- INTRODUCTION Welcome to TOME, a multi-character fantasy role-playing trilogy. Within TOME, you will take your party of characters into the depths of ShardMoure Keep, home of the ShadowKing. To successfully win the game, you will have to solve several puzzles, learn the art of combat, and deal with villains such as the Keeper, the dead lord B'Nah, and the ShadowKing himself. - QUICK START TOME comes preloaded with four characters who have a healthy spread of abilities. Select New Game from the Main Menu, and then Select START. For those who like to create their own characters, read further. - CHARACTER CREATION You can create new characters every time you select NEW GAME from the Main Menu. From the NEW GAME you may select START a new game, LOAD characters from a previous game, edit a character, or EXIT back to the Main menu. Character's traits are divided into two categories: ATTRIBUTES and TRAINING. ATTRIBUTES are those abilities that are dictated by a character's race. They are inborn and cannot change. Attributes range from 0 (none at all) to 20 (superhuman). Depending on the attributes values, you will be allowed to enter certain professions with your character. These attributes include: Intelligence - Self explanatory. The intelligence of a character is a primary trait for wizards. Strength - Strong characters can hit harder and carry more weight. Strength is primary for barbarians, and secondary for paladins. Piety - How devout is your character? Piety is the essential trait for a cleric, and to a lesser extent for paladins. Coordination - The eye-hand coordination of the character, fundamental for a thief. In addition to these 4 primary traits, there are two other traits that are just as important, governing how your character reacts. Speed - how quickly a character regains the use of his hands once he strikes in battle. Hit Points - The amount of damage your character can take before he dies. When you are creating your character, you are allowed a certain number of attribute "BONUS POINTS ". These range from 0-2 and may be distributed across the character's abilities to customize the character as you wish. You are only awarded attribute points during character creation. TRAINING reflects the areas in which a character has been trained. Although partially influenced by ATTRIBUTES (i.e. a character cannot possess more skill than he has the innate ability for), these skills can grow as the character moves through the game. Trained skills include: Locks/Traps - Skill in picking locks and disarming traps. Should be at least a 6. Scribing - The ability to recognize artifacts. Without this ability, the party may unintentionally injure himself or others through the incorrect use of an object. A '6' in this category gives the party the ability to read all languages, including Grimhaden, Dryaden, High Voranu, and Shadowen. Weapons - How your character handles contact and range weapons and shields. Water - Training in water magic. Earth - Training in earth magic. Air - Training in magic of the air. Fire - Training in fire magic. As with ATTRIBUTES, you have from 0-2 Bonus points to customize the character. Unlike ATTRIBUTES, you get additional training points for every 100, 150, or 200 valor points (depending upon the play level you select) until your character becomes a 10th level character. -Character Condition During the game, your characters will encounter traps and different monsters. During these encounters your character will sometimes become hampered. The characters' current conditions are represented by small icons on the game play screen next to the characters' faces. These icons include: a skull for death, a green face for poisoned, a ZZZZ symbol to indicate a stun or paralysis, and a ??? symbol to indicate a confused character. A stunned or paralyzed character will awaken after a day's rest. During that day, he can perform no action. The condition can be lifted with an Awaken spell. A confused character will only perform the action asked of him approximately 50% of the time. A day's rest will cure confusion. A poisoned character will remain poisoned until either a cure poison spell is cast, or a cure poison potion is found (or made) and administered. Poisoned characters wil tire more easily and will be damaged more severely during combat. A dead character may be revived through a Raise The Dead spell, or by the administering of a Raise The Dead potion. The magic mirror in the garden in game 1 can also raise a dead character to life again. - THE PROFESSIONS There are 6 professions. There are certain minimum attribute points required to enter each profession. Each profession provides training in certain areas. The professions are: Barbarian - Extremely capable with weapons, but lacking any ability at all with magic, barbarians are the perfect fighting machine. To enter the Barbarian profession a character must have a strength of at least 13. Barbarians are highly trained in the use of weapons and have a little skill in the use of lock picks and traps. Paladin - Paladins are holy knights, trained in the use of the healing arts as well as the use of weapons. To enter the Paladin profession, a character must have at least a 10 in both piety and strength. Wizards - Wizards are highly intelligent and extremely well trained in all forms of magic (but hold some disregard for the healing magic of water). The primary trait for wizards is intelligence. A character must have at least an intelligence level of 13 to be a Wizard. Rogue - Rogues are jacks of all trades, and masters of none. Unlike the skilled professions, Rogues have picked up their training on the street, learning a little of every skill. A Rogue is a valuable addition to any party lacking in several skills. Clerics - Clerics are highly trained in the art of healing. A cleric's primary ability is his skill in water magic. A character must have at least an 11 in piety to enter the cleric profession. Thief - Thieves are highly trained in the art of manipulating locks and traps. Without a thief your characters are more likely to jam most locks and set off most traps. A thief needs a minimum of 12 in coordination to become a thief. - GENDER In addition to attributes and training, two other factors are important - these are gender and race. A male character has an additional rating point for strength, while a female character has an additional rating point for coordination. Males lose a rating point for coordination; females lose a point for strength. - THE RACES There are four races among the Voranu (the people of Garon). These races include: Human - Good at most everything, exceptional at nothing. Little resistance to magic. Intelligence 7-14 Strength 9-15 Piety 10-14 Coordination 7-11 Hit Points 70-90 Speed 3-6 Grimhaden - Poor at magic, excellent strength and stamina. Good resistance to magic. Intelligence 6-12 Strength 12-18 Piety 2-6 Coordination 9-13 Hit Points 80-120 Speed 1-4 Dryads - Somewhat weaker than humans, good in in intelligence, coordination, and hand speed. Some resistance to magic. Intelligence 8-15 Strength 8-13 Piety 8-10 Coordination 10-15 Hit Points 50-70 Speed 5-8 Halflings - The weakest sorts physically, but the most skilled at all types of magic. Excellent resistance to magic. The most coordinated of the four races of the Voranu. Intelligence 9-18 Strength 7-12 Piety 10-16 Coordination 9-17 Hit Points 40-60 Speed 7-10 - MAGIC WITHIN TOME Magic is very important within the world of TOME. Without characters skilled in the use of magic, your efforts will be doomed to failure, therefore a short discussion in magic is in order. There are 4 kinds of magic. Air spells are spells that manipulate the environment, such as 'Knock Knock' (opens locked doors) and Eagle Eye (Views a larger area of the map). Earth spells are those of the physical realm, such as Ice Storm, and HOLD. Water spells are healing spells, such as 'Balm of P'Tah'. Fire spells are attack spells, such as Fireball, and Inferno's Blast. Spells are learned in 3 different ways. When you create a character, you will be prompted to select a spell the character has magic for in each category. Likewise when the character gains a level (every 150,250, or 400 valor points) you will again be asked. Current valor points, and the points required to go to the next level can be viewed on the character's profile, brought up by hitting F1-F4, or clicking with the left mouse key on the character's face. Finally, in the maze are magic scrolls which will impart 1 spell of a certain magic type. - Play level When you first start TOME, the game will ask you for the play level. Depending upon the level you select monsters will die harder, and be more prone to invoke special attacks. It will also be harder to advance your characters as you select harder levels. - PLAYING THE GAME -Manipulating characters Along the edges of the play field are the characters' faces. Below each face is shown what they are carrying in each hand. Beside the character's face are three bar graphs showing their vitality, stamina, and magic strength. Each graph ranges from 0-100%. Vitality represents the character's life energy. When a character's vitality is less than 5, he falls asleep. When a character's vitality is 0, he is dead. Stamina represents the character's constitution (how quickly e will recover). If a character's stamina is less than 50%, he will not strike as hard, nor recover as quickly. Magic represents the character's magic strength. As a character's magic strength falls, he is capable of casting fewer kinds of spells. To select a character, to view his vital signs or see what's in their inventory, click the mouse on the character's face, or hit F1-F4. To use an item in the character's hand, select the hand with the left mouse, or click 1/2 for left/right character 1, 3/4 for left/right character 2, etc. If you wish to take an object out of a character's hand, or want to exchange an object for the object being carried by the mouse, click on the hand with the right mouse button. -Objects Tome is an interactive game. As you go through the game, if you wish to try to use an object in the game click with the left mouse on the object or bit of scenery. Typical examples are the library shelves. Click on them to search the shelves for scrolls or books. Click on buttons to open doors and invoke different things. -The Skull Above the viewing area is a skull. The skull's eyes will glow when you encounter a trap you have already identified. Clicking the left mouse on the skull's head (or hitting the Q key) and you can ask questions about things within TOME. Try asking the skull about Tenis. - Firesticks Throughout the maze are powerful weapons called firesticks. These invoke up to 100 points of damage upon a monster. These can be recharged by the spinning skulls. Hold the firestick up against a spinning skull and click the right mouse will recharge the weapon. -Movement Movement is accomplished by clicking on the arrows below the 3D viewing area with the mouse, or using the numeric keypad. -Radar View In the left lower corner of the screen is a radar view showing the area immediately around you. This view is especially helpful, since it shows the current state of all doors, levers, etc. -Manipulating objects There are several ways to manipulate objects within TOME. Using the right mouse key on the display screen, or hitting the 'W' key will 'work' objects such as locks, levers, and buttons. Clicking the left mouse key, or hitting 'G/D' will pick up and drop objects. If you have picked up an object, hitting the 'P' key will pitch (throw). If you are on a character's inventory screen, you may still Get and Drop objects. Use the right mouse button to 'use' an object. Use the left mouse button to exchange an object in the inventory bag for what is being carried by the mouse. -Icon Menu The Icon menu is located in the lower right- hand corner of the screen. There are 7 icons. ? bring up this help text. Selecting the wizard, or hitting 'S' will allow you to cast a spell in one of the four categories - Water, Earth, Air, or Fire. -(spell casting) Hit S or select wizard on icon menu. Select spellcaster. Move through the spells in the spellbook by clicking the mouse on the left/right hand edged of the book, or hit W,A,F,or E (for Water/Air/Fire/Earth). Spells that the magician knows and has the strength for are presented. Use the up down arrows to select or click on the spell with the mouse. The spell will be cast. In the Keep are special gems called 'T'Ganths'. T'Ganths act as focusing gems that will boost the power of a magic user if held while casting. Locating these will make your magicians much more lethal. There is a shortcut to casting spells. Click with the right mouse key on the character face will bring up the spell book for that character with the last page used displayed. -(checking time of day) Selecting the Timer, or hitting 'T' will display the time of day. -(examining items) Selecting the Eyeball , or hitting 'X' will cause your characters to examine the space in front of them. Many objects throughout TOME are trapped. Before a trap can be disarmed, you must examine the object to find the trap. (Another way to find the trap is to use the object and have the trap explode in your face). -(options) Selecting the Diskette, or hitting ESC will bring up the options menu. This menu allows saving/loading/exiting, swapping character positions, and re-configuring your sound options. -(resting) Selecting the camp fire will rest your characters. During rest, stunned characters will awaken, and tired ones will re-gain stamina, vitality, and magic strength. -(disarming traps) Selecting the safe icon, or hitting 'D' will give opportunity to disarm a trap that has been found by stumbling into it, or through examination. -Doors Doors are opened with levers, with buttons with a key, with a token and by working combination locks. When opening a combination lock, it is easy to 'jam it'. Using characters skilled at picking locks will help. Once a door is jammed, you must either use a 'Knock-Knock' spell, or find a way around the door. -Buttons and levers Throughout the game there are many buttons and levers. These items might affect something anywhere else in the maze. -Battling Monsters Keep your front characters armed and strong. If they are weakening, don't hesitate to use a 'Balm of P'Tah', or even switch their position with another character. Use attack spells often. If necessary, try backing up right after you have struck (this will give your characters a chance to recover their hands). Remember that certain monsters are immune to certain types of magic. You have some control over 'how' your characters react in battle. The character profile has two entries, Thrust/Swing and Dodge/Guard. Use the A/D keys or click on them with the mouse. Thrust means a quick forward thrust with the weapon. This results in only a 60% chance of hitting, but does double damage. Swing means swinging the weapon in a broad arc. This results in a 90% chance of hitting the enemy and does normal damage. Dodge means the character ducks. Guard means the character stands his ground, and tries to hit back. - MONSTERS Following is a brief list of some of the creatures of TOME. Armor class represents the chance the monster will absorb your blow. Hit points represents the amount of vitality of that monster. Watch out for monsters with special attacks! Some monsters will drop items when they are destroyed. Giant spider AC:4 HP:165-400 Magic Immunity: None Special Attack:Poison Dark Monk AC:7 HP:100-300 Magic Immunity:Earth Special Attack:Paralysis Magic:Yes Ogre guard AC:5 HP:225-500 Magic Immunity: Earth Special Attack:None A Giant Rat AC:6 HP:200-500 Magic Immunity: None Special Attack:Fear (steals valor points) The Keeper AC:8 HP:700-900 Magic Immunity: Fire Special Attack:Stun and Paralysis Magic:Yes -Character Information A character also has a food characteristic. If a character is starving, his vitality will go down quickly. On page 2 of a character's attributes are represented the character's current inventory. To select an object, click on it, or move the selection box and hit Enter (till the object is highlighted in red). Once the object is highlighted, you can move it, or, using the menu, Examine, or Use item. Page 2 shows you the amount of weight being carried. - SPELLS - Water Spells Awaken Energy: 40 Min. Usr Rnk:2 Min.Mag.Lvl.:6 Awakens a stunned party member Cure Poison Energy: 50 Min. Usr Rnk:1 Min.Mag.Lvl.:7 Cures a poisoned party member. Bless Energy: 45 Min. Usr Rnk:1 Min.Mag.Lvl.:1 Prevents extra damage to a character. Armor Energy: 30 Min. Usr Rnk:2 Min.Mag.Lvl.:6 Adds a point of armor protection. P'Tah's Balm Energy: 15 Min. Usr Rnk:1 Min.Mag.Lvl.:4 Heal between 5 and 10 points character damage. Raise Dead Energy: 80 Min. Usr Rnk:5 Min.Mag.Lvl.:5 Raises a party member from the dead. Ice Storm Energy: 25 Min. Usr Rnk:2 Min.Mag.Lvl.:5 Casts a freezing blast of cold. Make Vitality Energy: 50 Min. Usr Rnk:2 Min.Mag.Lvl.:1 Create a healing potion (need an empty bottle). Make Life Energy: 60 Min. Usr Rnk:4 Min.Mag.Lvl.:4 Create a raise-dead potion (need an empty bottle). - Earth Spells Knock Knock Energy: 25 Min. Usr Rnk:3 Min.Mag.Lvl.:5 Open a locked door. Reveal Traps Energy: 25 Min. Usr Rnk:1 Min.Mag.Lvl.:3 Shows whether or not an object contains a trap. Dissolve Wall Energy: 25 Min. Usr Rnk:2 Min.Mag.Lvl.:5 Dissolve's Push walls. Disarm Traps Energy: 30 Min. Usr Rnk:3 Min.Mag.Lvl.:5 Disarm trapped objects. Hold Energy: 50 Min. Usr Rnk:1 Min.Mag.Lvl.:1 Freezes a monster in place. - Wind Spells Eagle Eye Energy:10 Min. Usr Rnk:2 Min.Mag.Lvl.:3 Shows 5 surrounding map squares. Thunderbolt Energy:30 Min. Usr Rnk:1 Min.Mag.Lvl.:5 Casts a roaring blast of sound. Confusion Energy:20 Min. Usr Rnk:1 Min.Mag.Lvl.:3 Casts a web of confusion over a monster. Unparalyze Energy:35 Min. Usr Rnk:1 Min.Mag.Lvl.:5 Un paralyzes a paralyzed character. Levitate Energy:25 Min. Usr Rnk:1 Min.Mag.Lvl.:6 Lifts and moves the party forward. Lightning Energy:30 Min. Usr Rnk:2 Min.Mag.Lvl.:5 Casts a bolt of lightning. Ward Energy:90 Min. Usr Rnk:1 Min.Mag.Lvl.:1 Places a spinning object barring advance. A monster is in the space then the ward will not form. - Fire Spells Fire Ball Energy:25 Min. Usr Rnk:1 Min.Mag.Lvl.:1 Casts a bolt of fire at a monster. Flame Strike Energy:25 Min. Usr Rnk:2 Min.Mag.Lvl.:6 Casts several small balls of fire. Forge Metal Energy:40 Min. Usr Rnk:3 Min.Mag.Lvl.:7 Strengthen a weapon. Inferno Blast Energy:100 Min. Usr Rnk:4 Min.Mag.Lvl.:7 Casts a bolt of killing energy. - <END OF THE HELP TEXT>
