Magic Candle 2: The Four And Forty
Magic Candle 2: The Four And Forty Complete Manual by USA/FLT
Magic Candle ][: The Four And Forty Complete Manual
STARTUP
~~~~~~~
Equipment Change
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If the equipment in your system changes (you replace your monitor or get a new music board), run MC2INST from Magic Candle II's directory and tell it about your new equipment. Then tell it not to install the files from the diskettes.
Starting the Game
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once the game is installed, switch to it's subdirectory, by typing something like
C:
CD \MC2
Then type MC2 to start the game.
The flickering candle flame means: "Press any key or mouse button to continue." You'll see it often. Next is a short menu with four options. "New" starts a new game. "Restart" continues where you left off in a game that you have previously saved. The last option, "Quit" returns to DOS. The third option, "Bring" is explained next.
Bringing Characters from Other Games
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may have played other mindcraft games in the past, with heroes whom you have grown fond of. You don't have to consign them to history: you can bring them into Magic Candle II from either Magic Candle I or The Keys to Maramon, or Both. When you select "Bring" on the title screen, a new game will begin, with old familiar characters. You'll have to tell the game where to find your old friends (disk and directory), and you may have to confirm your heroes' full names and nicknames. In the case of Magic Candle I, ten deruvian years have passed. You cannot expect your hero and his or her companions to have maintained their finely-honed skills, let alone the exact possessions they had ten years ago. But you'll recognize them just the same. From the Keys to Maramon, the Magic Candle II is just a short ship ride. The victorious hero of Maramon is just about the same as you remember him or her - probably a very valuable companion for your hero. You will notice that, in an uncharacteristic instant of sentiment, the hero of Maramon left many possessions on Maramon with Tamur for Bill and Jenny Whelk to use when they grow up and become heroes.
QUICK START
~~~~~~~~~~~
The game system of the Magic Candle II was designed to be a intuitive and easy to use as possible. You can start the adventure without an extensive study of the game manual, even without reading any farther than this sentence. However, the depth and richness of the game is such that, if you do not read the manual, you may play the game to completion without realizing your full set of options. What we recommend you do, if you are one of those who has no patience for rule books and instruction manuals, is go ahead and start. Reading the manual can come later. Simply follow the steps specified in the previous chapter on Start up and you will be ready to go. Later, after you are familiar with the way the game works, you may decide to start over.
Start a new game
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the title screen, click your mouse on New, or press N or use the
arrow keys to highlight New and press the Enter key or the space bar.
Select your hero
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are five possible hero profiles, each with a different mix of
attributes, skills and possessions. Two of them are female: three are
male. (Heroine is probably a sexist word, so we won't use it.) The Party
Leader chapter describes all five. Choose one to lead your party.
Name your hero
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The leader of your quest calls himself Lukas (or calls herself Lukas).
You may pick another name if you so choose. If it's longer than five
letters, you'll need to make up a short nickname, too. This chapter will
use the name Lukas.
Land in Telermain
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You gain control of Lukas as he lands on the pier in Telermain, the main
town on the Island of Oshcrun. The whole island is a safe haven from the
forces of Darkness, so you can relax for as long as you want and explore
the game's control mechanisms, menus, commands and options. Walk around,
using the numeric keypad or the mouse. Go into and out of buildings.
Look at signpost. Talk to people.
Build a party
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just southwest of the pier on which Lukas landed is the Eastern Breeze
tavern. One of the people inside will join Lukas in your party, if Lukas
talks to him and invites him to join. (Use the Talk command on the main
menu, then the Invite command on the talk menu.) Press 0 to see the
status screens for Lukas and his new companion. Leave the tavern and
head west toward the center of town. The building next to the Eastern
Breeze is a supply store. You might want to stop there and buy a shovel
to dig for buried treasure and some picks to use on locked treasure
chests. When you reach the main north-south street, turn north or south
to find a town gate and head into the countryside. If you get lost, try
using a map. (select Lukas with the I key at the top of the keyboard,
then issue the Use command from the main menu and select Map from the
list of items Lukas can use.)
Visit the King
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When your party leaves Telermain, you will see a ship to the east and a
castle to the west. Ignore the ship for now, and head for the castle.
You'll want to arrive at a time when King Richard is in the throne room:
between 10:00 and 18:00, usually. If you arrive too early or too late,
it's a perfect time to see what camping is all about. Before you enter
the castle, issue the Camp command from the main menu. The camp menu
will appear. Issue the Sleep command, and confirm that everyone will
sleep. Before you Begin, know what to expect. On the right side of the
screen, after your party's names, are their hit points. After the hit
points are their energy levels, then abbreviations for their health.
Their energy might be getting low by now. It will increase as they
sleep. Now Begin, and watch time pass and energy increase. When it's a
good time to enter the castle, hit a key. The camp menu will reappear.
End the camp, and walk into the castle. The throne room is due north of
the castle entrance. It's quite a hike - Castle Oshcrun is a big place.
When you reach it, go on in and have Lukas talk to the King. His majesty
will refer you to the paragraph book. Go ahead and read the paragraph.
Even if you never get around to reading the whole game manual, you'll
have to read the paragraphs when they come up. Finished? OK, now you
know the nearest place to find monster and treasure. And, as Lukas
finishes talking to King Rebnard, he'll receive some valuable gifts.
Clear the cellar
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By now, you're probably ready to slay a monster or two. But, before you
head downstairs, you might want to add some more members to your party.
The knight's room in the northwestern part of the castle is a gathering
place for fighter, and spellcasters looking for adventure. Then go
downstairs to the castle's ground floor. Staircases are located in both
northern corners of the castle. The entrance to the cellars is close to
the northeast stairs. Again, using a map might help. As you ignore the
guard's warnings and the danger sign and climb down into the top level
of the cellars, your party finds itself in a short corridor. Stairs are
to the north; a closed door (marked with an arrow) is to the south. This
might be a good time to remind you to save your game before trying
anything you wouldn't do in real life. Quit from the main menu, Save
then End back into the game. Now go through the southern door. There
they are, some of the last orcs on Oshcrun Island. From this point,
you're on your own.
A Few Last Reminders
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Proceed with a purpose. There are many things to be done. Your party
should be actively working on at least one of them. Talk to everyone.
Talk to important people - King Rebnard, Lord Bhardagast, the Great Ziyx
- again and again. Save your game before and after great danger. You
will usually know when danger is near. You will always know when you
have survived it, and don't want to risk it again.
THE MAIN SCREEN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While you are playing, your computer's screen will show you what is
going on in four different ways: the picture, the messages, the status
summary, and your possible commands.
The Picture
~~~~~~~~~~~
In the upper left, the screen show a picture of your party and their
surroundings. For example, as the game starts, your hero is seen
standing on a pier, where he or she has been delivered after the arduous
journey across the sea. Later, you may see your hero and his or her
companions in a friendly tavern, a dangerous dungeon, or deep in the
wilds of Gurtex. There pictures are in three different scales. The
smallest happens when your party is in a small enclosed area, like the
Eastern Breeze tavern of King Rebnard's throne room, and whenever they
are in combat. At this scale, each party member moves around independently.
The largest scale is out in the countryside, or at sea. Here, the party
moves as a group, and the individual members are not seen. In between,
as in the streets of Telermain, the halls of the castle or the shafts if
an abandoned mine, you can see the separate party members, but they all
move as a group. The picture area is sometimes used for other purposes.
The status screens, for example, are shown in the picture area. So are
the automatic notes of significant events. And, when you are saving or
restarting a game, the picture area holds a list of all your saved
games.
The Messages
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Below the picture area is the message area. Here you will be told things
of interest ( Lukas has arrived in Telermain), asked important questions
(do you want to leave now?) and shown intriguing conversations ( The
sailor says: Nice weather for this time of year)
The Status Summary
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To the right of the picture, several status summary boxes appear at the
top of the screen. At the very top is the game date and time. After the
time is a letter telling whether the sun is up, L for light or D for
dark. On the line below is a description of the weather. Weather affects
travel and outdoor camping. Clear is the best weather. Below the weather
is a box showing the party's formation. At the game's start, it holds
just the number 1, indicating your hero. As he or she invites companions
and hirelings to join the party, the formation box will start to fill
up. See formation in the menus and commands chapter for details. The
party's location is shown to the right of the formation box, both as X
and Y coordinates and as a description, such as Telermain or Oshcrun.
The X and Y coordinates change with the scale of the picture. At the
start, they refer to the hero's location within Telermain. When the
party leaves the town, they will refer to the party's location within
all the lands of Gurtex. At the bottom of the status summary area, the
party members are listed with their identifying numbers on the frame
next to their names. Following their names are the current hit points
and energy levels, then abbreviations of their health conditions.
Commands
~~~~~~~~
Finally, at the bottom right is the command area. It has a chapter of
its own: menus and commands.
THE KEYBOARD AND MOUSE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are five parts of the keyboard: alphabet, numbers, keypad, arrows
and the special keys. Your mouse works along the same lines.
Alphabet Keys
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you want a party member to whisper a magic word, or to ask a
friendly stranger about an other topic, use the alphabet keys to type in
the word you want. A command can also be issued to the party or the
selected party member by pressing its first letter. The mouse cannot
type words, but it can issue commands. Click on the command in the lower
right part of the screen to issue it.
Number Keys
~~~~~~~~~~~
The number keys across the top of the keyboard (not the numeric keypad)
are used to select party members and to enter the status screens.
Pressing a key 1 through 6 will select the corresponding party member,
making him or her the primary recipient of your commands. The 0 key
brings up the status screens, which are explained in their own chapter.
It also leaves the status screens when you are finished with them. The
mouse does the same things when used in the party portion of the status
summary area. Left click on a party member's name to select the member.
Right click on the name to bring up the status screen. When you are
finished with the status screens, right click in the picture or message
area to leave.
The Numeric Keypad
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The keys on the numeric keypad at the right hand edge of your keyboard
move your party around in the eight directions the keys represent. Left
clicking in the picture area when the mouse arrow points in the desired
direction does the same thing. Right clicking in the picture area is the
same as looking where the mouse points.
The Arrow Keys
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The arrow keys, and home, end, page up and page down, do not normally do
the same things as the numeric keypad. If your keyboard does not have a
separate set of arrow keys, hold down a shift key to make the keypad
function as arrow keys. Or ignore this section: the arrow keys can be
handy, but they're not usually essential. When they are, the keypad and
the arrows work the same. Above all, don't play with the num lock key
unless you're thrilled by the idea of confusion. Most of the time, the
arrow keys move around the command area. Home goes to the top; End goes
to the bottom. When the area is more than full - you might be selecting
an item from all the party members' inventories to pool - page up and
page down move through the list faster than up and down arrows. When the
message area is more than full, the command area says only Cont for
continue and the arrow keys switch to working with the message area.
When either the command or message area is more than full, red arrows
indicate that there is more information farther down ( or farther up).
Left clicking on the red arrows is like using the up and down arrow
keys; right clicking is like using page up and page down.
Special Keys
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The ENTER key issues the highlighted command. So does the Space Bar. The
ESC key escapes from problematical situations. It works like the End or
Done command. Ctrl-V for Volume turns sound effects and music on or off.
MENUS AND COMMANDS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A command may be selected by pressing its first letter, by using the
arrow keys until the desired command is highlighted, then pressing the
space bar or enter key, or by clicking on it with the mouse. Some
commands, like camp, apply to the entire party; others, like talk, apply
only to the party member currently selected. Some commands, like pass,
happen as soon as you push the button; other, like use, call for further
options.
The Main Menu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most of the time, the command area will contain the main menu of
commands. Much of that time, you'll ignore the command menu while you
move from one place to another. But, when the situation becomes
interesting, you will have the main menu of commands available. The use
command is first on the menu, because it happens so often. You will use
mushrooms and herbs to restore the party's health or to prepare for
combat; you will use maps and map flasks to see their surroundings; you
will use food to relieve their hunger. The items chapter explains many
of the items your party will use frequently. Others - the magical items
you will need to complete your quests - you will figure out as the game
progresses. For some items, like mushrooms, you will be asked whether
the whole party should use them at once. Recall brings a magic spell to
the front of the selected party member's mind. You will be shown a list
of the spells the member has learned. Select one. The first status
screen will then show that spell as the member's ready spell. (Use the
esc key to leave the party member with no spells ready.) Proficient
magic users will often know more spells than will fit in the command
area at one time. Use the arrow keys to move up and down the list. Notes
lets you review recent events in the game and otherwise work with the
automatic notes. See the notes menu below. When a spell has been
recalled, the magic command cast it. Or if it doesn't, if the caster is
in the wrong place at the wrong time, or if the caster doesn't have
enough energy. The magic chapter contains more details. Talk begins a
conversation. The main menu in the command area is replaced with the
talk menu, which is explained below. Not everyone your party talks with
will have useful information for the, but so many of them will that it's
good practice for your party to talk to everyone they chance to meet.
The camp command allows your party to recover their energy, to learn
spells, to fix their battered weapons, and to do many other things. Or,
at least, to change their clothes. The rest and recuperation chapter
covers the camp command in detail. Pass makes your party stand where
they are to let one tick - five game minutes - pass by. Not efficient,
but sometime the best way to wait for a particular person to appear.
Pass lasts longer in some situations. In a school or training area, for
example, if one of the party members has enrolled for training, pass
puts the stop command into the command area, and lets the clock run
until training is complete or you issue the stop command. The formatn
command lets you rearrange your party's members. It is most often used
to squeeze through narrow passages, making your party more vertical or
horizontal. It can also be used to put the right party member next to
the right thing, or to surround a vulnerable member with stronger
companions. It is easier done than explained. When you have several
members in your party, perhaps in the halls of the castle, try it out.
When you issue the command, the formation box in the status summary area
goes blank, except for a cursor. Use the number keys to put a member in
the cursor's position; use the space bar to skip a position. When all
the party members have been placed, they will move around in the picture
to show their new formation. Draw lets the party member draw a sword,
ready a bow, or unsheathe an axe. You can choose from the weapons that
he or she has available. It's a good idea to draw weapons when your
party enters a dark, ominous tower. It's a bad idea when they go to the
library. Whisper tells the selected party member to whisper a magic
word. Then you type in what the magic word is. By the time you need
someone to whisper a word you'll know what the word is. If you don't,
your party hasn't been talking to the right people. The look command
asks you what the party member wants to look at, then tells you, in the
message area, what it seems to be. When using a mouse, you can just
right click on something instead of issuing the look command. If
something appears very interesting, move the party member right next to
it first, then look at it. Maybe it can be picked up. Maybe it has a
magic word written on it. Maybe it's full of treasure. Maybe not. Keep
looking. Sheathe puts the selected party member's sword or axe back in
its scabbard, or bow over his or her shoulder. You can sheathe
everyone's weapons at the same time. It's more comfortable, and makes
friendly conversations possible. But, when you're not interested in
friendly conversations with hungry fermigons, keep the weapons drawn.
Quit allows you to leave the game or to interrupt it temporarily. The
picture is replaced by a list of your previously saved games, and the
main menu is replaced by four new commands. Save saves your game. As
many as eight different game positions can be saved at the same time.
Restart loads a previously saved game. End returns you to the game in
progress, and quit leaves the game completely.
The Notes Menu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The notes command tells you, in the message area, how big your notepad
is, and how much of it is full. In the command area, there is a menu of
six commands.
Looks shows you the most recent note in the picture area. Use the page
up key to step backward through the notes. Page down retraces your
steps. Home goes to the first note in the notepad; end returns to the
latest one. The enter key brings you back to the note menu. The save
command saves your notes to a file in the subdirectory of your hard disk
from which you are playing the game. The first time it saves the notes,
the files is call "notes000.mcn." The next time, it's "notes001.mcn",
and so on, conceivably, all the way up to "notes999.mcn". These files
can be examined at your leisure, using any text editor or word
processing program. The print command sends the notes directly to your
printer. Notes are not automatically saved when you save the game. If
you want to keep them, be sure to save or print them before you leave
the game. The clear command empties the notepad, to make room for more
notes. Amount lets you specify how many notes will be put into the
notepad, from none at all up to the maximum, which includes everything
that is even vaguely interesting. End returns to the main menu.
The Talk Menu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you issue the talk command from the main menu, and select another
person for the selected party member to talk to the other person will
respond, and the talk menu will appear in the command area. The greet
command lets the selected party member switch his or her attention to
different person without leaving the talk menu. It can be used, for
example, to make a quick round of introductions in a crowded tavern
before settling down to a serious conversation with one of the patrons.
Talk gets into the details. Some people only talk about one thing - a
fencing instructor will only talk about how many coins his lessons cost
- but most will provide a list of topics. Select one, and, if the party
member has enough charm, the person will say what he or she has to say
on the topic at the time. Three topics have special meanings: End
returns to the talk menu; People and Other ask you to type in a specific
name or subject. Much of the value of conversation comes from finding
out what other subjects to ask which people about. The offer command
provides the opportunity to give a reward, a gift, or an unabashed bribe
to the person talking to the party member. Most, from the humblest
beggar to the King himself, will gladly accept. Don't do it without a
strong suspicion that it will do the party some good, or an irrational
desire to rid the party of their possession. Assign is a command used
only by your hero, and only when talking to his or her companions in the
party. It tells them to go someplace, or wait where they are, or earn
some coins, or learn a skill, or a number of other things. The chapter
on the party gives details about the assigned invite and dismiss as
well. Invite asks a new acquaintance or and old friend to join in the
quest. Most people will plead pressing engagements elsewhere, but you
should have little trouble finding five companions and hirelings to join
your hero. Taverns are likely spots, and the knight's room in the castle
is intended to be a meeting place for adventurers. Dismiss removes a
member from the quest. It's a harsh way to treat a sworn companion, but
entirely appropriate for a hireling whose services are no longer needed.
The buy command lets you know whether the person being spoken to has
goods for sale. If so, selecting an item from the list in the command
area will tell you its price. When you recover, the transaction
proceeds. To lessen the shock, make sure that the party member with the
highest trading skill is the one who buys items for the party. The sell
command lets you know whether a merchant wants to buy anything that the
party member has in his or her inventory. The transaction proceeds much
like buy, but in the other direction. When selling gems, gemcutting
skill is just as important as trading skill. End completes the
conversation and returns you to the main menu.
THE STATUS SCREENS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From time to time you will want to know how your hero and the other
party members are feeling, what they are carrying, what spells they
know, and other information. And you may want the party members to give
something to each other. The status screen system lets you do these
things. Use the 0 key to activate the status screens.
Status Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you hit the 0 key, the picture of the current scene is replaced by
a summary of the selected party member's status. A new set of eight
commands appears. The first cont, which continues to display status
screens. The next found transfer, distr, search and pool, the inventory
commands, let you move items from one party member to another. Inven and
magic let you skip quickly through the status screens. End or the escape
key, or the zero key again, brings you back to the normal picture.
Moving Through The Status Screens
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The cont command continues to display all the status information, one
screen at a time. After one party member has been shown, the next one
begins. The inven and magic commands skip directly to the inventory and
magic status screens for the party member being shown. At any status
screen, you may hit the number key 1 to 6 for another party member to
switch to the same screen set for that party member. Using the number
keys this way makes it easy to see who has the highest trading skill, or
which party members need magical shields.
Inventory Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Transfer lets you transfer items from one party member to another, or
drop and unwanted item. Distr distributes items from the selected party
member evenly to the rest of the party. Pool collects all the
companions' items into one party member's inventory. You will probably
find yourself using pool and distr often. A hunter will gather food, or
a trader will buy sermin mushrooms. Then you will pool all the food or
sermins to one party member and distribute the stockpile evenly. Search
gives you an overview of the party's possessions. You will find out who
has what, and how much of it.
THE SCREENS
~~~~~~~~~~~
The top two lines of each status screen identify the party member,
showing you his or her full name, sex, race and relationship.
Personal Data
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first status screen lists personal data for the party member.
Hit pts: Current hit points followed by maximum hit points. Hit points
represent the amount of damage that the character can survive. The
maximum depends on the character's endurance. When hit points decline to
zero, the character dies. Hit points can be restored by sleeping, by the
heal spell, or by using a potion.
Energy: The character's current energy level. The maximum amount of
energy a character can have is 99. A character's energy is used up by
almost all actions. As a character's energy approaches zero, he or she
becomes tired, then too exhausted to move. Using sermin mushrooms,
sleeping or casting the energy spell will restore energy.
Shield: The party member's magical shield protection. The shield spell
protects against magical spells cast by the forces of darkness. The
maximum shield protection is 99 points.
In Hand: The weapon the member has drawn and is ready to use. In most
cases, it is impossible to talk politely to strangers with a weapon in
hand.
Spell: The magic spell that the party member has recalled from his or
her memory of spells, and is ready to cast.
Health: A list of the party member's health problems, ranging from tired
to dead.
In Use: Magical plants and mushrooms that have been eaten or applied,
and are ready to take effect. When combat is expected, it is often wise
to use nift plants and gonshi mushrooms ahead of time.
Wearing: The clothing and armor the party member has put on. Clothing
should be appropriate for the weather and terrain; armor should be as
strong as possible to deflect hostile attacks.
Character Attributes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The second status screen displays, the nine character attributes:
Bravery, Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Agility, Loyalty, Charm,
Intelligence, and Resistance. Normally, the ratings will range from 0 to
12, depending on the character in the party.
Skills
~~~~~~
The next two status screens list the 18 skills and the character's
current ability in each skill. The value fro each skill will range
from 0 to 99. There are general skills and professional skills.
Inventory
~~~~~~~~~
On the inventory screen, or screens, the party member's complete
inventory is listed, showing all the items he or she is carrying.
Generally, several items of one kind will be shown together. Lady Subia,
for instance, might carry coin (100) and sermin (5) meaning that she has
100 gold coins and 5 sermin mushrooms. Weapons, armor and other special
items, on the other hand, are always show separately. Usually, they show
their wear and tear (w-t) next to the item name. Wear and tear will
reduce effectiveness and, eventually, break the weapon or reduce the
armor to such a sorry state that is will no longer afford any
protection. Weapons and armor can be fixed, especially by talented
metalsmiths, to reduce their wear and tear. Each party member's
inventory is limited to 40 different items.
Magic Spells
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next series of status screens shows the spells that the party member
knows and the books of magic that he or she owns. For each spell that is
known or learnable, the screen shows:
MEM: How many of this spell the character has memorized and not yet
cast.
TIM: How long it would take the character to memorize a copy of this
spell. It depends on the character's intelligence.
ENE: How much energy the character would have to use to cast this spell.
Songs
~~~~~
Finally, the status screen shows the songs that the party member knows
how to sing and play.
COMBAT
~~~~~~
Setting Up
~~~~~~~~~~
Unless you are ambushed, you will have time to prepare for combat by
getting into position and issuing commands from the combat setup menu.
One of your party members - the one with the best soulreading skill -
may have an insight into the monsters' attitude. Hearing this party
member's comment, you may decide that talking to the enemy is a better
choice than rushing into combat. Before the battle starts, you party may
move about its side of the area. Your other setup options are:
Draw- lets a party member draw one of his or her unbroken weapons
Sheathe- may be used to fight bare-handed
Recall- lets the party member recall a memorize spell.
Look- allows you to identify the creatures and objects you see on the
field of combat.
When preparations are complete, start the confrontation with talk or
begin. Talk has two sub-options. You can rally your friends or greet the
opposition. Rally is directed to your own side. If successful, it
increases the enthusiasm of the other party members. On the other hand,
if your rallying effort is not successful, the enemy may sneak up on you
and gain the advantage of moving first. Greet is directed to the leader
of your opposition. He may respond in may different ways. His
characteristics as well as the general strength of your party play a
role in his attitude towards you. If the monsters do not care to chat,
they will attack immediately, gaining the advantage of moving first.
Begin starts the combat without any more preliminaries.
COMBAT SEQUENCE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During combat, all members of one side take a turn, then all the members
of the other side. In an ambush, the monster go first unless a party
member detected the ambush, either by tracking skill or the sense spell.
Even if the ambush was detected, there is no time to set up before
combat begins. If there was no ambush, then you go first unless you try
to talk and fail. In your turn, a small marker on the right hand side of
the status summary area appears next to each one of your members. The
presence of these markers indicates which members have not completed
their moves in this turn yet. You can move the party members in any
sequence you want by pressing their number keys (1-6) to indicate who
moves next, or you can let them act in the party sequence. Natural
dexterity or a gonshi mushroom may give a member time to do more than
one thing during his or her turn.
Fleeing from Combat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In some cases, retreat may be your best course of action. Simply stated,
you flee by running away-moving through doors or off the edge of the
screen. Sometimes a party member may decide to flee despite your wish
for him or her to stay and continue to fight. The bravery of the
character has a great influence on this decision. A fleeing member will
no longer accept commands, being in a state of panic, and running to the
nearest exist as fast as possible. The only way to have the member
rejoin the battle is to cast a courage spell before he or she disappears
from the arena. Character who fled from combat will reappear after the
enemy is successfully dealt with, unless a companion's loyalty to the
hero and enthusiasm for the adventure are so low that he or she simply
keeps running until familiar, safe surroundings are found.
Weapon Attacks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Swords and axes can be used only on adjacent targets. The attack command
swings the weapon. So does attempting to move in the direction of the
target. Bows can be used on any target which is not adjacent to the
archer. The attack command will shoot an arrow at the selected target,
providing the attacker has any arrows to shoot. The damage inflicted by
a hit with a weapon depends on the strength of the attacker, the weapon
used, and the armor of the target.
Armor and Magic Shields
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Armor reduces the effect of non-magical attacks. Obviously, some types
of armor are better than others, steel plate armor will provide better
protection than leather armor. Methreal armor will be better than any
other kind. Magic shields - the result of the shield spell- protect
their owners from magical damage. Unlike armor, magic shields wear out
as they absorb magical energy. Shield spells can be cast on top of each
other, up to a maximum of 99 points of protection for any one person at
any one time.
Attacking at Will
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At your option, you can tell the party members who still have moves left
within the current turn to make moves as they see fit. This is
accomplished with the will command. The designated member then will
decide what moves to make on his or her own initiative. The choices your
party members make on their own depend on the most part on their
personality profiles. The will command is effective for only the current
run and selected party member.
Delegating Leadership
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can also turn the leadership function over to any one of the hero's
companions and hirelings during combat. The head command, when selected,
presents you with a list of all available party members. The one you
choose will replace you as the leader and will start issuing orders to
all members of the party, including the hero. You can adjust the speed
of the combat by pressing a number key. 0 is slowest; 9 is fastest.
Return the party members to your control by pressing any other key or
mouse button.
AFTER VICTORY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After you have defeated the monsters, your first priority is to
resurrect any slain party members. The resurrect spell is very sensitive
to time and must be cast as soon as possible. If, for some reason, you
are unable to resurrect a member, be sure to transfer his or her
valuable possessions to the survivors. Next, you will have the
opportunity to plunder the bodies of your conquered foes. If there are
any hirelings in the party, make sure that they get their fair share of
the loot. Finally, if the monsters were guarding a treasure chest or a
magic fountain, you may use a pick on the locked chest to open it or
drink from the fountain to restore energy and gain other magical
benefits. (To drink, move next to the fountain and look at it.)
MAGIC
~~~~~
The Rules of Magic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rules of magic are fixed and invariable, and have been known to
change without notice. That's the way magic is. You have to depend on
it, but you can never be really sure. There are nine rules of magic.
There always have been nine rules of magic, but yesterday there may
always have been eight. Or ten. Or a hundred. These are the nine rules.
Rule 1.
~~~~~~~
Spells are recorded in magic books, and can only be learned from those
books.
Rule 2.
~~~~~~~
Spells can be learned from magic books only during a period of
undisturbed concentration.
Rule 3.
~~~~~~~
Spells that have been learned must be recalled to memory before they can
be cast.
Rule 4.
~~~~~~~
Once a spell has been cast, it escapes from the caster's mind. However,
if the spell has been learned more than once, the next copy immediately
jumps into the caster's recollection. No more than 99 copies of any one
spell can be learned at a time.
Rule 5.
~~~~~~~
Spell-casting uses energy. Less-experienced casters use their own
energy. Those of more experience draw some of the energy from the
atmosphere surrounding them.
Rule 6.
~~~~~~~
More experienced spell-casters get a greater effect from most spells.
Move resistant opponents receive a lesser effect from most spells.
Rule 7.
~~~~~~~
The time it takes to learn a spell depends on the difficulty of the
spell, the magical aura of the local geography, and the intelligence of
the spell-caster learning the spell.
Rule 8.
~~~~~~~
All magic resolves itself.
Rule 9.
~~~~~~~
Spell effectiveness depends on environment and circumstances.
THE BOOKS OF MAGIC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Dreax was reimprisoned in Berbezza, only four different spell books
were known in Deruvia. Since then another has been discovered, a sixth
has been written by the Honorable Rimfiztrik, and the Great Ziyx is
writing a seventh.
Sabano
~~~~~~
Sabano is the book of conflict. Like the other books, it contains six
spells. Sabano's spells all deal with the fight between the Children of
Light and the Forces of Darkness.
FEAR instills a fear of combat into an opponent for a time. The target
will neither move nor attack for the duration of the fear spell. You may
approach and attack the target without danger from him.
CONFUSE avoids conflict when traveling through the countryside. A
confuse spell will cause the enemy to forget all about you. Move away
quickly before they spot you again.
REPEL is the only way to resolve conflicts with the giant poisonous
snakes, spiders and scorpions that infest the lairs of darkness. These
creatures are constructs of dark magic and cannot be harmed by weapons
or other spells.
LOCATE can be used either to avoid conflict or to find it. The party
becomes aware of all the forces of darkness in the vicinity. It can only
be cast while traveling through the countryside.
ASSESS gives you knowledge of your opponents in combat.
Ishban
~~~~~~
Ishban is the book of change. Some of its changes are temporary; some
are permanent.
FIREBALL changes the very air to fire, and propels it toward the
opponent.
TELEPORT changes the location of the caster and his or her companions.
Teleport can only be cast outdoors, and only where conditions are proper
for it.
HEAL changes the stamina of its target to be as high as possible. It
does not cure illness or poisoning.
WEAKEN changes the target's armor to sand, and its magical shield to
air.
VISION changes doors to glass for an instant, allowing the caster a
glimpse of the room beyond.
FREEZE changes the target's sense of time, paralyzing him so that
neither attack nor defense is possible.
Demaro
~~~~~~
Demaro is the book of protection. Its spells are used to prevent harm,
to remove obstacles, and to repair damage.
ENERGY restores the target's energy to its maximum possible.
PIERCE removes the energy fields that the powers of darkness use to
block access to vital areas of their domains.
DISAPPEAR is the spell of invisibility. While invisible, the target is
protected from enemy attack. An invisible person can attack an opponent
with no chance of missing, but an attack at close quarters immediately
makes the person visible again. Magic and missile attacks do not
terminate invisibility.
WALKWATER congeals portions of underground pools and streams, allowing
the caster and his party to walk on them. It is not effective on deeper
and swifter bodies of water, such as oceans, lakes, and rivers.
SHIELD erects a magical shield around the target. The shield protects
against magical attacks only, not against physical attacks, poison or
illness.
RESURRECT is the most powerful spell in the Demaro book. It actually
raises the dead. The resurrect spell must be cast as soon as possible.
Zoxinn
~~~~~~
All spells in the book of Zoxinn have names starting with the letter Z.
ZOFIR is the counterspell to Freeze. It removes paralysis.
ZAPALL throws fireballs against all the caster's opponents at once.
ZENGRL restores their full hit points to all the members of the party.
ZISHOXE is to shield as ZAPALL is to fireball. It strengthens the
magical shields of everyone in the party.
ZEFOAR throws a giant fireball. It damages everyone near its landing
point, friend or enemy.
ZUTYUN is arguably the most powerfull of Zoxinn's spell. It affects all
your opponents as weaken would affect one of them.
Vannex
~~~~~~
The newly-discovered book of Vannex contains six very powerful spells.
Some have come to call it the book of stealth.
JUMP transfers a combatant instantly from one location to another within
the combat arena. Jump can be used on your opponents either to remove
them from close combat or to place them in the heat of fray.
DETECT marks the location of magical teleportals, so your party can use
them or avoid them.
GLAMOUR increases the target's apparent charm, making it possible for
the target to hold conversations with those who would otherwise ignore
him.
DRAIN weakens the target by inducing a small portion of the target's
brain to melt.
SEE is the counterspell to disappear. When see is cast on an area, all
invisible opponents within the area become visible.
DISGUISE changes the appearance of your party into the semblance of
minions of darkness.
Emenad
~~~~~~
Emenad is nearing completion. The Great Ziyx has determined all the
specifics of the spells it will contain. (Emenad's spells will be of
such potency that they can be cast but once in each combat encounter.)
BETRAY will cause its target to turn against its former allies.
SUMMON will produce a duplicate of the target to fight on the caster's
side. It will summon only creatures of very low intelligence.
DESTROY will completely destroy almost any opponent. Destroy will remove
the memory of all other spells from the caster's mind
TERRIFY will unleash a wave of terror, causing enemies who are not brave
enough or resistant enough to magic to turn and flee.
DOUBLE will conjure a duplicate of one of your party members. The double
will hold the same type of weapon and wear the same array of armor. The
double will not be capable of casting or using mushrooms.
TIMESTOP will slow down time for the caster's opponents.
Felmis
~~~~~~
The Honorable Rimfiztrik suggests his new book Felmis be called the book
of Rimfiztrik. Many others are calling it the book of many colors.
ACIDBALL hurls a balls of fuming acid at its target.
FORGET causes its target, which should be a spell-caster, to lose all
memory of the spell that is in the forefront of his mind.
COURAGE is the counterspell to fear, and can also be cast on fleeing
comrades to enhearten him to rejoin the fray.
RESTSOUL is an essential weapon against the undead minions of darkness.
When an undead falls in combat, it is no deader than it was when the
battle started. Cast restsoul on a fallen undead foe to keep it from
reanimating and rejoining the fight.
SOULSPEAK was discovered by Rimfiztrik while he was researching
Restsoul. It makes conversations with ghosts possible.
CAMP ACTIVITIES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you decide to camp, several activities are possible for the party.
Use, Recall, and Magic function as always to use an item, recall a magic
spell and cast the spell that the selected party member has in memory.
Put puts armor, clothing and other equipment on. Off takes it off.
When camping is appropriate, assign activities to the party members.
Depending on the location, they can Sleep, Learn, Fix, Watch or Hunt.
Sleep is often the very reason for camping. Sleep restore hit point and
energy. While most of the party is sleeping, those who own spell books
can stay awake and Learn spells. Select the spell you want to magic-user
to learn copies of.
If the party has been in combat, their weapons and armor might need
repair. If you see a problem, assign a party member to Fix the
equipment.
When the party is camping in the wilderness, there is both danger and
opportunity. The minions of darkness wander the wilds, so it is always a
good idea to have a party member stand Watch to prevent ambushes.
On the other hand, the proper kinds of terrain are ripe for hunting.
Assign some of your party members to Hunt. You may find that you finish
camping with enough food to take to town and sell.
Resting in Camp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the party members have been assigned their camp activities, the
Begin command starts the camp activities. After you begin, the camp
activities continue until you Stop. You may stop, assign party members
to different activities, then begin again. Or after you stop, you can
End the camp, pack up, and proceed with the game.
