---------------------------------------------------------------------------- GATEWAY TO THE SAVAGE FRONTIER: - Complete Game Manual - Rule Book - Tables - Data Card ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gateway To The Savage Frontier Complete Game Manual INTRODUCTION: The First Night In Yartar ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "We had thought this was going to be a routine mission, guarding a caravan of mithril travelling from Citadel Abdar in the far north. But no sooner did we sign on to provide protection than the dwarves' King Harbromm himself called us to the top of the tallest tower in the fortress. "Now Harbromm, he talks through his great whiskers and it sounds like a bellows blowing, but this particular morning he didn't have to say much to get our attention. "He pointed to the northeast and we looked towards a brown cloud floating above one of the mountain valleys. 'Do you see that? It is dust,' he said, his voice rising. 'It is the dust of tens of thousands of the Ice Mountain Orcs as they march from their caves towards the cities of the south.' "But that always happens this time of the year,' someone replied. 'Orc raiding parties are always attacking Sundabar or ambushing caravans from SilveryMoon.' "The old dwarf nodded. 'Aye that's true. But turn your eyes to that dark cloud once more. Is that the dust of a thousand raiders? I think not. Two thousand? By no means. If we are lucky, perhaps only two thousand times ten.' "'Gaurd well this caravan, adventurers,' he told us. 'Evil is again awakened in the Realms, and its eyes and hands - and daggers - will be all around you.' "Well, after that speech you could imagine how horrified we were. Every step of the way we scanned the horizon, looking for those dark brown clouds. We didn't see any, but we sure heard alot of stories. Seems like everyone in the northern Realms knows someone who's seen at least a dozen trolls or a hundred orcs skulking across their fields." A burly fighter by the bar called out, "So you came all this way with such a fine looking sword and never had a chance to quench it with orcish blood?" His voice dripping with sarcasm, he mimicked a dancer tiptoeing across a stage. "Perhaps you didn't want a fight. Perhaps it's just a child's toy with a fine golden handle attached to it for show!" Before his words had even crossed the room the sword in question was drawn, its gleaming blade flashing even in the dim light of the tavern. The room went silent as everyone waited to see if we would attack the the blustering fool. After a moment of hesitation the sword was sheathed again. "This sword is saved for orcish blood", we called back to the drunken fighter. "We do not care to soil it with yours." The man looked at us, thought for a minute, realized he had been insulted and started to cross the room. Hesitating, he looked around. To his surprise, none of his companions were crossing with him. He started to admonish them, call them to battle, but the words were stilled in his throat. A tall, thin, black-caped man was sitting in the corner, and he shook his head one time. The drunken fighter dropped his eyes to the floor, muttered something, then turned and left the tavern. Several others followed. There was another moment of awkward silence. The man in the corner nodded, and the waitress appeared with a heaping tray, crying, "More for everyone, it's on the house!" We all surged forward for our share, and the rest of the evening was full of great fun and storytelling. IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE SAVAGE FRONTIER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gateway to the Savage Frontier covers a wide geographical area, ranging from the coast of the Trackless see in the west, to the edge of the Great Desert in the east. Most of the population of this area lives in the towns and cities, with farming communities clustered around the built-up areas. TOWNS AND CITIES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ YARTAR is where you start the game and will serve as a convenient home base. A trading town located on the River Surbrin, just north of where it joins the Dessarin, it lies at the junction of the river and the Evermoor Way, one of the two primary east-west trading routes in the region. ASCORE is no longer a city at all. Once a thriving dwarven seaport when the Great Desert was the Narrow Sea, it shrank to nothingness when the waters receded and the land dried and turned to dust. Travel here is very perilous and not recommended for any but the most experienced parties. EVERLUND is located on the overland route between Silverymoon and Yartar and prospers as a trading town due to its location. LLORKH lies on the ancient trade routes that follow the long path along the edge of the Great Desert. Long a Dwarven stronghold, the town has recently come under the rule of a human magic-user, Lord Geildarr. The stories of what is going on in this mining and trading center are jumbled and contradictory but none are good. LOUDWATER, with a population that includes many half-elves, lies in the southern part of the region. Its fields are so green, and its walls so overgrown with vines that it almost seems to be part of the High Forest, which lies just to the north. LUSKAN, located on the northwest coast, is a city ruled by Northman see captains who retired here years ago. There are stories that its leaders are actually former pirates who continue to sponser attacks on shipping, and that other evil forces have allied with them to enforce their rule in the city. Luskan is hostile to many of the other cities in the region - especially Neverwinter - and rumors of impending war surface periodically. NESME, on the river Surbrin, at the western edge of the Trollmoors, is a trading town. Its old wooden stockade has seen more than one troll assault, and Nesme riders patrol to keep the area near the city clear of monsters. NEVERWINTER lies west of Neverwinter Wood, and is famed for its indoor gardens and fine craftsman who can even craft magical weapons. Its people are friendly to outsiders. The Neverwinter River, which runs through the area, is warm even in the snows of winter, and no one knows why. A magic shop - a rarity in the Savage Frontier - is also located here. PORT LLAST is a small town on the central coast. Once a major seaport, the centuries have seen its decline until now stonecutting is its most important trade. SECOMBER, a quiet town to the southwest is ssaid to be home to an eccentric magic-user who continually creates clever new items and devices. SILVERYMOON, in the northeast area of the region, is a large city known for its magicians. An invisible magic bridge spans the River Rauvin as it flows through the city. A magic college and items shop is located here as well. SUNDABAR, in the far northeastern area, is a former dwarven stronghold now rebuilt by humans into one of the largest towns in the northern Realms. It trades with dwarven miners to the north and with Silverymoon and Everlund to the west. FORESTS ~~~~~~~ THE HIGH FOREST dominates the center of the region. Although its vast expanse is known to harbor peaceful as well as hostile creatures, traversing it is dangerous and should not be attempted until your party has grown very strong. NEVERWINTER WOOD is likewise dangerous for travel. Local legend has it that even raiding orc parties choose to go around the Wood rather than through it. THE TROLLMOORS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Trollmoors, located in the north central area of the region, are a dangerous expanse of low, windswept, blighted hills. As their name indicates, the local inhabitatants are both unfriendly and dangerous. THE GREAT DESERT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Great Desert of Anauroch is a hostile area filled with vile monsters and weather that swings from bitter heat to biting cold in moments and is a place to avoid at all costs. ISLANDS ~~~~~~~ GUNDARLUN, and its capital GUNDBARG are inhabited by Northmen. The island lies almost due west of Neverwinter, two days away by boat. Their status as an important shipping and resupply port, however, has made the inhabitants far more tolerant of other peoples, and you will usually find a warm welcome when you visit. THE PURPLE ROCKS are a group of small, rocky islands to the west of Gundarlun. Little is known about them, but outsiders are not welcome there. TUERN is also inhabited by Northmen. Its capitol of Uttersea is built into the side of a collapsed, extinct volcano. Other volcanos on the island still spew out molten lava. Its people tolerate outsiders but are by no means glad to see them. There are reports of a recent meteorite strike on Tuern, and meteorite ore is a key ingredient in some kinds of magical weapons. CHARACTERS AND PARTIES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You must have a party of adventurer players (PCs) to play Gateway to the Savage Frontier. For each character you must choose the following: a Race, a Class, and an Alignment. After you select these, the computer generates a set of Ability Scores that define your new character's natural strengths and weakness. To build a party you must make a mix of characters that have the range of skill needed for success, and then band them together. PLAYER RACES ~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are six races from which you may construct player characters, each with different talents and limitations. Tables are included in this HumbleDox Presentation which summerize the racial class limitations and ability score modifiers. The following describes each race and tells you which classes are open to them. DWARVES are a cunning race of sturdy workers and craftsmen. They are especially resistant to magic and poison. Dwarves receive bonuses when attacking man-sized giant-class creatures and are adept at dodging the attacks of larger giant-class creatures. Dwarves can be fighters, thieves, and fighter/thieves. ELVES are a tall, long-lived race. They are nearly immune to sleep and charm spells and are adept at finding hidden objects such as secret doors. Elves also receive bonuses whenattacking with swords and bows, although they cannot be raised from the dead. Elves can be fighters, magic-users, thieves, fighter/magic-users, fighter/thieves, magic-user/thieves, and fighter/magic- user/thieves. HALF-ELVES are hybrids, with many of the virtues of both humans and elves. Like their elve ancestors, they are resistant to Sleep and Charm spells and are adept at finding hidden objects. Half-elves can be fighters, magic-users, clerics, thieves, rangers, cleric/fighters, cleric/rangers, cleric/magic- users, fighter/magic-users, fighter/thieves, magic-user/thieves, cleric/ fighter/magic-users, or fighter/magic-user/thieves. GNOMES are shorter and slimmer than their dwarf cousins. They are especially resistant to magic. Gnomes receive bonuses when attacking man-sized giant- class creatures. Gnomes can be fighters, thieves and fighter/thieves. HALFLINGS are about the size of a human, hence their name. They are especially resisitant to magic and poison. They can be fighters, thieves, and fighter/thieves. HUMANS are the most common player-race in the forgotten Realms. They suffer no level racial limitations or ability score modifiers. Humans do have the disability of shorter life spans than the other races. This may be a problem when subjected to many Haste spells, which age the target one year. They can be fighters, magic-users, clerics, thieves, rangers, paladins, and dual class characters. ABILITY SCORES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Every character has six randomly generated ability scored as explained below. These scores fall within a range determined by the race and class of the character. The basic values range from 3 (low) to 18 (high) and there are tables of limitations, modifiers and bonuses included in this HumbleDox Presentation. Depending on the character class, one or more of these abilities will be a Prime Requisite. A prime requisite is an ability especially valuable to a given class. For example, strength is key for fighters and wisdom for clerics. Most characters receive bonus experience points when their prime requisite scores are 16 or greater. Non-human characters may receive modifiers to the basic ability scores to reflect differences between the races. Dwarves for instance, get a +1 constitution bonus and may have a maximum constitution of 19 instead of 18. When a character is generated, all racial modifiers are calculated automatically. STRENGTH (STR) is the measure of a character's physical power, muscle mass and stamina. Fighter-type characters may have exceptional strengths greater than 18 which are indicated by a percent value (01,02,03,...,98,99,00) following the base strength. High strength increases a character's combat ability with melee weapons. Strength also determines how much a character can carry without becoming encumbered and slowed in combat. INTELLIGENCE (INT) is the measure of how well a character can learn. WISDOM (WIS) is the measure of a character's ability to understand the ways of the world and to interact with the world. Clerics receive bonus spells for high wisdom. DEXTERITY (DEX) is the measure of a character's manual dexterity and agility. Thieves especially benefit from high dexterity. Dexterity affects how well a character can use ranged weapons (bows, dart, etc.) when he moves in a combat round and how difficult he is to hit in combat. CONSTITUTION (CON) is the measure of a character's overall health. Characters receive one extra hit point if their constitution is 15 or two points if it is 16. Fighter-types (fighters, rangers and paladins) receive additional bonuses for constitutions of 17 or 18. A character's constitution also determines the maximum number of times that character can be raised from the dead and the chance of a resurection attempt being successful. Every time a character is successfully resurrected, he loses 1 point of constitution. CHARISMA (CHA) is the measure of how others react to a character. CHARACTER CLASSES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A character must belong to at least one character class. Non-human characters can have more than one class at the same time. A non-human character with multiple classes has more playing options, but he increases in level more slowly because his experience points are divided evenly among all his classes. CLERICS have spells bestowed on them by their deities and can fight wearing armor and using crushing (not edged or pointed) weapons. Clerics must memorize their spells just as magic users, but they do not use spell books. When Clerics gain a new spell level, they can automatically use any of the available spells for the new level. The prime requisite for clerics is wisdom. FIGHTERS can fight with any armor or weapons but they cannot cast magic spells. The prime requisite for fighters is strength. RANGERS can fight with any armor or weapons. They do additional damage when fighting giant-class creatures, but must be of good alignment and have ability scores of at least 13 in strength and intelligence and at least 14 in wisdom and constitution. The prime requisites for rangers are strength, intelligence and wisdom. PALADINS can fight with any armor or weapons. They are resistant to spells and poison, and can turn undead creatures as if they were a cleric two levels below their current level. Paladins are also always surrounded by the equivalent of a Protection from Evil spell. A Paladin may heal two HP of damage per level once a day and may Cure Disease once a week at 1st-5th levels and twice a week a 6th-8th levels. Paladins will not adventure with any evil characters. Paladins must be of lawful good alignment and have ability scores of at least 9 in intelligence and constitution, at least 12 in strength, at least 13 in wisdom and at least 17 in charisma. The prime requisites for paladins are strength and wisdom. MAGIC-USERS have powerful spells, but can use no armor and few weapons. They can only memorize those spells available in their magical spell books or use scrolls. Magic-users may add spells into their spell books whenever they go up in level or find scrolls with spells they can scribe. The prime requisite for magic-users is intelligence. THIEVES can fight with swords and slings, but are limited to leather armor. In combat they do additional damage 'back stabbing', which is described in the Combat section. Thieves also have special skills for opening locks and removing traps. The prime requisite for thieves is dexterity. MULTI-CLASS are non-human characters who belong to two or more classes at the same time. The character's experience points are divided among each of the classes, even after the character can no longer advance in one or more of those classes. The character's hit points per level are averaged among the classes. The multi-class character gains all the benefits of all their classes with regard to weapons and equipment. DUAL-CLASS are human characters who had one class for the first part of their career, and then changed to a new class for the remainder. Once a changes classes, he cannot advance in his old class. Dual-class characters do not gain hit points and cannot use the abilities of the old class while their new class level is less than or equal to the old class level. Once the character's level in his new class is greater than his level in his old class, he gains hit points according to his new class and may use abilities from both classes. Human dual-class magic-users may not cast magic-user spells while they are wearing armor. ALIGNMENT ~~~~~~~~~ Alignment is the philosophy a character lives by and can affect how NPCs and some magic items in the game react to the character. The possibilities range from believing strongly in society and altruism (lawful good) to being anarchistic and actively unpleasant (chaotic evil). Alignment is presented in two parts: World View and Ethics. WORLD VIEW: ~~~~~~~~~~ LAWFUL indicates that the character values the structure and rules of society. NEUTRAL indicates that the character values both the individual and the society. CHAOTIC indicatesthat the character values the individual over the society. ETHICS: ~~~~~~ GOOD indicates that the character tries to act in moral and upstanding manner. NEUTRAL indicates that the character leans towards "situational ethics", evaluation each set of circumstances. EVIL indicates that the character acts without regard for others, or in an overtly malignant manner. OTHER ATTRIBUTES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Each character also has three other important values that change as the game goes on: Hit Points, Experience Points and Levels. HIT POINTS (HP) represent the amount of damage a character can take before he goes unconscious. To calculate a character's maximum HP, the computer rolls the character's hit dice and adds any adjustments for level or constitution. NOTE: Dice (d) is the term used to describe the range for a randomly generated number. Dice are referred to by the range they represent. A d6 has a range from 1 through 6, a d10 has a range from 1 through 10. HIT DICE refers to the base range of hit points a character class may have. For example a 3rd level fighter has a base of 3 d10 hit dice, or 3-30 hit points. A character gains a HP bonus to each hit die if his constitution is over 14. When a character takes enough damage that his HP reach 0, he is unconscious. If the character's HP drop to anything from -1 to -9, he will lose 1 HP per turn from bleeding until he is bandaged or dies. A character is dead if he has -10 HP or less. When you view a character, his HP on the screen will never be displayed as less than 0. EXPERIENCE POINTS (EXP) are a measure of what the character has learned while adventuring. Characters receive experience points for action such as fighting monsters, finding treasures and successfully completing quests. The computer keeps tract of experience and when characters earn enough they may advance in levels. See the Level Advancement Tables for each class's experience requirements. All characters start the game with 3,000 experience points. This means that single-class characters start at 2nd or 3rd level. LEVELS are a measure of how much a character has advanced in his class. When they have enough experience, characters may go to a training hall and receive the training required to increase in level. Characters may only advance one level at a time. If a character has gained enough experience to go up two or more levels since the last time he has trained, he will go up one level and lose all experience in excess of one point below the next level. Example: A 4th level thief enters a training hall with 20,521 experience points (enough for 6th-level). He will leave as a 5th-level thief with 20,000 experience points-- one point below 6th level. Characters cannot train for new levels once they have reached their maximum levels allowed in Gateway to the Savage Frontier BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL PARTY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forming a strong and adaptable party is a key to success in Gateway to the Savage Frontier. Up to six Player Characters (PC's) may be in a party - A party with fewer is less powerful and more likely to be eliminated by opponents. Include a variety of classes in a party to get a good mix of skills. Here are two sample parties as examples: Sample party 1 - Single Class Characters: 1 Elf Magic-User 1 Human Paladin 1 Dwarf Fighter/Thief 1 Half-elf Ranger 2 Human Clerics This party is balanced for combat, and will advance quickly because most characters are a single class. The magic-user can cast offensive spells and use wands. The Paladin has the benefit of Protection from Evin in a 10' radius. All characters in range of the effect get an AC improvement of two. The dwarv fighter/thief offers the advantages of a thief (lock picking and disarming traps) with the better armor and hit points of a fighter. Rangers do extra damage against giant type creatures and start with extra hit points. Clerics are absolutely essential for valuable healing spells. Sample party 2 - Multi-Class Characters: 2 Half-elf Cleric/Magic-users 2 Elf Fighter/Magic Users 1 Dwarf Fighter/Thief 1 Human Paladin This party is much more flexible than the first, but will advance much more slowly because of the multi-class characters. OUTFITTING THE PARTY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following are some suggestions for outfitting your party in Yartar: * Fighter Classes: Buy shields, splint mail, broad swords, long bows and arrows. * Magic-users: Buy quarterstaffs and darts. * Clerics: Buy splint mail, shields, staff slings, and maces. * Thieves: Buy leather armor, short swords, short bows, and arrows. PREPARATION TIPS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once your party has been outfitted, encamp at an Inn and ready your weapons, armor, and shields. Then have all spellcasters memorize spells. Finally save the game before continuing. COMBAT ~~~~~~ Adventurers must battle their way through many dangerous foes to complete the adventure. The following sections offer some more information and tips for combat. COMBAT MAP ~~~~~~~~~~ Battle takes place on a tactical combat map that is more detailed view of the terrain that the party was on when the combat began. This map is set up with an invisible square grid. INITIATIVE ~~~~~~~~~~ Each round of combat is divided into 10 segments. Every character and foe acts on a specific segment based on initiative. Initiative is generated at the start of each combat round, and is modified by dexterity and random factors such as surprise. Casting spells may take extra time to perform, so often a spell-caster will begin his spell on his segment and have it go off a few segments later. COMPUTER CONTROL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In Combat, the players controls the actions of PCs. The computer controls the actions of monsters, NPCs and PCs set to computer control with the QUICK command. COMBAT ABILITY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Each characters ability in combat is defined by his AC, THAC0 and Damage. AC ~~ A character or monster's difficulty to be hit is represented by his armor class or AC. The lower the AC, the harder it is to hit the target. AC is based on armor and a dexterity bonus. Some magic items such as some bracers also help improve a character's AC. THAC0 ~~~~~ The character's THAC0 represents his ability to hit enemies in melee or with missile fire. THAC0 stands for To Hit Armor Class 0. This is the number a character must 'roll' equal or greater than to do damage on a target with an AC of 0. The lower the THAC0, the better the chance to hit the target. Note: The generation of a random number is often referred to as a 'roll'. In determining if an attack hit, the number generated is from 1 through 20. An attack is successful if the random number is greater than or equal to the attacker's THAC0 minus the target's AC. THAC0 may be modified by range, attacking from the rear, magic weapons and magic spells among other things. DAMAGE ~~~~~~ When a hit is scored, the attacker does damage. Damage is the range of HP loss the attacker inflicts when he hits an opponent in combat and it depends on the attacker's strength and weapon type. The damage each weapon can do is summarized in the Weapon Table, refer to the tables. Some monsters take only partial or no damage from certain weapon types. Skeletons, e.g., take only half damage from sharp or edged weapons, while some other monsters only take damage from magical weapons. ATTACKING ~~~~~~~~~ There are two basic types of combat: Melee and Ranged (or Missle). The following describes each type and other rules governing combat: Melee Combat ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Melee combat is face-to-face fighting with weapons such as swords and maces. Only when using melee weapons can characters receive strength bonuses. During melee combat fighters can sometimes overpower several small foes, and thieves have opportunities to back stab. Ranged Combat ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ranged combat is firing at distant enemies with weapons such as bows or darts. A character with a missile weapon (bow, sling, etc.) may not attack when adjacent to an enemy. Two arrows or three darts can be fired per turn. When opponents get too close for ranged combat, characters must switch to melee weapons. Multiple Attacks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When fighting small creatuers, fighter-types (fighters, rangers and paladins) may 'sweep' through several weak opponents in one combat round. When a character sweeps, he automatically attacks all of the weak opponents. Back Stabbing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A thief back stabs if he attacks a target from exactly opposite the first character to attack the target. The thief may not back stab if he has readied armor heavier than leather. A back stab has a better chance of hitting the defender and does additional damage. Saving Throws ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Attacks such as poison or spells do not automatically have their full effect on a target. Victims may get a Saving Throw to avoid some or all of the effect. If the saving throw is successful, generally the target suffers either no effect or only half damage. As characters gain levels, saving throws improve. Note: ~~~~ Some monsters have magical resistance which decreases their chance of being affected by spells. COMBAT MOVEMENT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The number of squares a character can move is affected by the weight he's carrying, his strength and the kind of armor he has readied. A character's movement range is displayed on the view screen and during the character's segment in combat. Combat movement is important for both closing quickly with opponents (and stopping missle fire) and fleeing from battles that are too tough. Running Away ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A character may flee from the battlefield if he can move faster than all enemies, but not if he moves slower than any enemies. A character has a 50% chance to move off the battlefield if he can move as fast as the fastest monster. Exception: if a monster or character can reach the edge of the combat map without any of his opponents being able to see him, he may then flee successfully even though he is slower than his opponents. Returning To The Party ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A character that moves off the battlefield returns to the party after the fight is over. If all active characters flee combat, any dead or unconscious characters are lost. If a whole party flees, it will not receive any experience points for monsters killed before retreating. COMBAT STRATEGIES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To succeed in combat, a skilled player deploys his party well, casts effective spells before and during combat, maneuvers his characters into advantageous positions and attacks using his most powerful characters and weapons. Deploying the Party ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When a battle begins, your party is automatically positioned based on the order list of the characters. Characters near the top of the order will be in front lines and vulnerable to attack. To change the starting deployment, change the order from the Alter menu while encamped. Shift the heavily-armored fighters up the list and the vulnerable magic-users and thieves towards the bottom of the list. Party order cannot be changed while in combat, although they are free to move. When battle begins, your party may be placed in a bad position. Get an idea of the situation, and move characters into position. Sometimes the best strategy is offensive: Charginf with fighters to close ground and stop enemy missle fire. Other times the best strategy is defensive: Moving your characters to anchor their flanks on an obstacle such as a wall or tree. Setting up behind a doorway that your enemies have to move through makes for a very strong defensive position. Always keep magic-users and missle weapons safe behind the front line. Wounded Characters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Characters who are seriously injured should be moved out of the front lines if possible. Remember: if you move away from an adjacent enemy, he gets a free attack at your back and has an improved chance to hit. Stopping Ranged Attacks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Missile weapons cannot be fired if there is an adjacent opponent. If you want to fire missiles, make sure you keep away from the enemy. To stop enemy missile fire, move someone next to the opponent. Exploiting Enemies Weaknesses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Exploit your opponents' weaknesses by directing attacks against helpless, wounded or isolated foes. Concentrate your attacks to eliminate one opponent rather than injure many (Exception: enemy spell casters). A foe with one hit point remaining attacks as powerful as an uninjured one. Spell casters cannot fire spells after they have taken damage in a round and they will lose any spells they are in the process of casting when they are hit. Try to keep enemy spell casters under attack every round while protecting your own. AFTER COMBAT ~~~~~~~~~~~~ If one or more characters survive on the battlefield at the end of combat, the bodies of unconscious or dead party members stay with the party. If the entire party flees from combat, all unconscious and dead party members are permanently lost. If ALL the party members are slain, go back to your last Saved Game and try again from that point. MAGIC ~~~~~ Magic is integral to the survival of the party. Magic-users cast many powerful offensive and defensive spells. Clerics cast healing spells to revive wounded characters as well as both defensive and offensive spells. A spell can exist in one of four forms: in a character's memory, in a character's spell book, in a scroll or in a wand. A spell-caster with a memorized spell can cast it using the CAST command. Spells are memorized during rest while encamped. Spells in scrolls or wands are cast with the USE command. Memorizing a spell takes 15 minutes of game time per spell level, plus a minimum period of preparation of four hours, plus two hours for 3rd level spells. For example, first and second level spells take a minimum preparation of four hours, while third level spells take six hours. Example: To memorize (2) first-level spells, (1) second level spell and (1) third-level spell would take: (6 hours preparation) + (2*15min) + (1*30min) + (1*45min) = 7 hours 45 min. MAGIC-USERS ~~~~~~~~~~~ When a magic-user trains for a new level, he selects a new spell to add to his spell book. A magic-user can also scribe spells from identified scrolls if he is of high enough level to cast them. A magic-user must cast the Read Magic spell or have a scroll identified in a shop before he can scribe or cast from it. The scroll disappears after it has been scribed or cast. CLERICS ~~~~~~~ Clerical magic requires no spell books. All clerical spells of the appropriate level are always available to a cleric, the character need only memorize them. Unlike magic-users, clerics can cast spells from scrolls without any preparation, but clerical scrolls also disappear after being cast. TIPS ON MAGIC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Both clerics and magic-users may cast spells which assist the party in combat. Preparatory spells cast just before a battle can protect and strengthen characters. Spells can be cast to damage foes during combat or to protect or heal comrades. Healing spells can be cast either during or after combat to revive wounded comrades. Spells should be rememorized as soon as possible after they are used. This is most likely to happen after combat. When in camp, have your spell- casters memorize spells and select REST to allow them to imprint the spells for later use. Selecting REST without choosing new spells has the spell- casters rememorize the spells they have cast since last resting. Note: Before resting, it is a good idea to save your game. We recommend that you save your game after every tough combat and that you keep at least two separate saved games at all times and alternate between them. This will allow you to go back to a save before that fatal battle. MAGICAL TREASURES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As you travel about and encounter the monsters and puzzles that stand between you and finishing your various quests, you will also find magical items to help you on your way. You can find out if there is a magic item in a treasure by doing a Detect Magic spell using the DETECT command. To find out specifically what an item is, you must take it to a shop and have it identified. Some Magic items are in reality cursed and can do great harm. When a character readies a cursed item, a Remove Curse spell must be cast before the item can be dropped. Some magic items may only be used by certain classes. Others may not work at all if certain other magic items are also in use. Here are the descriptions of some items that you may find. Remember: Some items are very rare, and you may not find all of them in your adventure. Wands ~~~~~ Wands are the traditional objects of enchantment. Wands generally will cast a set number of a given spell (for example 10 Fire Balls or 15 Magic Missles). Only experimentation or paying to have them identified will tell what a wand does. The USE command allows a character to cast spells with a readied wand. Potions ~~~~~~~ Potions are the most common sort of magical treasure. Potions may heal wounded characters, cause them to become hastened or invisible or cause any number of other effects. The USE command allows a character to drink a readied potion. Scrolls ~~~~~~~ Scrolls carry either for clerical or magic-user spells. A magic-user may use SCRIBE to transfer a scroll into his spell book if the spell is of a level he can memorize. Magic-users and clerics can both cast spells directly from scrolls with USE command, even if they could not otherwise memorize the spells. Scrolls disappear after they have been used or scribed. Enchanted Armor and Shields ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sometimes you may run across armor or shields that have been created by skilled craftsmen and then enchanted with protective spells. The power of the magic on these items may vary a great deal. Enchanted armor has the great advantage of offering improved protection with less encumbrance than the same type of mundane armor. To use these items, ready them from the Items Menu. Enchanted Weapons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enchanted weapons come in many sizes and shapes and potencies. Sometimes a weapon will add between one and four to your THAC0 and damage. Other weapons may have other magical properties including extra bonuses against specific types of creatures. Once a magic weapon has been readied from the Items Menu, the character will have it for all combats. Enchanted Adornments ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bracers, necklaces, periapts and especially rings are favorite objects for magical enchantment. These items may have any number of magical properties. Some items will help you AC, others may fire Magic Missiles, or offer protection from fire-based attacks. Once one of these items has been readied from the Items Menu, a character will automatically gain all effects. The exception to this rule is that certain magical necklaces require the USE command to work. Enchanted Clothing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wizards will sometimes cast enchantments on commonplace items of clothing such as gauntlets or cloaks. A wide variety of these items are know to exist. To use these items, READY them from the Items Menu. CREATURES OF THE SAVAGE FRONTIER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The denizens of these regions are many and varied. Here is a list of monsters you may encounter in your adventures. Some of these creatures are extremely rare, and you may never cross pathes with them at all. ANKHEGS are burrowing monsters usually found in forests and farming areas. They resemble legged worms armed with wicked mandibles and sharply hooked limbs. BASILISKS are reptilian monsters whose very gaze can turn to stone any fleshy creature. BOARS (WILD) are a type of undomesticated swine with long tusks and mean dispositions. BUGBEARS are giant, hairy cousins of goblins. They stand about 7' tall and are powerful warriors. DISPLACER BEASTS resemble a six-legged puma with two ebony tentacles growing from behind its shoulders. These beasts have the magical ability to displace their image about three feet from their actual body, making them especially tricky opponents. DRAGONS are some of the most powerful and dangerous monsters a party can encounter. The older and larger the dragon, the more damage it can do and the harder it is to kill. EFREET are genies from the elemental plane of fire. These creatures are immune to all forms of fire, but can be hit by other magical attacks. ETTIN look like giant two-headed orcs. They have great strength and can wield two spiked clubs that inflict terrible damage in combat. FROG (GIANT) resemble their smaller kin in everything but size. Giant frogs have been known to swallow adventurers up whole. GHOULS are undead creatures who feed on the flesh of the still living. Their attack can paralyze all races of characters except elves. GIANTS vary greatly in power, intelligence, and tastes. Below are some of the types of giants you are likely to encounter. FIRE GIANTS are brutal and ruthless warriors who resemble huge dwarves and have flaming red or orange hair and coal black skin. HILL GIANTS are one of the smaller of the giant races, they are brutish hulks possessing low intelligence and tremendous strength. GNOLLS are large, evil, hyena-like humanoids that roam in loosely organized packs. They attack by overwhelming unwary victims with their numbers. GOBLINS are small, nasty humanoids -- they would be of little concern except for their great numbers. GOLEMS are magically created automations of great power. Golems can be constructed of flesh, clay, stone, or iron -- all are dangerous. GRIFFONS are half-lion, half-eagle avian carnivores. Their favorite prey is horses and their distant kin (hippogriffs, pegasi, and unicorns) HARPIES are wicked avian humanoids that prey upon nearly all creatures but prefer the flesh of humans and demihumans. HELL HOUNDS are other-planar creatures resembling wolves, but they can breathe fire and detect invisible enemies. HOBGOBLINS are fierce humanoid warriors. They are intelligent, organized, and aggressive. Many times lesser humanoids will band together under a hobgoblin leader. LIZARDS (GIANT) are similar to their smaller kin in appearance and habit, although instead of eating insects, they prefer something more man-sized. MANTICORES are a strange mix with lions' torso and legs, bats' wings, spike tipped tains, and human heads. They can fire volleys of spikes from their tails and have a great appetite for human flesh. MARGOYLES are stoney monsters that are immune to normal weapons and can attack many times with their sharp claws and spikes. MEDUSAE are hideous women-creatures with coiling masses of snakes for hair. They can turn a person to stone with their gaze. MUMMIES are a powerful form of undead. They are driven by an unholy hatred of natural life. OGRES are large, ugly, foul-tempered humanoids. Ogres generally attack with a spiked club. ORCS are one of the most common, and disliked, of the demihumand races. They are aggressive and warlike. OTYUGH are scavengers armed with long tentacles that they use to scoop trash into their cavernous mouths. OWLBEARS are thought to be a hybrid created by some long-forgotten wizard. They have the body of a large bear, and the head and slashing beak of a giant owl. Owlbears are vicious, evil tempered, and ravenous. SALAMANDERS are natives of the elemental plane of Fire and so are immune to all fire-based attacks. They are dangerous foes because of their evil nature and the fact that they can only be hit by magical weapons. SCRAGS also called river trolls, live in waterways and are related to trolls. They perhaps are the most feared of all troll-kind. SKELETAL WARRIORS are a more powerful type of skeleton. SKELETONS are one of the weaker types of undead. These creatures are animated by evil wizards or clerics and are often used as guardians or warriors. SLUGS (GIANT) are huge, omnivorous mutations of the common garden pest. They attack by biting and can spit a highly corrosive acid. SNAKES (GIANT) are similar to their smaller kin and slay their prey with deadly venom. Neutralize poison counters snake bites. SPIDERS (GIANT) are giant cousins of the small predator. They attack with a poisonous bite. SQUIDS (LARGE) are dangerous varieties of the smaller sea creature. They are known to attack travellers on the Trackless Sea. STIRGES are bird-like creatures that drink the blood of their victims. They are not terribly dangerous except in large numbers. TIGERS are carnivorours predators that are sometimes trained for combat. TROLLS are ravenous horrors found in almost all climates and locales. They attack with their dirty, clawed hands and must be killed quickly because they regenerate hit points. WYVERN are distant relatives of dragons. They attack by biting and using the poisonous sting in their tail. ZOMBIES are mindless, animated undead controlled by evil wizards or clerics. While more dangerous than skeletons, they move very slowly and can be damaged by holy water. SPELL DESCRIPTIONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First Level Clerical Spells ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BLESS improves the THAC0 of friendly characters by 1. The bless spell does not affect characters who are adjacent to monsters when the spell is cast. This is a good spell to cast before going into combat. CURSE impairs the THAC0 of targets by 1. The target cannot be adjacent to a party character or NPC. CURE LIGHT WOUNDS heals 1-8 HP (up to the target's normal maximum HP). CAUSE LIGHT WOUNDS inflicts 1-8 HP of damage on the target. DETECT MAGIC indicates which equipment or treasure is magical. After casting the spell, view a character's items or Take treasure items. Equipment or treasure preceded by an '*' or a '+' is magical. PROTECTION FROM EVIL improves the AC and saving throws of the target by 2 against evil attackers. PROTECTION FROM GOOD improves the AC and saving throws of the targer by 2 against good attackers. RESIST COLD halves the damage and improves saving throws vs. cold attacks by 3. Second Level Clerical Spells ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FIND TRAPS indicates the presence of traps in the character's path. HOLD PERSON may paralyze targets of character type (human, dwarf, etc.) You may aim a hold person spell at up to 3 targets. (Use the EXIT command to target fewer). RESIST FIRE halves the damage and improves saving throws vs. fire attacks by 3. SILENCE 15' RADIUS must be cast on a character or a monster. That character or monster and all adjacent to him, cannot cast spells for the duration of the spell. SLOW POISON revives a poisoned person for the duration of the spell. SNAKE CHARM paralyzes as many HP of snakes as the cleric has HP. SPIRITUAL HAMMER creates a temporary magic hammer that is automatically readied. It can strike at range and does normal hammer damage. Spiritual hammers can hit monsters that may only be struck with magic weapons. Third Level Clerical Spells ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BESTOW CURSE reduces the target's THAC0 and saving throws by 4. CAUSE BLINDNESS will blind one target. This can only be cured by a Cure Blindness Spell. CURE BLINDNESS removes the effect of the Cause Blindness spell. CAUSE DISEASE infects the target with a debilitating ailment that saps strength and hit points. CURE DISEASE removes the effects of disease caused by some monsters or by a Cause Disease spell. DISPEL MAGIC removes the effects of spells that do not have specific counter spells. This is a recuperation spell for nay of the party that has been held, slowed or made nauseous. PRAYER improves the THAC0 and saving throws of friendly characters by one and reduces the THAC0 and saving throw of monsters by one. This is a good spell to cast before going into combat. Prayer is not cumulative with Bless or other Prayer spells. REMOVE CURSE removes the effects of a Bestow Curse spell and allows the target to unready cursed magic items. First Level Magic-User Spells ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BURNING HANDS causes one HP of fire damage per level of the caster. There is no saving throw. CHARM PERSON changes the target's allegiance in a combat so that an opponent will fight for the caster's side. It only affects character types (human, dwarf, etc.) DETECT MAGIC indicates which equipment or treasure is magical. View a character's items or Take treasure items. Equipment or treasure preceded by an '*' or a'+' are magical. ENLARGE makes the target larger and stronger. The higher the caster's level, the larger and stronger the target gets. FRIENDS raises the caster's charisma 2-8 points. It is often cast just before dealing with NPCs. MAGIC MISSILE does 2-5 HP per missile with no saving throw. A magic-user throws one missile at first-second level, two missiles at third-fourth level, three missiles at fifth-sixth level and four missiles at seventh- eighth level. This spell will damage any target within its range unless the target is magic resistant or has certain magical protection. Casts instantaneously. PROTECTION FROM EVIL improves the AC and saving throws of the target by two against evil attackers. READ MAGIC allows a magic-user to ready a scroll and read it. For scrolls, this works as if they have been identified. A magic-user may scribe the spells from a scroll if appropriate for his class and level. SHIELD negates the magic missile spell, improves the magic-users saving throw and may increase his AC. SHOCKING GRASP does electrical damage of 1-8 HP, +1 HP per level of caster. SLEEP puts 1-16 targets (depending on hit dice of the targets) to sleep with no saving throw. Gor example, up to sixteen 1 hit-die targets can be affected, while only one 4 hit-die target can be affected. Targets of 5 or more hit-dice are unaffected. Second Level Magic-user Spells ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DETECT INVISIBILITY allows the target to spot invisible targets. INVISIBILITY makes the target invisible. The THAC0 of melee attacks against invisible targets is reduced by four. It is impossible to aim ranged attacks at invisible targets. Invisibility is dispelled when the target attacks or casts a spell. KNOCK is used to open locks. It can be cast from the door-opening menu if the active character has a memorized knock spell. MIRROR IMAGE creates a 1-4 illusionary duplicates of the magic-user. A duplicate disappears when it is attacked. RAY OF ENFEEBLEMENT reduces the target's damage by 25% + 2% per level of the caster. STINKING CLOUD paralyzes those in its area for 2-5 rounds. If the target saves, it is not paralyzed, but is nauseous and has its AC reduced for two rounds. STRENGTH raises the strength of the recipient one to eight points depending on the class of the target. Third Level Magic-user Spells ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BLINK protects the magic-user. The magic-user 'blinks out' after he acts each round. Although the magic-user may be physically attacked before he acts each round, he may not be physically attacked after he acts. DISPEL MAGIC removes the effects of spells that do not have specific counter spells. This is a recuperation spell for any of the party that has been held, slowed, or made nauseous. FIREBALL does 1-6 HP of damage per level of the caster to all targets within its area. If the target makes its saving throw, damage is halved. Fireball is a slow-casting spell and the spell's power demands that you target carefully. Use the CENTER command to determine who will be in the area of effect. HASTE double the target's movement and number of melee attacks per round. Haste has a short duration and you should wait until a fight is imminent to cast it. WARNING: each time a haste spell is cast on a character, that character ages one year. HOLD PERSON may paralyze targets of character type (human, dwarf, etc.) You may aim a hold person spell at up to four targets (Use the EXIT command to target fewer). INVISIBILITY, 10' RADIUS makes all targets adjacent to the caster invisible. The THAC0 of melee attacks against invisible targets is reduced by four. It is impossible to aim ranged attacks at invisible targets. Use this spell to set up a battle line while your enemies seek you out. Characters lose invisibility if they do anything but move. Some monsters can see invisible creatures. LIGHTNING BOLT is a magical electrical attack that does 1-6 HP of damage per level of the caster to targets along its path. If the target makes its saving throw, the damage is halved. A lightning bolt is four or eight squares long in a line away from the caster. For best results, send the bolt down a row of opponents. Lightning bolts also reflect off walls back towards the spell caster. Targets adjacent or close to a wall may be hit twice by the same bolt. PROTECTION FROM EVIL, 10' RADIUS protects the target and all characters adjacent to the target. The spell improves the AC and saving throws of those it protects by two against attackers of evil alignment. PROTECTION FROM GOOD, 10' RADIUS protects the target and all characters adjacent to the target. The spell improves the AC and saving throws of those it protects by 2 against attackers of good alignment. PROTECTION FROM NORMAL MISSLES makes the target immune to non-magical missles. SLOW affects one target per level of caster and halves the target's movement and number of melee attacks per round. Slow can be used to negate a haste spell and only affects the side opposing the spell caster. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gateway To The Savage Frontier Rule Book / Tables / Data Card INTRODUCTION ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome to the official ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS computer product, Gateway to the Savage Frontier, a FORGOTTEN REALMS fantasy role-playing epic. This game is based on the rules and background created by TSR, Inc. and a story line created especially for this game. Your party of adventurers has just finished a commision escorting a heavily laden caravan from Citadel Abdar to the town of Yartar. With purses full of conspiciously clinking gold, your characters spend their first night in town feasting, listening to golden-voiced bards, and revelling. Unfortunately the characters in your party made one too many acquaintences that night... In the morning the characters wake up in their room and look around in dismay. Everything is gone except spell books and a bag of coins that had been hidden in the room under a pillow. Armor, equipment, everything stolen! There is no time left for pointless anger or grumbling. The party must purchase new equipment, and find work. Find a shop and buy each character weapons and armor. After your characters are equipped, the party is ready to begin adventuring. GETTING STARTED QUICKLY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GATEWAY TO THE SAVAGE FRONTIER comes with a ready-made party that allows you to begin adventuring immediately. Use the instructions on the Data Card to load the saved game that has been provided and being playing. Use these rules to answer any questions during play. USING MENUS ~~~~~~~~~~~ All commands are menu based, and the concept of the active character is central to the game. Outside of combat the active character's name is highlighted on the display. During combat the active character is surrounded with a cursor at the start of his combat segment. Generally you make a character active by selecting him from a vertical party list. During combat the computer selects the active character (or foe). If a command affects the whole party, just select the command. If the command affects one character, make that character active and then choose the command. Example: ~~~~~~~~ To look at a character's items: Select the character, and select the VIEW then ITEMS commands. To have the entire party camp, simply select the ENCAMP command. Menus are displayed either vertically or horizontally. Vertical menus select the character, item, or spell to be acted upon. If there are more choices than will fit on the screen at one time, use the NEXT and PREV commands to view the additional selections. Example: ~~~~~~~~ When purchasing items, selections are made from a vertical list of equipment. Horizontal menus list available icons. In the rules, menus are shown with all of their options, although in some cases, options will not be available every time a menu appears. Example: ~~~~~~~~ TREASURE MENU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VIEW TAKE POOL SHARE DETECT EXIT The options TAKE and SHARE will only appear if there is treasure to take. The option DETECT will only appear if there is a treasure and the active character has a Detect Magic spell available. The rule book only shows the general game menus. Special menus appear with many encounters that indicate available options. BEGINNING TO PLAY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To begin playing the game you must load a saved game or generate characters and band them together into a party. This first menu gives you the initial options: CREATE NEW CHARACTER ADD CHARACTER TO PARTY LOAD SAVED GAME INITIALIZE MOUSE/JOYSTICK (Some Computer Systems) EXIT TO DOS (Some Computer Systems) CREATE NEW CHARACTER is used to build a character. Detailed information about characters, races, classes and so on is available in the Journal under Characters and Parties. This command displays the following menus to define the character. * PICK RACE lists the six races you can choose for a player-character. * PICK GENDER lists the sex the character can be. Gender affects the character's maximum strength. * PICK CLASS lists the class or classes the character is qualified for based on race. * PICK ALIGNMENT lists all the possible alignments for the character based on character class. The computer randomly generates the character's ability scores after you choose alignment. If you are not happy with the character's scores you may roll them again. Remember that you can use the MODIFY CHARACTER command on the Party Creation/Hall Menu to change the character's ability scores and hit points (HP) after the character has been generated. * NAME CHARACTER provides a 15 letter space to type in the character's name. This name will be automatically saved to disk. On some computer systems the character is named after the abilities scores are generated, on others the name is entered after the combat icon is selected. * SELECT COMBAT ICON allows you to design the shape that will represent the character in combat. Customize this icon to represent the character's favorite weapon, armor and colors. Different computers and graphic adapters have different capabilities; experiment to create the best icon for each character. The combat icon may be altered during the game using the ALTER command from the Encamp Menu. * EXIT from any of the character creation menus returns you to the Party Creation/Training Hall Menu. ADD CHARACTER TO PARTY allows you to add individual characters to the party from the saved game disk or directory. A party is a group of characters composed of up to six player characters (called PCs) and up to two non-player characters (called NPCs). A party should have a balanced mix of characters with different classes. For more information about building parties see Characters and Parties Section in the Journal. LOAD SAVED GAME permits you to resume a previously saved game. The saved game provided with GATEWAY TO THE SAVAGE FRONTIER can also be loaded. MODIFYING CHARACTERS AND PARTIES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Party Creation/Training Hall Menu shows the characters currently in your party and lists the commands for creating and modifying the party. Not all of the options are available at all times. Party Creation/Training Hall Menu CREAT NEW CHARACTER DROP CHARACTER MODIFY CHARACTER TRAIN CHARACTER (Training Hall Only) HUMAN CHANGE CLASS (Training Hall Only) VIEW CHARACTER ADD CHARACTER TO PARTY REMOVE CHARACTER FROM PARTY LOAD SAVED GAME SAVE CURRENT GAME BEGIN ADVENTURING EXIT TO DOS (Some Computer Systems) DROP CHARACTER eliminates a character from the party and erases him from the saved game disk. A dropped character CANNOT be recovered. MODIFY CHARACTER allows you to change ability scores and HP. Use to change a character generated in GATEWAY TO THE SAVAGE EMPIRE to match the ability scores of a favorite AD&D game character. A character cannot be modified once he has begun adventuring TRAIN CHARACTER (Hall only) increases a character's level when he has gained enough experience points. Choose the character to train and if he has sufficient XP he will be able to advance one level. If a character has gained enough XP to advance more than one level, he will advance only one level and lose all XP in excess of one point below that required for advancement to the next level. See the section on Experience Points in the Journal for an example. Training takes no game time. When magic-users advance, they may add a spell to their spell books. See the Maximum Level Limits by Race, Class and Prime Requisite chart in the journal for level limits. HUMAN CHANGE CLASS allows a human character to become a dual-class character. Dual class characters lose the advantages of their first class until they exceed that level in the new class. For more information about dual class characters, look under Character Classes in the journal. VIEW CHARACTER displays a character. For more information see the Viewing Characters section ADD CHARACTER TO PARTY self explanatory, and note transferring characters presented earlier in this documentation. REMOVE CHARACTER FROM PARTY transfers a character from the party to the saved game disk. LOAD SAVED GAME self explanatory SAVE CURRENT GAME self explanatory BEGIN ADVENTURING starts the game EXIT TO DOS (Some computer systems) NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS (NPCs) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ During the game the party will encounter non-player (NPCs). They may talk to the party, attack or even offer to join. There are two kinds of NPCs: those who volunteer to join the party and those who will only give information or fight. NPCs that join the party are treated like player characters with a few differences. The computer commands NPCs in battle, and they have morale. If things are going badly for the party, NPCs may run. Items can be traded to some NPCs, but they cannot be traded from concious NPCs to other characters. If an NPC dies or is unconscious you can use the TRADE command on the Items Menu to take his items. Only two NPCs at a time may join the party and they may take a share of all treasures found. VIEWING CHARACTERS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The VIEW command displays the character summary screen. Characters have little money after being robbed at the start of the adventure. They accumulate wealth, in the form of gems, jewelry, and coins as they go. The values of gems and jewelry varies and can only be determined by having the items appraised in a shop. Coins always have the same values. Platinum coins are the most valuable while gold and copper are more common. The relative value of each kind of coin is as follows: 1 platinum piece (pp) = 5 gold pieces (gp) = 10 electrum pieces (ep) = 100 silver pieces (sp) = 1000 copper pieces (cp). Encumbrance is the total weight (in gp) the character is carrying. Combat movement is how many squares a character can move during a combat segment. This is based on his readied armor, strength and total encumbrance. CHARACTER STATUS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OKAY status means that the character has positive HP and can move and fight normally. UNCONSCIOUS status means that the character has exactly 0 HP. He cannot move or fight but is in no danger of dying. DEAD status means that the character has died. Non-elf characters have a chance of being resurrected with magic. The character's chance of being resurrected is influenced by his constitution. See the Constitution Table. FLED status means that the character fled from the battle. After the battle he will rejoin the party. STONE status means that the character has been turned to stone. The character can be returned to normal with a Stone to Flesh spell which is available at any temple. GONE status means that the character has been killed and the body lost. Nothing can bring the character back to life. From the View Menu several options are available to inspect the active character. Not all of these commands are available at all times. VIEW MENU ~~~~~~~~~ ITEMS SPELLS TRADE DROP HEAL CURE EXIT ITEMS shows all the equipment the character is carrying. Items preceded by a YES are ready for use. Not all commands in the Items Menu are always available. ITEMS MENU ~~~~~~~~~~ READY USE TRADE DROP HALVE JOIN SELL ID EXIT * READY changes the status of a weapon, armor or other item. Only readied items can be used in combat. Arrows are assumed to be in a quiver and can be readied at all times. Some items will take both hands when readied (bows, quarter staffs, etc.) some take only one (long swords, wands, etc.) and others take no hands (rings, armor, etc). On some systems there are items that can only be readied or unreadied while in either camp or combat. * USE activates an item. If you are using an item in combat, the Aim Menu will appear if the item can be targeted. See the Combat section for details about the Aim Menu. * TRADE transfers an item from the active character to another. Choose the character to trade to and then item or items to trade. Remember that a conscious NPC will not give up items. * DROP permanently removes items from a character. Dropped items cannot be recovered. * HALVE divides a bundle of some item into two bundles. For example, HALVE would turn one bundle of 42 arrows into two bundles of 21 arrows each. This is handy for dividing items to distribute among party members. * JOIN combines all similar items into one line. No more than 255 similar can be joined on one line. Many items, such as potions, cannot be joined. * SELL is described under the Shop Menu. * ID is described under the Shop Menu. SPELLS lists all of the spells a character has memorized and can cast. TRADE is used to transfer money, gems and jewelry from one character to another. Indicate which character is to receive, and then indicate what and how much is traded to the other character. DROP permanently removes money from a character. Dropped money my not be recovered. HEAL (Paladin only) is an ability of paladins. Paladins may heal two HP (per level) of damage each day. Select the HEAL command, then the character to be healed. This command is only displayed when a paladin has healing available. CURE (Paladin Only) is another ability of the paladins identical to the clerical spell Cure Disease. A paladin may cure once per week at levels 1-5, twice 6-8. This option is only displayed if the paladin has a cure available. ADVENTURING ~~~~~~~~~~~ After setting up your party and reading the background information in the Adventurer's Journal, it is time to head for adventure, fame, and glory. Your adventuring party will engage in fierce battles and find treasures. Sometimes they have to stop, heal wounds and memorize spells for future use. Display Screens and Points of View ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gateway to the Savage Frontier uses four different points of view: 3-D, Area, Wilderness and Combat. 3-D appears in towns and underground. The view appears at the top left of your screen and shows the surrounding area from the partie's perspec- tive. Rotate the party's facing and move using the directional controls. The direction controlls are described on the data card. Area provides an overhead view of the party's surroundings, replacing the 3-D view. Choose the AREA command from the Adventure Menu. This view is not available in all regions. In the area display a cursor shows the party's position. On some computer systems the cursor is an arrow that indicates current party facing. On some computer systems you may move around while in the area view, on others this view is only to help you get your bearings. To the right of the point of the view window, in either 3-D or Area, are the map coordinates, current time, facing direction (N,S,W,E) and what the party is doing (searching, camping, etc.) Wilderness view displays a map in the view window with a cursor indicating that party's current location. You get to view this when you leave a town or other developed area. Use the cursor keys to move around on the map and go from location to location. Combat view occurs automatically whenever the party engages in battle. The combat screen is a detailed view of the are the party is in when the encounter begins. ADVENTURING OPTIONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following menus control most adventuring options: Adventure Menu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MOVE AREA CAST VIEW ENCAMP SEARCH LOOK MOVE places you in a mode where you use the direction controls to move and turn your party. Normally, each move forward takes one minute of game time. If the party has Search on, each move takes ten minutes. Select the EXIT to return to the Adventure Menu from movement. AREA toggles between the area and 3-D view. In many regions this command is not available. CAST displays the Cast Menu if the active character is a spell-caster. See the Magic section for more information. Some spells only have an effect in combat. VIEW displays the Character Summary Screen and the View Menu. ENCAMP displays the Encamp Menu. See the Encamp section for a description of the available commands. SEARCH toggles searching on and off. A party moving with search off is moving at a normal rate of one minute per move. With search on the party takes 10 minutes per move because they are checking for secret doors, traps, etc. When a party has Search on, SEARCH will be displayed on the screen to the right of the point of view window. Because the party is moving very slowly with search on, the chance for random encounters is greatly increased. LOOK is used to search an individual square and takes ten minutes of game time (like moving while searching). ENCAMPING ~~~~~~~~~ The Encamp Menu includes options such as saving the game, resting to heal and memorize spells and altering items such as game speed or party order. Encamp Menu ~~~~~~~~~~~ SAVE VIEW MAGIC REST ALTER FIX EXIT SAVE stores the characters and current game to the saved game disk or directory. Save often - especially after surviving really tough encounters. VIEW displays Character Summary Screen for the active character. MAGIC is a very important part of GATEWAY TO THE SAVAGE FRONTIER and is described under its own heading. REST allows characters to memorize spells and to heal naturally. Characters catch their normal sleep without having to encamp. Spell- casters can automatically re-memorize any spells they have cast simply by selecting REST. To choose new spells for memorizing, or make initial selections, use the MAGIC and the MEMORIZE options. When spells are being memorized, the initial rest time is established by the number and level of spells selected to memorize. For every 24 uninterrupted hours of rest in camp, each wounded character regains one HP. Rest can be interrupted by encounters. If possible, find safe places to take long rests, such as an inn or places that you are told are safe during the game. Rest Menu ~~~~~~~~~ REST DAYS HOURS MINUTES ADD SUBTRACT EXIT * REST begins resting process. Unless interrupted, the party will rest for the indicated time. * DAYS/HOURS/MINUTES selects the unit of time to be changed by ADD and SUBTRACT options. Not available on all computer systems * ADD/SUBTRACT increases or decreases the time that the party will attempt to rest. Decreasing the time may not allow spellcasters to memorize all of their spells. ALTER is used to change the characters in the party and the parameters of the game. Alter Menu ~~~~~~~~~~ ORDER DROP SPEED ICON LEVEL EXIT * ORDER changes how the characters are listed on the screen and how they are deployed in combat. Characters at the top of the list tend to be at the front line in combat. * DROP eliminates a character from the party and erases him from the saved game disk. A dropped character is gone forever and cannot be recovered. * SPEED controls the rate at which messages are printed non the screen. If the game messages are displayed to slow, use the FASTER command and vice versa. * ICON is used to change a character's combat icon. * LEVEL permits you to adjust combat difficulty. After choosing LEVEL, you will see the following menu. Level Menu ~~~~~~~~~~ NOVICE SQUIRE VETERAN ADEPT CHAMPION EXIT The game is preset at the Veteran level. This is the level at which we consider the game to be "balanced." To make the combat encounters easier, choose either the Novice (easiest) or Squire level. To make the combat more difficult, choose either the Adept or Champion(hardest) level. When you choose to make the game more difficult, you are rewarded by receiving more experience points from you combat encounters. When you choose to make the game easier, you are penalized by receiving fewer experience points from your combat encounters. Receiving fewer experience points will slow the rate at which your characters advance levels. Advancing at a slower rate will give you less powerful characters which, in the long run, may more than offset the benefits of playing at an "easy" level. FIX is used to heal many wounded characters with a single command. All characters with the cure spells will memorize as many as they can, cast them on the party and then rememorize their previous spells automatically. FIX takes game time and may be interrupted by an encounter. FIX will not return HP to diseased characters; a Cure Disease spell must first be cast upon them. MAGIC ~~~~~ To get the Magic Menu options, the active character must be able to cast spells. Spellcasters can get a list of their memorized spells from the CAST option of the Magic Menu or from the SPELLS option of the View Menu. They can get a list of their spells on scrolls from the SCRIBE option of the Magic Menu. Spells are defined by who can cast them (cleric or magic-user), when they can be cast, and their range, duration, area of effect, and, of course, their actual effect. The Spell Parameters List in the journal summarizes all of the available spells. When using spells from the Encamp Menu or the Adventure Menu (such as Find Traps), remember that one round equals one minute of game time (one normal move), and one turn equals ten minutes of game time (ten normal moves). For more information about magic and the effects of spells look in the journal. Magic Menu ~~~~~~~~~~ CAST MEMORIZE SCRIBE DISPLAY REST EXIT CAST displays the Cast Menu and the character's list of memorized spells. Select the spell to cast and then indicate the target of the spell. Once a spell is cast it is gone from memory until it is memorized again. Some spells only work during combat and others only while encamped. MEMORIZE displays the Memorize Menu, the character's book of spells or clerical spell list and how many spells of each level the spell-caster may memorize. Once all characters have selected the spells they want to memorize, choose the REST command to actually memorize the spells. Remember that a spell-caster can have the same spell memorized multiple times and can automatically re-memorize any spells they have cast simply by selecting the REST or FIX command. Memorize Menu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MEMORIZE NEXT PREV EXIT * MEMORIZE selects a spell to be memorized. A spell is not actually memorized until the character has rested long enough to imprint the spell on his mind. The computer will ask to verify your choices when you are done. * NEXT/PREV cycles through available spells if they do not fit one screen. SCRIBE displays the Scribe Menu and a list of all of the spells available on magic-user scrolls. Before spells can be scribed, they must either be identified in a shop or temple, or the magic-user must have cast Read Magic on them. Select any spells to be scribed into the character's spell book. Once all characters have indicated the spells they want to scribe, choose the REST command to actually scribe the spells. Scribing a spell takes the same amount of time as memorizing the same spell. Scribe Menu ~~~~~~~~~~~ SCRIBE NEXT PREV EXIT * SCRIBE selects a spell to scribe from a scroll to a spell book. * NEXT/PREV cycles trough available spells if they do not fit on one screen. DISPLAY lists the magic that currently affects the party. This includes spells like Bless or Invisibility plus effects like disease. This is an important command because diseased characters will not regain HP until they have a Cure Disease spell cast on them. Also if the party is carrying certain magical items they will be displayed here - these items are needed to complete the game. REST displays the Rest Menu referred to in the Encamp section. Remember: A character's spells are not memorized until he has rested the necessary time. CIVILIZATION ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Towns provide many valuable services and supplies for the adventurer. In these places you will find inns, shops, training halls, temples, and taverns. Go to town not only to adventure, but also to purchase new equipment and magic items, hire healing services, and rest to regain spells and hit points. Inns are safe resting places where party members can recuperate and regain spells and hit points. Shops are places to buy and sell equipment using the Shop Menu. Shop Menu ~~~~~~~~~ BUY ITEM VIEW TAKE POOL SHARE APPRAISE EXIT BUY displays the items available in the shop. Select the item that the active character will buy. ITEM is a shortcut that is identical to selecing VIEA and then ITEM. VIEW displays the Character Summary Screen with the SELL and ID commands available in the Items Menu. * Sell indicates you wish the shopkeeper to make an offer on the highlighted item. Sold items may not be recovered. * ID is used to identify an item. Shops charge 100 steel pieces for the service. TAKE is used to pick up coins, gems or jewelry from the party's money pool. Indicate what and how much the character will take. POOL places all of the party member's steel pieces, gems and jewelry into a pool from which any member may make purchases. Use the TAKE or SHARE commands to pick up the pool. SHARE picks up everything from the pool and distributes even shares among the party. APPRAISE is available in temples or shops to find the monetary value of gems or jewelry. Choose a gem or item of jewelry and an appraisal and purchase offer will be made. Accept the offer and the item is sold. Reject the offer and the gem or piece or jewelry becomes an item on the character's item list. Temples offer healing spells and perform other clerical services. The commands on the Temple Menu are the same as those on the Shop Menu with the addition of the HEAL command. Temple Menu ~~~~~~~~~~~ HEAL VIEW TAKE POOL SHARE APPRAISE EXIT HEAL displays a list of the temple's healing spells. Select the character on whom to cast the spell and then the spell to be cast. There are costs for the temple services. The tavern is a rowdy place full of gossip, stories and information. Buy a round of drinks and listen to the stories. Vaults store money and equipment for you. There are vaults in Yartar, Silverymoon and Neverwinter, although only the one in Yartar is open at the start of the game. See your data card for details. Many towns in the Savage Frontier are built where rivers cross important overland trade routes. These towns all have Boat Rental Shops where you can rent a boat that will take you to another town. Upon arrival in a new town you will land in another rental shop where they will refund your deposit. When travelling through the wilderness on a boat, you must stay on the river. The computer will ask if you want to abandon your boat if you try to move off the river. Uattended boats are quickly stolen and lost forever. TRAVELLING ON THE TRACKLESS SEA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The company of the Brazen Pennant offers passenger service between Luskan and islands in the Trackless Sea, including Gunderlun and Tuern. Their dock is located in the northwest area of Luskan and they charge for their services. On some of the islands, you may also be able to find other boats that will take the party to different destinations in the Trackless Sea. ENCOUNTERS ~~~~~~~~~~ When a party comes across monsters or NPCs, an encounter occurs. If the party attacks immediately, it may receive a bonus to its initiative in combat. If foes surprise the party they can attack immediately and get a bonus to their initiative. If the foes do no attack immediately, the party can react by choosing from an Encounter Menu. Encounter menus vary and list options for each situation. Sample Encounter Menu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COMBAT WAIT FLEE ADVANCE In this sample menu you have opportunities to fight immediately, wait and see, run away or move forward. COMBAT ~~~~~~ In combat the computer chooses the active character. Characters with higher dexterity will tend to go before characters with lower dexterity. A character may hold his action until later with the DELAY command. There is more information about combat in the Journal. The active character is centered on the screen at the start of his combat segment. The active character's name, HP, AC and readied weapon is displayed. The Combat Menu lists the character's options. Combat Menu ~~~~~~~~~~~ MOVE AIM USE CAST TURN GUARD QUICK DELAY BANDAGE VIEW SPEED END MOVE allows a character to move. Attack by moving the character into an enemy's square. If the character moves away from an adjacent enemy, the enemy gets a free attack at the character's back. AIM allows weapons or spells to be targeted. When aiming a ranged weapon, the range to the target will be displayed above the menu bar on some systems. If a character moves adjacent to an enemy, and has no more movement remaining, the AIM command can be used to attack with a melee weapon (sword, mace, etc.) The AIM command can also be used to survey the condition of your party and enemies. As you move the aim cursor over a character or foe, information about him will be displayed on the right of your screen. Aim Menu ~~~~~~~~ NEXT PREV MANUAL TARGET CENTER EXIT * NEXT is used to look at all possible targets, starting with the closest target then going to the next farthest and so on. NEXT and PREV only indicates targets in the character's line of sight. * PREV (Previous) is the opposite of the NEXT command. Use this command to look at the possible targets with the farthest target and working back toward the character. This command is often used to select a target for a missile or magic attack. * MANUAL permits the player to aim anywhere on the map. Only targets in the character's line of sight can actually be fired at. * TARGET is used to fire a missile or spell at the cursor square. This command can also be used to attack an adjacent enemy with a melee weapon (sword, mace, etc). This option is not displayed if the target is out of range, not in line of sight, or invisible. * CENTER centers the screen around the cursor. This is helpful when targeting manually. This option is not available on all computer systems. * USE allows a character to activate an item without having to go through the View Menu. Items such as scrolls and wands may then be targeted with the Aim Menu. * CAST is only available to spell-casters with spells available. The spell-caster selects from the list of available spells and then targets with the Aim Menu. If the character has been hit, his concentration may be broken and the CAST option will not appear. TURN is a clerical power that attempts to destroy undead monsters or drive them away from the party. This will not affect the more powerful undead types and has no effect on any other kind of monster. GUARD sets a character to stand and attack the first enemy that moves adjacent. GUARD is only an option if a character is armed with a melee weapon. QUICK turns control of the character over to the computer. Under computer control, a fighting character with a readied missile weapon will tend to hang back and attack from a distance. If the character has not readied missile weapon, he will ready a melee weapon and charge. Single class mages will fire missile weapons and cast spells if magic is turned on. They will never rush into close combat, even if all of their missile attacks are expended. Characters remain under the computer control for all subsequent combats until manual control is again selected. When a spell-caster is on quick, you may toggle his spell casting on and off. DELAY causes the character to hold his turn until after the other characters and monsters have acted. BANDAGE only appears if a party member is bleeding to death. Use this option to stop the bleeding and keep the character from dying. VIEW displays the Character Summary Screen for the active character. The USE command appears on the Items Menu to use magic items such as wands in combat. SPEED changes the game speed and is described under the ALTER command in the Encamp Menu. END quits a character's turn. After Combat ~~~~~~~~~~~~ When combat is over you will see how many experience points each character receives and then the Treasure Menu is displayed if the foes had treasure. Most of the Treasure Menu commands work like the commands in the Temple and Shops Menus. Treasure Menu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VIEW TAKE POOL SHARE DETECT EXIT VIEW displays the Character Summary Screen and View Menu. TAKE permits the active character to pick up treasure from defeated opponents. This will only appear if the foes had a treasure or the party pooled its funds. Remember: a character carrying a large number of steel pieces and heavy equipment can be slowed in combat. Take Menu ~~~~~~~~~ ITEMS MONEY EXIT * ITEMS lists the equipment in the treasure. Frequently, the weapons and armor used by monsters are not listed because they are poor quality and not worth taking. * MONEY displays the number and type of coins, gems and jewelry in the treasure. Indicate the type then amount of money the active character takes. POOL drops all of the party members' coins, gems, and jewelry into the treasure. Use the TAKE or SHARE command to pick up the pooled money. SHARE picks up everything from the treasure pool and distributes even shares among the party. DETECT casts a Detect Magic spell from the current active character. Magic items in the treasure will be marked with a '+' or an '*'. This option will only appear if the active character has a Detect Magic spell available. EXIT leaves the scene of the battle. If any treasure remains, the option to return to the Treasure Menu is displayed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLES ~~~~~~ MAXIMUM LEVEL LIMITS BY RACE, CLASS AND PRIME REQUISITE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Class Ability Dwarf Elf Gnome Half-Elf Halfling Human ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cleric Any no no no 5 no 6* Fighter STR 16- 7 5 5 6 4 8* STR 17 8* 6 5 7 5 8* STR 18+ 8* 7 6 8* no 8* Paladin Any no no no no no 8* Ranger STR 16- no no no 6 no 7* STR 17 no no no 7* no 7* STR 18+ no no no 7* no 7* Magic-user INT 16- no 6* no 6* no 6* INT 17 no 6* no 6* no 6* INT 18 no 6* no 6* no 6* Thief Any 8* 8* 8* 8* 8* 8* NO: Characters of this race cannot be of this class. *: Highest Level Available in Gateway to the Savage Frontier. RANGE OF ABILITY SCORES BY RACE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ability Dwarf Elf Gnome Half-Elf Halfling Human ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Strength M/F M/F M/F M/F M/F M/F Min. 8/8 3/3 6/6 3/3 6/6 3/3 Max. 18/17 18/16 18/15 18/17 17/14 18/18 Intelligence Min. 3/3 8/8 7/7 4/4 6/6 3/3 Max. 18/18 18/18 18/18 18/18 18/18 18/18 Wisdom Min. 3/3 3/3 3/3 3/3 3/3 3/3 Max. 18/18 18/18 18/18 18/18 17/17 18/18 Dexterity Min. 3/3 7/7 3/3 6/6 8/8 3/3 Max. 17/17 19/19 18/18 18/18 18/18 18/18 Constitution Min. 12/12 6/6 8/8 6/6 10/10 3/3 Max. 19/19 18/18 18/18 18/18 19/19 18/18 Charisma Min. 3/3 8/8 3/3 3/3 3/3 3/3 Max. 16/16 18/18 18/18 18/18 18/18 18/18 M/F=Male/Female ABILITY SCORE MODIFIERS BY RACE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Race Modifiers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dwarf Constitution +1, Charisma -1 Elf Dexterity +1, Constitution -1 Gnome none Half-elf none Halfling Dexterity +1, Strength -1 Humans none DEXTERITY TABLE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ability Reaction/Missle AC Score Bonus Bonus ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 -3 +4 4 -2 +3 5 -1 +2 6 0 +1 7 0 0 8 0 0 9 0 0 10 0 0 11 0 0 12 0 0 13 0 0 14 0 0 15 0 -1 16 +1 -2 17 +2 -3 18 +3 -4 CONSTITUTION TABLE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ability Hit Point Resurrection Score Adjustment Survival ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 -2 40% 4 -1 45% 5 -1 50% 6 -1 55% 7 0 60% 8 0 65% 9 0 70% 10 0 75% 11 0 80% 12 0 85% 13 0 90% 14 0 92% 15 +1 94% 16 +2 96% 17 +2(+3)* 98% 18 +2(+4)* 100% * These bonuses available to fighter classes only (Fighter, Paladin, Ranger) STRENGTH TABLE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ability THAC0 Damage Weight Allowance Score Bonus Adjustment (In Gold Pieces) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 -3 -1 -350 4-5 -2 -1 -250 6-7 -1 none -150 8-9 normal none normal 10-11 normal none normal 12-13 normal none +100 14-15 normal none +200 16 normal +1 +350 17 +1 +1 +500 18 +1 +2 +750 18/01-50* +1 +3 +1,000 18/51-75* +2 +3 +1,250 18/76-90* +2 +4 +1,500 18/91-99* +2 +5 +2,000 18/00* +3 +6 +3,000 * These bonuses available to fighter classes only (Fighter, Paladin, Ranger) MULTIPLE ATTACKS FOR FIGHTER-TYPE CHARACTERS MONEY CONVERSIONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Class Attacks Coin Gold Level Per Round Type Equivalent ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fighter 1-6 1/1 Copper 200cp = 1gp Paladin 1-6 1/1 Silver 20sp = 1gp Ranger 1-7 1/1 Electrum 2ep = 1gp Fighter 7+ 3/2 Gold 1gp = 1gp Paladin 7+ 3/2 Platinum 1/5pp = 1gp ARMOR AND WEAPONS PERMITTED BY CHARACTER CLASS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Class Max Armor Shield Weapons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cleric any any club, flail, hammer mace, staff, staff sling Fighter any any any Paladin any any any Ranger any any any Magic-user none none dagger, dart, staff Thief leather none club, dagger, dart sing, one-handed swords, short bow ARMOR TABLE ~~~~~~~~~~~ Maximum Armor Type Weight in GP AC Movement ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ None 0 10 - Shield# 50 9 - Leather 150 8 12 Squares Padded 100 8 9 Squares Studded 200 7 9 Squares Ring Mail 250 7 9 Squares Scale Mail 400 6 6 Squares Chain Mail 300 5 9 Squares Banded 350 4 9 Squares Splint Mail 400 4 6 Squares Plate 450 3 6 Squares * A character carrying many objects, including a large number of coins, can be limited in movement to a maximum of 3 squares per turn. # A shield subtracts 1 AC from any armor it's used with. WEAPONS TABLE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Damage Vs. Damage Vs. Larger Number Name Man Sized Than Man Sized Of Hands Class ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Axe, Hand 1-6 1-4 1 f Bastard Sword 2-8 2-16 2 f Battleaxe 1-8 1-8 1 f Broad Sword 2-8 2-7 1 f,th Club 1-6 1-3 1 f,cl,th Composite Long Bow* 1-6 1-6 2 f Composite Short Bow* 1-6 1-6 2 f Dagger 1-4 1-3 1 f,mu,th Dart 1-3 1-2 1 f,mu,th Flail 2-7 2-8 1 f,cl Halberd 1-10 2-12 2 f Hammer 2-5 1-4 1 f,cl Javelin 1-6 1-6 1 f Light Crossbow# 1-4 1-4 2 f Long Bow* 1-6 1-6 2 f Long Sword 1-8 1-12 1 f,th Mace 2-7 1-6 1 f,cl Morning Star 2-8 2-7 1 f Scimitar 1-8 1-8 1 f,th Short Bow* 1-6 1-6 2 f,th Short Sword 1-6 1-8 1 f,th Sling 2-5 2-7 1 f,th Staff 1-6 1-6 2 f,cl,mu Staff Sling 2-5 2-7 2 f,cl Spear 1-6 1-8 1 f Trident 2-7 3-12 1 f Two-Handed Sword 1-10 3-18 2 f * Must have ready arrows to fire. Two attacks per round. # Must have ready quarrels to fire. One attack per round. f=fighter, cl=cleric, th=thief, mu=magic-user SPELL PARAMETERS LIST ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a listing of spells available to player characters as they gain in level. Following are abbreviations used in the list: Cmbt=Combat only spell All=All characters in combat Camp=Camp only spell r=combat rounds Both=Camp or Combat spell t=turns T=Touch Range /lvl=per level of caster dia=diameter targets=aim at each target rad=radius FIRST LEVEL CLERICAL SPELLS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spell Name When Rng Area Duration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bless Both 6 5 dia 6r Curse Cmbt 6 5 dia 6r Cure Light Wounds Both T 1 - Cause Light Wounds Cmbt T 1 - Detect Magic Both 0 All 1t Protection From Evil Both T 1 3r/lvl Protection From Good Both T 1 3r/lvl Resist Cold Both T 1 1t/lvl SECOND LEVEL CLERICAL SPELLS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spell Name When Rng Area Duration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Find Traps Camp 3 1 3t Hold Person Cmbt 6 1-3targets 4r+1/lvl Resist Fire Both T 1 1t/lvl Silence 15' Radius Cmbt 12 3dia 2r/lvl Slow Poison Both T 1 1 hour/lvl Snake Charm Cmbt 3 All 5-8r Spiritual Hammer Cmbt 3 1 1r/lvl THIRD LEVEL CLERICAL SPELLS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spell Name When Rng Area Duration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cure Blindness Both T 1 - Cause Blindness Cmbt T 1 - Cure Disease Camp T 1 - Cause Disease Cmbt T 1 - Dispel Magic Both 6 3x3 - Prayer Both 0 All 1t/lvl Remove Curse Both T 1 - Bestow Curse Cmbt T 1 1t/lvl FIRST LEVEL MAGIC-USER SPELLS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spell Name When Rng Area Duration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Burning Hands Cmbt T 3squares - Charm Person Cmbt 12 1 - Detect Magic Both 0 All 2r/lvl Enlarge Both .5/lvl 1 1t/lvl Reduce Both .5/lvl 1 - Friends Camp 0 All 1r/lvl Magic Missle Cmbt 6+lvl 1 - Protection From Evil Both T 1 2r/lvl Protection From Good Both T 1 2r/lvl Read Magic Camp 0 1 2r/lvl Shield Both 0 1 5r/lvl Shocking Grasp Cmbt T 1 - Sleep Cmbt 3+lvl 1-16 5r/lvl SECOND LEVEL MAGIC-USER SPELLS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spell Name When Rng Area Duration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Detect Invisibility Both 0 All 5r/lvl Invisibility Both T 1 - Knock Camp 6 1/lvl - Mirror Image Both 0 1 2r/lvl Ray Of Enfeeblement Cmbt 1+.25/lvl 1 1r/lvl Stinking Cloud Cmbt 3 2x2 1r/lvl Strength Both T 1 6t/lvl THIRD LEVEL MAGIC-USER SPELLS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spell Name When Rng Area Duration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Blink Both 0 1 1r/lvl Dispel Magic Both 12 3x3 - Fireball Cmbt 10+lvl 2/3 rad - Haste Both 6 5 dia 3r+1/lvl Hold Person Cmbt 12 1-4 2r/lvl Invisibility 10' Radius Both T 2 dia - Lightning Bolt Cmbt 4+lvl 4,8 - Protection From Evil 10' Both T 2 dia 2r/lvl Protection From Good 10' Both T 2 dia 2r/lvl Protection From Normal Missle Both T 1 1t/lvl Slow Cmbt 9+lvl 5 dia 3r+1/lvl LEVEL ADVANCEMENT TABLES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following charts show the amount of experience a character must earn in order to gain a level in his character class. The charts also list the number of spells that a character can have memorized at one time. Fighters and Thieves can never memorize spells. Remember that all experience earned by a non-human, multi-class character is divided by the number of classes the character has. The experience is divided even after the character has reached his maximum level in a particular class. A Human dual-class character only earns experience in his second class. The character cannot use the abilities of his first class until his level in his second class exceeds his level in his first class. CLERIC ~~~~~~ Number of Clerical Hit Spells Per Level Level Experience Dice 1 2 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 0-1,500 1d8 1 2 1,501-3,000 2d8 2 3 3,001-6,000 3d8 2 1 4 6,001-13,000 4d8 3 2 5 13,001-27,500 5d8 3 3 1 6 27,501+ 6d8 3 3 2 CLERIC'S BONUS SPELLS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wisdom 1 2 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 9-12 - - - 13 +1 - - 14 +2 - - 15 +2 +1 - 16 +2 +2 - 17 +2 +2 +1 18 +2 +2 +1 Note: These bonus spells are only available when the Cleric is entitled to spells of the applicable level. Thus a 4th level cleric with a Wisdom of 18 can memorize the following spells: Number Of Spells ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 2 3 4th level Cleric with 18 Wisdom 5 4 - MAGIC-USER ~~~~~~~~~~ Number of Magic-User Hit Spells Per Level Level Experience Dice 1 2 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 0-2,500 1d4 1 2 2,501-5,000 2d4 2 3 5,001-10,000 3d4 2 1 4 10,001-22,500 4d4 3 2 5 22,501-40,000 5d4 4 2 1 6 40,001+ 6d4 4 2 2 FIGHTER ~~~~~~~ Hit Level Experience Dice ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 0-2,000 1d10 2 2,001-4,000 2d10 3 4,001-8,000 3d10 4 8,001-18,000 4d10 5 18,001-35,000 5d10 6 35,001-70,000 6d10 7 70,001-125,000 7d10 8 125,001+ 8d10 PALADIN ~~~~~~~ Hit Level Experience Dice ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 0-2,750 1d10 2 2,751-5,500 2d10 3 5,501-12,000 3d10 4 12,001-24,000 4d10 5 24,001-45,000 5d10 6 45,001-95,000 6d10 7 95,001-175,000 7d10 8 175,001+ 8d10 THIEF ~~~~~ Hit Level Experience Dice ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 0-1,250 1d6 2 1,251-2,500 2d6 3 2,501-5,000 3d6 4 5,001-10,000 4d6 5 10,001-20,000 5d6 6 20,001-42,500 6d6 7 42,501-70,000 7d6 8 70,001+ 8d6 RANGER ~~~~~~ Hit Level Experience Dice ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 0-2,250 2d8 2 2,251-4,500 3d8 3 4,501-10,000 4d8 4 10,001-20,000 5d8 5 20,001-40,000 6d8 6 40,001-90,000 7d8 7 90,001+ 8d8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- DATA CARD ~~~~~~~~~ Giving Commands: You can play the game from the keyboard, with a mouse, or with a joystick. The keyboard is active even if you configure the system to play with the mouse or the joystick. To select a command using the keyboard, either press the highlighted letter in that command or use the cursor keys to highlight the command and press the ENTER key. To give commands using the mouse, point to the desired command and double-click with the left mouse button. To give commands with the joystick, highlight the command and press the A button. Moving Around: The party will move through the game in 3D/Area/Overland and Combat modes. Targeting spells and ranged weapons during combat is similar to moving characters. To move, select the Move option and give the appropriate commands. The following keyboard controls are used for movement and targetting: 3D Move / Any Menu Combat / Aim ________________________ ________________________ | |Move Up/| Menu | |\ 7 |8 /|\ |9 / | | |Menu Up | Pg Up | | \ | | | / | |_______|________|_______| |_______|___|____|_______| |Move Lt| |Move Rt| |4 |5 |6 | |Menu Lt| |Menu Rt| |<---- | | ----> | |_______|________|_______| |_______|________|_______| | |Turn Bk/| Menu | |1 |2 | |3 | | |Menu Dn | Pg Dn | | / | | | \ | |_______|________|_______| |/______|__\|/___|______\| To move in a 3D/Area/Overland mode with a mouse, click the mouse cursor at the edge of the display window in the direction you want to move. To move forward, click at the top of the window. To turn around, click at the bottom. To turn right or left, click at the appropriate side. To use the mouse for combat targetting and movement, click the mouse cursor over the target square and the cursor will advance towards the target. If the target is off the screen, first select an intermediate square near the edge of the screen. To move in combat, click on the adjacent square you want to enter. Joystick movement is similar to using the cursor controls/keypad. Select the Move command and then move the joystick. JOYSTICK MOVEMENT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3D MOVE FORWARD COMBAT TURN | TURN \ | / LEFT -----|----- RIGHT ----|---- | / | \ MOVE BACKWARD Using The Vault: To deposit items into the Vault, View a character's items, highlight the desired item and use the Deposit command. To deposit specific amount of money, View the character, highlight the appropriate denomination and use the Deposit command. To deposit all of the party's money choose the Pool command. Combat Commands ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ESC: Will 'take back' a move. The function will not erase any damage taken during the move. ALT/Q: Sets all characters to QUICK (computer control). : Returns all character to normal control from QUICK. ALT/M: Toggles the magic spells on/off of for characters set to QUICK CNTRL/S: Toggles sound on/off (may be used any time). HINT: If you find combat too easy or difficult, use the ALTER and LEVEL command. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------