = 41406 experience Part III: Communication Communication is one of the most important aspects of role-playing. It is with conversation that you can trade with shopkeepers, talk with out characters, call for help, and gain important information, all with a series of simple commands. Communicating with other characters who are in the room with you is done with two commands. First, the double quote (") command will instruct your character to say whatever. In addition, the punctuation you use to end your sentence will determine how the other players see you stating your message. For example, GeoffreyPhoenix, a level thirty human cleric just entered the tavern and notices LithiumGodSlayer, a level twenty-eight human fighter. GeoffreyPhoenix can type: Command: "Greetings, my friend! How are you today? LithiumGodSlayer would see: GeoffreyPhoenix asks, "Greetings, my friend! How are you today?" As you can see, LEGENDS interprets a question mark at the end of your sentence as that your character is asking a question. In addition, notice also that the closing quote is automatically added when you press return. On the other hand, ending your sentence in a period (.) or no punctuation at all is interpreted as your character simply saying something. An exclamation point (!) means your character exclaims something to the other characters in the room. In contrast, there will be times when the emotion of the statement you wish to convey to others in the room is not properly reflected in sentence, exclamation, or question format. Conveniently, you can determine exactly how your character will produce her message to the others in the room. The single quote command (') accepts a description of how you express something along with the message to be expressed. For example, during a recent battle with an eleven headed hydra, Urk, a level seventeen dwarven fighter was forced to flee as he was trying to kill the monster without the assistance of his adventuring party. In the tavern, sulking, he states: Command: 'mumble I was forced to flee from battle today. GeoffreyPhoenix, who happens to be in the tavern with Urk, sees: Urk mumbles, "I was forced to flee from battle today." As you can see, LEGENDS automatically punctuates and ends the sentence correctly. As a result, your communication possibilities are limitless. The more expressive you get with your character, the better your belief in your character, and the more realism is added to the game. In addition to saying messages, there will come a time when a motion is required to make a point. LEGENDS offers a single command that will allow your character to perform any action that is required by any scene. The DO command is designed to help you role-play your character better. For example, GeoffreyPhoenix and Urk are in the tavern, talking over Urk's recent withdrawal from battle, and after a short moment, LithiumGodSlayer enters. After hearing of Urk's failed slaying, LithiumGodSlayer expresses his understanding and sympathy to his fellow party member by saying something, and then following the message with an action: Command: do pats Urk on the back. Urk and GeoffreyPhoenix would see: LithiumGodSlayer pats Urk on the back. Sometimes while adventuring you may get into a situation where you need assistance from other characters who are in the recent vicinity. With the YELL command, you can express a message to anyone who is within earshot. For all practical purposes characters who are on the same dungeon level, or in the towne, or in a forest (etc.) are within earshot. If you are in towne and are trying to yell to someone who is climbing StormGatherer Mountain, she will not be able to hear you. *NOTE* SYSOP discretion allows the yell command to occur globally as it has in prior versions, where everyone who is currently in the realm will hear your message. This depends, as I mentioned, on what your SYSOP selects to do. Localized yelling as described above is more realistic. In addition, through your adventures, there will come a time when you will need to extract information from any non-playing characters (NPCs) that you come across. NPCs are individuals who are not controlled by another user. They include, but are not limited to, all the monsters, the townes folk, the merchants, healers, and other characters that are controlled by the computer. Via the ASKABOUT command, you can inquire about different topics with any NPC you happen to come across. Although most NPCs are rather quiet, clues you discover during your adventuring will lead you to specific NPCs who can answer your questions and give you more information. If an NPC knows nothing of what you ask, you will receive no response. During an early quest, Urk has journeyed far to discover the mythical rift dagger. He realizes that the best person to ask about where to begin would be Dvorak Thorbane, MidDraaven's Weaponsmith. Entering towne and heading toward the shoppe, Urk types: Command: askabout rift dagger Since Dvorak knows of the dagger, in this case, he will then speak up and tell Urk everything he knows. It is important to listen carefully to what an NPC says because there are times that certain words that the NPC says will lead to another topic that is important to completing a quest. Part IV: An introduction to the businesses of MidDraaven In addition to valuable information, the townsfolk of MidDraaven also serve as the storekeepers who can outfit your character with weapons, armors, and other equipment. While in towne, you can also purchase magical items, sell off treasure, secure your wealth in the treasury, and also get your wounds healed. These actions are performed with the following commands: PURCHASE, SELL, WITHDRAW, DEPOSIT, and HEAL. These commands function, based entirely on which store you are in. commands will function or not function. For example, you can not PURCHASE anything in the healers, but you can be HEALed. On the other hand, you can not use the HEAL command in the weapons store. When it comes right down to it, in order to purchase and sell items to the local stores you have to haggle with the storeowner about the price. During the first round, the storeowner will offer a price and you offer a counter price. Depending on the price that you ask, the storeowner will offer a different price, usually in your favor, and once more, you offer a new price. There are several things to keep in mind: 1. When purchasing an item, do offer a price so long to enrage the shopkeeper. They are, after all, only human and in the event that you insult them with a ridiculously low price, they will throw you out of their store and refuse to serve you until the following day. A good rule is never offer less than ten-percent of the whole price of the object. For example, if the item costs 1000 gold coins, do not offer less than 100 gold coins on your first offer. 2. When selling items to the shopkeeper, keep number one in mind. Do not ask for too much for a used item. The shopkeeper may also remove you from her store, thus halting you sale for that day. A good range to keep in mind would be around seventy to eighty percent of the actual price of the object. For example, if the would have cost 1000 gold coins to purchase, then start haggling at 700 to 800 gold. 3. If the shopkeeper announces that they have given you their final offer, then take it. It is usually the best you can get out of them, and refusing this offer will only make you have to start all over again. There is a healers in every towne where you can not only get yourself healed, you can also have poison cured (if you are sick from it), you can ask for blessing, protection, and they can also remove any cursed items you happen to come across. The banking system in the realm is also very good. Usually located in the strongest, most well-protected area, the bank or treasury is a great place to deposit your excess gold coins for a later date. Once you have found the bank, you can use the WITHDRAW and DEPOSIT commands to maintain your account. Part V: Combat The realm, unfortunately, is plagued with the curse of evil creatures who lurk in the dark corners of the dungeons in the realm. Combat is an essential part to solving quests and banishing evil from the realm. Never under-estimate the monsters you will come across, as all of them have different attributes and abilities that make each more dangerous than the last. Combat is performed with the ATTACK command. Upon specifying a target, your character will use whatever weapon you are wielding to attempt to inflict damage upon the target. For example, while exploring the darkest regions of a dungeon, LithiumGodSlayer encountered a Great Feyr. Here is an excerpt from what LithiumGodSlayer saw: Command: attack great feyr You swing at Great Feyr, inflicting 36 points of damage. Great Feyr bites at you, but fortunately misses. Great Feyr bites at you, inflicting 6 damage. Great Feyr critically hits you, inflicting 22 damage. When Lithium used the ATTACK command, he sliced at the Great Feyr with his halberd, and as displayed, inflicted 36 points of damage. Following this, the Great Feyr then attacked Lithium three consecutive times. Monsters, like players, can acquire or have the ability to attack multiple times per round. This includes not only attacks with weapons, claws, and teeth, but also with spells. There is a greater danger also. Certain monsters can be resistant to or immune from certain forms of damage. First, monsters that are resistant to a form of damage (such as fire, lightning, ice, etc.) receive only half damage from the attack. If a monster is immune to the form of attack, you will be notified that the attack caused no damage to the monster. During party adventuring, monsters will select a single target from the party to attack. During combat, the monster will attack that person and that person only until one of three things happens. First, if the monster is killed, then it can't attack anyone any more. Second, if the character being attacked leaves the room, the monster will pick a new target. Third, if the character being attacked is killed, the monster will pick a new target. You gain experience from slaying the monster. During part adventuring, the experience is divided up only to those members that are present in the room during the battle. In addition to experience, you can also collect gold and other items from a slain monster, as anything the monster was carrying prior to being killed will be dropped. Part VI: Magic Magic is the art of using unseen forces of elemental power to cause damage in opponents, heal the wounded, cause protection and blessing, and more. There are several important factors involved with anyone who uses magic: being a magic user, your spellbook, spell points, and skill with each spell. Spell casters include clerics and mages. All beginning magic users have limited powers and tend to be weaker characters. As a result, magic users are often difficult to start playing with. This is part of the reason that I suggest that you party with a group of fighters. In addition to a map of MidDraaven and some gold coins, a new magic user will also find a spellbook in their possession. This enchanted binding can never be parted with, meaning you can not drop it and it magically disappears and reappears when you have been slain and resurrected. When you begin, your spellbook is empty. As you gain experience, your spellbook grows with the number of spells written within it. You add spells to the book by LEARNing them. When you use the LEARN command, a list of all spells that are available to you at your current experience level is displayed. Select a spell from the list, and it is automatically copied into your spell book. The number of spells in your spell book can not exceed your current experience level, so as a result, you can only add a new spell when you have advanced a skill level. At any time you can review the contents of your spell book by typing EXAMINE SPELLBOOK. This will list out all of the spells you have learned. In addition, it will also display the number of spell points it takes to cast the spell, plus how skilled you are at casting the spell. First, in order to cast a spell, you must have enough spell points. Provided that you do, you cast a spell with the CAST command. For example, LithiumGodSlayer survived the battle with the above mentioned Great Feyr, but not without taking a great deal of damage. He happened to be adventuring with SlashStormBringer, a noted cleric of the realm, whom offered to heal Lithium's wounds. Using the cast command, Slash saw the following: Command: cast great heal at LithiumGodSlayer You whisper, "Regenerate." LithiumGodSlayer is greatly healed for 687 hitpoints. LithiumGodSlayer would see: SlashStormBringer whispers, "Regenerate." LithiumGodSlayer is greatly healed for 687 hitpoints. However, spell casting is not always this easy. When Slash first learned the Great Heal spell at level 45, he was unskilled at the spell. As a result, he had only about 25% chance of casting the spell correctly. As you can imagine, the spell failed a considerable number of times, using up valuable spell points, before he could cast it successfully. Your abilities with a spell improve every time you advance a skill level. In addition, every time you advance the amount that you improve on a spell increases. Chart III.I shows an example progress of a spell learned at level 1. Chart III.I: Improvement of a spell learned at level 1 Level Percent Level Percent ------------------- ------------------- 1 (Learned) 25% 7 46% 2 26% 8 53% 3 28% 9 61% 4 31% 10 70% 5 35% 11 80% 6 40% 12 (Mastered) 91% Spells cause different effects, of course. There are certain spells that cause damage, while others cause protection by lowering the target's armor class for a short duration of time. While still others heal an opponent, or increase their skills in battle for a short time. It is important to know what each of the spells you cast do prior to casting them. For example, if you are casting a Flame Strike spell and (despite the name) you don't realize that it uses fire to cause damage to a target. When you cast it at a red dragon, which is not affected by fire, you will waste one round trying to find a new spell to cast at the dragon that does affect it. Where do you learn about what your spells do? You have to join the guild associated with your occupation. Find the building in the towne that houses your guild, and ask the GuildMaster about joining. After you have become a successful guild member, you can ask about any of the spells you have memorized or have the ability to learn. Part VII: Thieving skills Over the years, thieves have gained a tremendous amount of respect in the realm. In addition, thieves have also gained several important skills that they can use while adventuring. These skills are: lock picking, pocket picking, hiding in shadows, and backstabbing. These four skills make thieves a very powerful force in adventuring. Like magic spells, thieving skills must be learned in order to be used. At any point you can type SKILLS to see what skills you have learned. The LEARN command allows you to learn a new skill after you have advanced a skill level. Skills are acquired over a wide range of levels, and you may go five or ten experience levels without being able to learn any new skills. Once you have learned a skill, when you try to use it, your ability to perform that skill will be tested every time you use it. Like magic spells, you will improve in your ability to perform that skill every time you advance a skill level. Chart III.II is an example of a thief skill learned at level one. Chart III.I: Improvement of a thief skill learned at level 1 Level Percent Level Percent ------------------- ------------------- 1 (Learned) 5% 8 33% 2 6% 9 41% 3 8% 10 50% 4 11% 11 60% 5 15% 12 71% 6 20% 13 83% 7 26% 14 (Mastered) 96% Once you are a member of the thieves guild, Skurge, the guildmaster, can be interrogated for information on what each of the skills allow you to do. In addition, Skurge will tell you how to execute each of these skills using what are known as the thief commands. When you are executing a skill, you must not only be proficient at performing the skill, you must also have enough skill points to perform it. Each action uses a specific number of skill points. Every time you advance a skill level, you will receive more skill points. When you perform the skill, whether you are successful or fail at your attempt, you will still use up the skill points and must wait for them to regenerate. Part VIII: Magical items The ancient ways of the realm, those of magical items, the reign of the Gods, and other such tales that have been passed on from generation to generation, speak of powerful weapons, armors, and treasures with magical abilities far beyond a peasant's wildest dreams. As you discover on the many quests you will journey on, many of the tales are true, and vast magical armaments and treasure await your discovery. The most basic magical items are wands, potions, and scrolls which have been recreated by the mages of MidDraaven. These magical objects will assist adventurers by healing their wounds when a cleric is not around, conjuring illumination when a mage is not near, and also help clerics and mages, alike, to restore spellpoints after significant drain. Such objects are used like this, for example, when Urk, after a serious battle with a beholder, requires healing desperately, he pulls out his scroll of healing and reads: Command: use scroll of great heal on Urk Urk whispers, "Regenerate." Urk is greatly healed for 387 hitpoints. Such trinkets are the simplest form of magical items in the realm. Deep within the dankest, darkest dungeons, and high atop the tallest spires lie magical powers of unknown force. Such items, when wielded, can do any number of strange and wondrous things. For example, after slaying the beholder, Urk did come across a vast horde in one cavern. Mixed in with the piles of treasure and wealth, he found a set a gauntlets. Urk discovered that when he wore the shimmering gauntlets, his hands were twice as fast in battle, and because of this, he could attack twice every round. There are also such magical items that can cause resistance to different forms of damage, such as fire, ice, or electricity. Such a resistance allows you to take only half damage from the specific type of attack. For example, you might discover a shield of Frostbrand, which would absorb one-half damage from any form of ice or frost attack. Thus, if the monster was capable of a maximum of 100 points of frost damage during an attack, the most it could do to you would be 50 points of damage. Still other items exist that, when wielded, could increase your hitpoints, spellpoints, or other attributes, making you more powerful in the realm. In addition, certain magical weapons have been known to be able to always hit a specific kind of monsters, along with doing double or triple damage upon each hit. These type of weapons are known as slayers. An example of such a weapon might be a Javelin (+2,+3) of slay dragon. Such a weapon will always hit any kind of dragon, and on that hit, it will cause double damage. When used against an orc, however, it is a standard javelin. The most powerful magical items in the realm are ones that can make you completely immune to a specific form of attack. These strange and wondrous magical items are the rarest, because the wearer would become completely unaffected by any form of either fire, ice, electricity, etc. Part IX: Solving quests and puzzles (Excerpt from "The Chronicles of LithiumGodSlayer," ...) "Despite my best abilities, I can not prepare you for all of the traps, tricks, and puzzles that await your uncovering in your future journeys. Many such places which you will one day visit have not even been created yet! However, through my own adventuring, I have discovered that puzzles and traps come in a variety of situations and sizes. "For example, during my quest to become a champion, I did come across a room filled with six numbered switches. Discovering that this room had but two exits, the one from which I came, and another sealed with a mighty portcullis, I figured that the switches on the wall might yield a new possible exit. After pulling the first one, it came to my attention, as a heard a portcullis rising in the distant corridors, that each switch would open or close said portcullis, numbering six, and I had to figure out the pattern to pull the switches to allow me to pass through that section of the dungeon. "Other puzzles may involve finding items and bringing them to a specific location. Indeed many quests involve the slaying of a horrible monster. On one such quest, I found that, after a great deal of exploration, I was basically trapped within a vast cavern which served as a lair to a pit fiend. I could find no method of escape, no matter what I tried. Only until I confronted the beast, and slew it did a sudden violent earthquake cause the cavern side to open, and I was free at last." Being one of the most experienced fighters in all the realm, I thought it just to reveal a small section from Lithium's biography that MidDraaven's librarian has so urged him to write. It is my intention that through his words, to give you an understanding about what is involved with solving a quest. It is important to understand that, once you have completed a quest, by taking the magical item from the end, slaying a terrible monster, or return an item to its final resting place, LEGENDS will automatically restart the quest for the following day, and the quest can be completed all over again. Chapter IV: The LEGENDS command parser overview The following section is your detailed guide to the more than fifty different commands that allow your character to perform an extensive variety of actions in the realm. The adjacent chapter details each and every command that LEGENDS accepts. As always, the examples below are further illustrated with the antics of GeoffreyPhoenix, LithiumGodSlayer, SlashStormBringer, and Urk. " and ' These twin commands are used to inter-player communication with other characters who are in the room with you. When you use the double quote (") command, how your character expresses your message is determined by the punctuation: period (.) for statements, question mark (?) for questions, and exclamation point (!) for exclaimed messages. The single quote command allows your character to express a message in a method of your own choosing. For example, to mumble a message to the other characters in the room, you would type: Command: 'mumble I just lost a battle with a seven-headed hydra. ASKABOUT This command allows you to question any (and all) NPCs in the room with your character about a specific topic. If an NPC has some information concerning the topic, they will offer it to you. On some instances, a task will be requested of you prior to receiving that information. If no one in the room has any idea what you are talking about, you will see "No response." Command: askabout The Champions' Test ATTACK This command is used to attempt to inflict damage upon a specified opponent. Your character's current weapon and combat skills play an intricate role in whether or not you strike an opponent. If you miss, you will be notified; otherwise you will be notified as to the amount of damage your opponent received. If your character critically hits, your opponent receives double damage. Command: attack beholder CAST Provided that your character has spell points, this command allows a magic user to cast magical spells from your spell book. The spell must be learned prior to your casting it. When you cast a spell, you must specify the spell by name, and, if the spell requires it, you may have to specify a target to cast the spell at by following the spell name with the word "at." (See also LEARN) Command: cast cure light wounds at Urk CLOSE During your explorations, you are bound to come upon a door in one form or another. Most doors can be closed and this command allows you to do so. Simply type CLOSE and then the name of the door you wish to close. It is impossible to lock a door that is not closed. (See also LOCK, OPEN) Command: close wooden door COMMANDS Entering this command brings up a list of all the commands you can use in LEGENDS. This is your quick reference to find any command you may not know the name of. Command: commands DEPOSIT One of the two possible transactions you can perform while in a bank. You can put money into your bank account for safe keeping using this command. The banker will review your account, and you can deposit as much as you want. Command: deposit DO This fun-to-use command is designed to let you express your character's emotions, reactions, and motions. You use this command by typing DO and then follow it with a grammatically correct phrase that explains what you are doing. Understanding how this command works will take only a couple of attempts. As an example, if GeoffreyPhoenix would like to gasp in astonishment, he would type: Command: do gasps in astonishment. GeoffreyPhoenix gasps in astonishment. DRINK and EAT This command is used to consume potions or foodstuffs within the realm. This includes potions of healing and restoration, ales, etc. Command: drink potion of healing DROP [GOLD] Using this command, you can drop any item you are currently carrying. If you are wielding the item at the time you drop it, it is immediately unreadied (provided it is not cursed) and then placed on the ground. This command is also used to leave gold for another player to have. Command: drop long sword drop 400 gold EXAMINE and SEARCH These commands are used to make more detailed examinations about the location you are in, and the items that are contained with it. With the SEARCH command, you search the room to the best of your ability, but it is a general search. This is helpful for discovering secret passages and hidden rooms. On the other hand, the EXAMINE command allows you to get detailed information about a specific object in the room. Command: examine morning star search GET and TAKE [ALL] This command allows you to pick up any single item, or all the items in the room. You need to specify what you want to take, or append an ALL to the end of the command to get everything. Command: get long sword take all GROUP Once another player (or multiple other players) have JOINed you, you can use this command to add them into your adventuring group. Players in a group share experience from killing monsters, and can see one anothers' stats. By typing GROUP and a character's name, who is JOINed to you, they enter your party. If you type GROUP and their name again, they will be removed from the group. If you type GROUP and press return, you will see the stats of everyone in your group. (See also JOIN) Command: group SlashStormBringer SlashStormBringer is now part of your adventuring group. HEAL While adventuring, there may come a time when you are out of healing scrolls, healing potions, and can't find a cleric for the life of you. Gather up your gold and head to the towne healers where this command is used. In addition to getting your hitpoints back, the healers can also remove cursed items, bless you, cure poison, and grant you protection. Command: heal HELP This command brings up the in-game documentation. If you specify a command in addition to HELP, you can bring up information directly out of this handbook to your screen. Command: help help attack INVENTORY This command lists all of the items you are carrying, how much gold is in your purse, and the total weight of your burdens. Any items you are wearing are also specified on this screen. JOIN This is the first of two commands used for forming a party of adventurers. In order to form such a group, each member must JOIN a leader of the group. At the completion of this, all members will move along with the party leader in any direction she leads. The second step involves the party leader forming the group. Typing Join ? will display who you are currently following. Finally, if you are a member of a group and want to leave, you can type JOIN and press return to leave the group. (See also GROUP.) Command: join LithiumGodSlayer join ? join LEARN This command is how a spell caster adds new spells into her spell book. Upon advancing an experience level, she can learn one new spell from the list that is displayed when she uses the LEARN command. When the list is displayed, select the spell number you wish to learn or type zero to exit. Command: learn LOCK Provided you have the correct key, you can lock specific doors in the realm. This command allows you to do so, once you have specified the door you wish to lock. Command: lock wooden door LOOK The world that surrounds you is made up of rooms, exits, items, monsters, NPCs, and other players. There will be many instances when you are engrossed in some small detail of the room, and then need a broad picture of it. Using this command, you can see the whole room, just as when you enter a room for the first time. In addition, this command also allows you to look at just the exits, items, or players in the room by specifying such. Command: look look items look exits look players MESSAGES This command allows you to leave the realm temporarily and enter what is known as the Pigeon Office. Within this building, you can send messages to any player, whether they are on-line or off, quickly and conveniently. There are a variety of built-in commands that allow you to send new messages, read your existing ones, and also delete messages you have already read. The following sections outline each of the commands the message system uses. When you first enter, you will see a list of all of the messages that are waiting for you. You can view them by typing the READ command. At this same prompt you can also SEND a new message, or QUIT back into LEGENDS. When you are reading your messages, you can move forward and backward through your messages with the NEXT and BACK commands, respectively. The DELETE command will toggle whether or not the currently viewed message will be deleted when you quit the message system. Type REPLY to send a message back directly to the person who send you the currently displayed message. The STOP command will take you back to the menu (READ, SEND, QUIT) that you see when you first enter the game. When you are sending a message, you must specify who the message is to (unless you are replying to a message) and a topic. Then you can type up to 10 lines of about 78 characters. If your message is less than 10 lines, you can press return on a blank line and the send menu will come up. You can SEND your message, or EDIT a specific line. To use the EDIT command, you must specify the line number you wish to edit. That line will be displayed and you can retype the line below it. Finally, you can QUIT and not send the message you have composed. OPEN When you come across a door in LEGENDS, more often than not you will want to open it in order to get to whatever lies behind it. Use the OPEN command in such a situation to open any specific door in the room. If the door is not locked, it will open immediately. Command: open iron gate. PULL, PUSH, MOVE, SLIDE, TURN, TWIST, etc. Stepping into the circular chamber at the base of the Dark Tower, Lithium searched the room extensively but was unable to discover a way out - except the same way he came in. Relaxing, momentarily, he paused and then approached the pillar in the center of the room on which a singe torch burned. Reaching up, he pulled down on the torch, and with a whisper of movement, a secret passage slid open in the northern wall. Use this command to attempt to interact with an item in the room. In some instances, different things will occur - such as secret passages opening, a trap being sprung on you, or nothing at all. Command: pull torch A section of the north wall silently slides open, revealing a dark corridor. PURCHASE While exploring many of the shoppes and stores in the towne, you will want to outfit your character by bartering for items that the shopkeepers sell. Using the PURCHASE command, you initiate the process of haggling over the price for the many items available to your character. Be careful, however, with how much you offer. Insultingly-low prices often get store owners angry enough to throw you from their shoppes until the following day. Command: purchase QUESTS When used alone, this command brings up a list of the quests available to you as an adventurer. The first piece of information to the left is a keyword which you can use to bring up more information about the quest. Immediately following the keyword, in parenthesis, you will see the minimum and maximum experience levels that the quest was designed for. Finally, the name of the quest is proudly displayed to the left. To bring up more information on a quest, type QUESTS followed by the keyword of the quest you need to know more about. Command: quests quests champion QUIT Quitting LEGENDS is done through this command. Your character remains in the same room you left him in until you log back in, or he is killed or teleported. Command: quit REMOVE or UNREADY Having completed his mapping expedition into the Dungeon Nightmare, GeoffreyPhoenix emerged from the dungeon and began walking through the fields toward towne. Realizing that it was still daylight, he quickly doused his torch, and put away his crossbow. This command allows you to put away an item you have readied. Command: ready crossbow You have readied a crossbow (+3,+8) of speed. Command: remove crossbow You remove the crossbow (+3,+8) of speed. SELL Odds are in your favor that during your explorations of the dungeons, forests, and fields you will discover items left from previous adventurers. These items can be sold for profit in the towne, by returning to the respective stores and using the SELL command. Some stores do not accept returns, while others will gladly take any used equipment off your hands. Command: sell STATUS When you use the STATUS command, you will see all of your character's current attributes including hitpoints, spell points (if any), armor class, experience, and any readied weapons and armor. In addition, if you are currently under the influence of magical forces, all spells currently affecting you will also be listed. Command: status STATUSBAR This command is a small version of the STATUS feature. When you use this command, your command prompt will shift to the right to make way for your current hitpoints and spell points to be displayed. This command toggles whether or not the STATUSBAR is displayed. Command: statusbar The status bar will now be displayed. (312hp, 297sp) Command: statusbar The status bar will not be displayed. SUICIDE The SUICIDE command allows you to end your character's life prematurely and permanently. All of the items your character is carrying are dropped in the room where you were last standing. This is a way to get rid of a character you no longer wish to play. However, be warned that many times, you will be prevented from starting a new character until the soul of your past character has left the realm (which usually takes 24 hours.) Command: suicide You collapse to the ground. TITLE In addition to your character's name, you can give your character a title. Your character's title should reflect something about your character. Typing TITLE ? will display your current title, should you forget what it is. Also, if you simply type TITLE, your title will be erased. Command: title destroyer of all things evil GeoffreyPhoenix, destroyer of all things evil, is also here. Command: title You are no longer using a title UNLOCK When your explorations bring you face-to-face with a solid-looking door that will not open, odds are pretty good that it is locked. At this point, it is a good idea to check your inventory to see if you have any keys. If you don't, ask the other members of your party if they have any keys. If they don't, ask around towne. There is bound to be someone who has the key you need. Use the UNLOCK command to open a locked door, using one of the keys you are carrying. Command: unlock iron gate You unlock the iron gate using the rusty, iron key. USE or READ Somewhere along the way, you are going to discover a magical item of one type or another. A magical item is anything that has magical properties, such as a lightning wand which hurls bolts of lightning at an opponent. The USE command allows you to invoke the magical abilities of any item you are carrying. Most magical items require a target at whom you will point the magical item. If so, you must specify your target by adding the word "ON" and then the target's name. Command: use staff of light A magical flame bursts to life over your shoulder. Command: use lightning wand on death knight The death knight is struck by a blast of lightning, receiving 129 damage. WITHDRAW While in one of the banks in the realm, you can quickly access and remove funds from your account using the WITHDRAW command. The bank-keeper will get his book of accounts out and then let you know how much you have left. Simply tell him how much you would like to withdraw and he will get it for you. Command: withdraw WHO This command displays a list of every character that is currently active in the realms. You will see information containing their name, race, level, and occupation. Command: who WIELD, WEAR, and READY Simply buying a piece of armor, a weapon, or a torch is not enough. Your character must wield an item before LEGENDS considers it during combat. Using this command, you will attempt to put on any piece of armor, ready any weapon, or ignite any light you are carrying. If, for example, you are trying to put on a pair of swamp boots and you are already wearing a pair of leather boots, the leather ones will be taken off automatically. Command: ready leather boots You have readied a pair of leather boots. Command: ready halberd You have readied a halberd (+8,+9) [Godly might] of slay evil. YELL When issued this command, your character fills her lungs with air and screams a message as loud as she can. Players within ear shot will hear the message, but players who are across the realm will not. This is a way to get help quickly or call to party members who have wandered into side corridors in a dark dungeon. Command: yell Help, I've fallen down the pit of forever falling! You yell, "Help, I've fallen down the pit of forever falling!"