Kinjite Games 1996 November

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╔════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ DRAGONS SHARD RPG. ║ ║ ║ ╚════════════════════════╝ PLAYERS BOOK Version 2.0 - AUGUST 1992 Copyright 1992. All Rights Reserved. Bit Brother Software #2 Winged Foot Way Littleton CO 80123 (303)-973-5606 MST (voice) SHAREWARE LICENSE TERMS The DRAGONS SHARD Role Playing Game is NOT public domain or free software, but is being distributed as SHAREWARE. This means that if you are a regular user of DRAGONS SHARD you should register and recieve the enhanced version as a bonus. Only from the income from your registrations can the authors continue to provide product support, make enhancements and basically stay in buisiness. Non-registered users of this software are granted a limited license to make an evaluation copy for the trial use on a private, non-commercial basis, for the purpose of determining if DRAGONS SHARD is suitable. At the end of this trial period, the user should either register his or her copy or discontinue use. Registered users of DRAGONS SHARD may use DRAGONS SHARD on any computer as long as there is no chance of the same copy being run on multiple computers at the same time. Operators of BBS'S are encouraged to post DRAGONS SHARD and other other material by Bit Brother Software, for downloading by their users. This license to use DRAGONS SHARD does NOT include the right to distribute or sell DRAGONS SHARD. These terms follow. DISTRIBUTION OF DRAGONS SHARD BY VENDORS AND COMPUTER DEALERS: Distributers of "public domain" or user supported software libraries must obtain written permission to distribute Stone Mist and related quest material. No one may use DRAGONS SHARD as a promotion for any commercial venture or as an enticement for the user to pay for any program, product, or service unless they have RECEIVED the express written permission of the programs author. In order to distribute DRAGONS SHARD the dealer must comply with the following conditions: 1.) You must obtain written permission from Bit Brother Software to distribute DRAGONS SHARD. If you receive no reply, write again: our silence does not constitute permission, and you may not distribute pending receipt of permission. 2.) A fee no greater than $10.00 may be charged for each disk sold. DRAGONS SHARD may not be included on any disk sold for more than $10.00, including CD-ROM or optical disks, w/o express written permission from Bit Brother Software. 3.) Vendors may not modify or delete any files on the disk. Vendors may add a "GO" or any other reasonable text file to assist the user. These files added by the vendor must be easily identifiable and end users must be allowed to delete the added files. 4.) Vendors must make a reasonable effort to distribute only the most recent versions of DRAGONS SHARD. All vendors who have requested and receeved written permission to distribute DRAGONS SHARD will be notified of updates as they are released. 5.) All disk vendors must comply with all guidelines as set forth by the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP) These ASP guidelines essentially call for the following : Vendors must make an attempt to educate users on the nature of shareware. Catalogs, advertisements, order forms and all disks sold should contain material describing the nature of shareware and shoudl explicitly state that no part of disk sale revenues are paid to the programs' author. Bit Brother Software disclaims all warranties relating to this software, whether expressed or implied, including but not limited to any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, and all such warranties are expressly and specifically disclaimed. Neither Bit Brother Software nor anyone else who has been involved in the creation, production or delivery of this software shall be liable for any indirect, consequential or incidental damages arising out of the use or inability to use such software even if Bit Brother Software has been advised of the possibility if such damages or claims. In no event shall Bit Brother Software liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use the software, regardless of the form of claim. The person using the software bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the software. Some states do not allow the exclusion of the limit of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you. This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Colorado and shall inure to the benefit of Bit Brother Software and any successors, administrators, heirs and assigns. Any action or proceeding brought by either party against the other arising out of or related to this agreement shall be brought only in a STATE or FEDERAL COURT of competent jurisdiction located in Littleton, Colorado. The parties herby consent to in personam jurisdiction of said courts. This software and the disks on which it is contained is licensed to you, for your own use. This is copyrighted software. You are not obtaining title to the software or any copyright rights. You may not sublicense, rent, license, convey, modify, translate, convert to another programming language, decompile or disassemble the software for any purpose. You may make as many copies of this software as you need for back-up purposes. You may not use this software on more than one computer, provided there is no chance it will be used simultaneously on more than one computer. If you need to use the software on more than one computer simultaneously, please contanct use for information about site licenses. User support is crucial to any project but is extremely critical to DRAGONS SHARD. We need user feedback!!! We need to know what you like, dislike etc. All suggestions are treated with the utmost importance, so please send us a letter or give us a call, we'll be glad to talk to you about what YOU want in this project. DO YOU SUSPECT TAMPERED FILES? If you believe your copy of DRAGONS SHARD has been tampered or altered in anyway, shape or form. Please contact us immediately! We'll get you an unadulterated copy immediately, by the mail or via modem. Do not hesitate a moment to inform us. Remember, shareware should be available to all, in the original form, so please do not accept modified or damaged versions of our software. Thanks. DRAGONS SHARD ROLE PLAYING GAME PRODUCT AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT Bit Brother Software will make every reasonable effort to fix any bugs with the game, and help registered users by answering technical and other game related questions. There are several forms of correspondance available: 1.) By letter to : Bit Brother Software c/o Michael Ramsey #2 Winged Foot Way Littleton CO 80123 2.) By telephone : Monday to Friday, after 5 pm MST. Saturday, 10-7 MST. (Please respect these hours!!!) If you send disks or listings that you wish returned, be sure to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) with sufficient postage. If you don't enclose a SASE, your material will not be returned. If you have problems with playing or setting up DRAGONS SHARD, please have the following information available: 1.) The version of DRAGONS SHARD. The version number is displayed on the main menu screen. 2.) The computer system your using, ie. American Megatrend 286, VGA, hard drive etc. 3.) A copy of your Autoexec.bat. 4.) Any TSR's that your running. 5.) Exactly what your problem is written down. 6.) What where you doing when something happened? Possibly the keystroke you hit before an ill effect happened or whatever. 1.0 Introduction 1.1 General Information Welcome to the DRAGONS SHARD World. The DRAGONS SHARD Rpg is a game that was written in response to the overall poor quality of the majority of role playing games on the market. 1.2 Hardware Requirements DRAGONS SHARD will run on any computer that supports EGA and has a A drive big enough to hold the game data. Probably the most ideal machine one would be a, 286 AT, 12mhz with SVGA (.28 pitch) and a hard drive. It just makes the game run alot quicker. But then again it'll work fine on an old EGA floppy based system. Last but not least you NEED a microsoft compatible mouse to play DRAGONS SHARD. 1.3 Executing the Program To run the game, type: "runme" This will execute the game. Thats all theres to it! The "README.DOC" file also has the latest up to date info and notes about this program. 1.4 The Introductory Menus When you first run DRAGONS SHARD you will see some info regarding trademarks and copyrights of the software. Following that you will see a title screen. +---------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | DRAGONS SHARD | | Version # | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Start Game | | Options Credits | | Exit to DOS Registering | | | | | | | +---------------------------------------------+ Use your mouse to select the option you want. Available options: START GAME This is where you will click to start your crusades against the forces of evil and darkness. will be returned to the main menu screen. You now proceed to the save game screen. If this is your first time playing a quest then you must select "Save Game A". Otherwise, you can resume a saved game. The Games Begin... And Good Luck... OPTIONS This allows you to modify the games difficulty levels. Default for DRAGONS SHARD is hard! The remaining items are self explanatory. 2.0 Creating a Character This section will give you a complete understanding of the people in the game and how you can design your own player character to suit your needs. 2.1 Character Races Humans are not the only race in the DRAGONS SHARD World. Each race has its own special abilities and weaknesses. Following is a listing of the races that live in the DRAGONS SHARD World. Before you create a player, for adventuring in the DRAGONS SHARD World, you should first think about what type of character do you want be? Conceptualize what you character will look like. A powerful, sword wielding warrior or maybe you want to be a careful, plotting magic user that casts ancient and mystifying spells. It's left in your hands. Create a character that YOU want to be! Humans. Just like you and me. Nothing special here except they are fighting dragons and kobolds on a weekly basis! Dwarf. Dwarves are an ancient race. They stand only four to five feet tall, but are compact and extremely sturdy. Dwarves usually live in caves and mines and earn their living by mining precious metals. Because of their strong build they are destined to become excellent fighters. They have great distrust of Elves. All dwarves wear beards and the greatest insult is to have a dwarfs beard shaven. Mountain Dwarf. This breed of dwarf lives his entire life in the rugged outbacks of the Dragon Horde mountains or any other range. The harsh and weathered conditions of these climates make these dwarfs the toughest and hardiest of all creatures on the planet. Beware they are tough. Hill Dwarf. This dwarfs spend their days lying about and studying the fine arts of jewelry, magic and other what not. In general these dwarfs are not as tough as their counterparts but make up for it in the keen knowledge of the land and lore. Wood Elf. Elves are graceful and intelligent creatures. They love to live in warm, wooded forests where they partake in playing pranks on travellers. They are often arrogant and over estimate their own capabilities, while underestimating the skills of others. They are usually extremely intelligent creatures, conducting themselves in the arts of magic and sorcery. Elves are usually 6 foot plus, skinny and light skinned. Elf. The normal Elf tends to congregate around human establishments. They find humans to be funny to watch and drink with. Elves that grow up in towns and castles tend to be extremely intelligent. They gather all materal and lore they can lay their hands on. An evil elf can be a might foe! Dark Elf. The most evil of creatures on the planet is an intelligent elf gone dark. The Dark Elfs are such powerful magic users and illusionists that if it where not for there internal and constant fighting they would surely lay waste to the world. These beings once advanced in level are so archaic that they tend towards evil and destruction of all that they cannot benifit from. The Dark Elf usually leaves underground or in a dark and secluded castle. Gnome. Short little go lucky creatures that are extremely helpful to all. They love the wild and would never ever harm a creature of mother earth. Halfling. Halflings like dwarves tend to live underground, but not in caves, but halfling caves. Link comfort they make extra efforts to keep there abode clean. They usually have gardens to sustain their life. Many halflings make their lives as traders, being exceptionally gifted with bartering abilities. A halfling is deadly in close hand to hand combat. 1/2 Elf/Human. Cross breeds of a human and elf. They tend to appear as a human but still retain many elven characteristics. Such as being tall and skinny with blue or gold eyes. 2.2 Character Archetypes In the DRAGONS SHARD world characters are created with a profession that the player finds suitable. There is no single best class, each has its own strengths and weaknesses. CLASSES NOTES Fighter <---+ Barbarian | Knight | + Heavy weapon usage. Ranger |------ + High str, dex, con, and pres. Bard | + No magic. Thief | Cutpurse | Rogue <---+ Priest <-----+ Shaman | Druid | + No weapons. Cutpurse |----- + Heavy magic. Sage | + High int, pre, ego and com. Wizard | Hedge Wizard <-----+ Monk <---+----------- + Light weapons. Paladin <---+ + Medium magic. + High str, dex, int and ego. 2.3 Characters Attributes Each player has a base set of abilities which define his physical and mental prowess. A high number in any ability suggests that the player is extremely adept in that area of prowess. Strength. Your physical ability to move items, fight etc. The stronger you are, the more damage you can do to an enemy. Intelligence. How smart you are. This really helps magic users out. Alot of spellcasting can take its toll. Dexterity. How quick you are. (ie. Rabbit or Turtouse) Constitution. Can you take a licking and keep on ticking? If you have a high constitution it effects your ability to go the distance in combat. Ego. Are you always right? Come on I'll take you on! Presence. Do you phyically influence others when you enter the room. Big muscles, over bearing. You get the picture Arnold. Comeliness. Do you get rattled easily ? When talking to people does your character get nervous easily, uncomfortable around strangers etc. Body. Do you have bulky muscles or are you skinny and wimpy? Other Character Statistics. Armor Class. Effected by the armor your wearing. The higher the value, the better protection it provides. Hit points. How much damage you can take before dying. Magic Points. Amount of magical abilities you have. Experiance points. More fights and quests you complete the better and the more competent you become. Gold. How much money you have.(dollars, rubels, credits and the like.) Level. Are you a neophyte or a Grand Magister? Equipment. Weapons, armor, shields, helms, gloves, figurines, rings, wands, keys, herbs and others. 3.0 Playing the Adventure 3.1 Game Screen The Game Screen you'll be seeing most of the time looks like this. +----------------------+ +--------------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +----------------------+ +--------------+ +---------------------------------------+ | | | 3 | | | +---------------------------------------+ The displays are labeled as follows: 1. The main game display. This contains all the graphical representations of the land and its surrounding countryside. 2. This is brief data strip, that shows what you have equipped and all the various icons you can use in the game. 3. This is the message window. The computer puts all appropriate messages here. Character Commands Now we'll give you a rundown on the commands and functions you can expect to perform while playing DRAGONS SHARD. Arrow icons. These will move your player about the land or you use it to suggest a direction. Head Icon. This icon will allow you to talk to other people in the world. The computer will then prompt you which direction you wish to speak to. Use the arrow icon for this. If you've entered a valid direction and there is someone there,then that person will converse with you. In following examples we will use this form, where; p - plain * - tree N - npc X - you C - castle o - wall D - Door Exa : 1 +-------------+ |*pppp********| |ppppp********| |*pppp********| |**pppp**N****| |********X****| |*************| +-------------+ To talk to the character 'N'. You would do as follows: 1.) Click on the head, with the left mouse button. 2.) Click on the up arrow with the RIGHT mouse button. Door icon. To enter buildings of any type use this command. Once you've hit this icon the computer will load the new game data. Exa : 2 +-------------+ |*pppp********| |ppppp********| |*pppp********| |**pppp**C****| |**pppp**X****| |****pp*******| +-------------+ To enter the castle you would do as follows; 1.) Go north (1 icon click in this example), until you are on TOP of the castle. 2.) Click on the door icon. 3.) The computer will now load the appropriate data. Building/ladder icon. To leave buildings, you must position your character 1.) in FRONT of the door or 2.) on TOP of the ladder and then click the exit icon. You will now exit the structure. Exa : 3 +-------------+ |***oooooooo**| |***o......o**| |***o......o**| |***o..X...o**| |***oooDoooo**| |*************| +-------------+ To exit the building properly you would do as follows; 1.) Postion your character as in Example 3. Just in front of the door. If you where leaving a dungeon you would walk on TOP of the ladder. 2.) Click on the exit icon. Hand icon. Allows you to use an object. Items you can use are as follows: 1.) Door. You will be asked to enter the direction of the door. Then a list of the keys that are available to you, from your pack, will be displayed. Click on the appropriate key you want to use. If that key opens up that door then you will be advanced through the unlocked door. 2.) Chest. If you see a chest in front of you, you will be able to search that chest, just in case it has Gold! or maybe even an artifact! Just enter the direction of the chest, and the computer will search for ya. 3.) Bundles and Bags. Same as the chest. Just enter the direction of the bag and the computer will search for you. Light Blue outfit icon. To put on or equip an item in your inventory. The ONLY items that need to be equiped are armor, helmets, and shields. The computer will display a list of items that you can equip, Armor, Helmets, and Shields. If you already have that type of equipment on, the computer will tell you that you must remove it first. If no problems, then a listing of your equipment will be displayed, for you to choose which item to equip. Dark Blue outfit icon. Removing your equipment. This follows the exact form as putting an item on. Except your taking it off. Sword icon. Attack someone. For when you want to initiate violence unto another individual. Shame!Shame!Shame! Just enter the direction in which you want to attack and if your attack is valid, combat is but a scream away! One special note is due. You CANNOT attack everyone in this game, so don't be suprised when you want to crack the local shopkeeper over the skull with your new Divine Mace, that I the computer will not let you! (Ohhh the power I have. grin) Looking at signs. Gazing at signs. When you want to read signs , click on the use icon and then the direction. Campfire icon. Rest for a period of one hour. Allows you to regain some lost hit points and magic points. Don't over abuse. The Devourer is but a nap away! Character sheet icon. Options: Pops up a character sheet with your statistics. ie. your name, race, strength, gold pieces etc. also are listings of your weapons, equipment, spellbook and the keys that are on your key ring. Save game icon.(diskette) With this option you can EXIT to Dos or save your game. This is the icon used to SAVE your game and CHARACTER. Use it often. There are a total 6 save game postions available. You can save your game in slots B-G. Slot A is left available for people that are just starting the RPG, this allows them to begin the quests all over (So naturally you can't save in this position.) * Note: A special use for this key is as follows. When you are in a store, combat or whatever and decide not to do anything, you can get away with clicking the right mouse button on nothing. For example, if you get caught up in combat with NO weapons or spells then you can go ahead and click on your hands. Sure, your not going to critically hurt the monster but you'll at least do a little bit of damage. (Usually just characters level.) Up Thumb. Answer yes to a question. Down Thumb. Answer no to a question. 3.5 Gaining Experiance To gain experiance in DRAGONS SHARD you have to get into some fights with hideous, blood sucking, brain draining, gut wrenching, (ohh, sorry) creatures of the world. When you do battle with these creatures and hopefully win, you'll gain experiance and maybe get some gold for your efforts. After a few battles you may have gained enough experiance to advance a level. Upon this joyous occasion you will be rewarded with increased stats. To advance in levels you have to find the Elder that resides in Shreland. He has the insight to grant you this increase in stature. Experiance Table Level Amount of Experiance Points ------+----------------------------- 1 | 0 to 500 2 | 501 to 1000 3 | 1001 to 2000 4 | 2001 to 3000 5 | 3001 to 4000 A special note. The shareware version of DRAGONS SHARD RPG only allows characters to go up to level 5. The registered version allows higher levels for character development. 3.6 Portals Portals allow you to zip about the world! Make sure you make careful note upon entry of a portal and the ending location. These magical devices are powerful and should be used only if needed. To enter a portal, just move onto one and click on the door icon. And you'll be transported to your destination. Make sure you note the coordinates of the portals and where they transport you to. This could come in handy in the future. 3.7 Armor To help you bear the brunt of combat, you should probably go find some armor, shield and helmets. These will help you absorb some of the damage that you can recieve in combat. These items can be purchased in specialty stores across the land. The better the protection, the more they cost. 3.9 Miscellaneaous Equipment Keys. Keys play an important role in the game. Dungeons contain many locked doors, all requiring a certain key for it to be unlocked. Stores sell these keys, but most importantly of all, is that you need to now which keys are required in a certain dungeon. To find out which certain key a dungeon door needs will require you to do a little investigating. Talk to people, complete mini quests etc. Potions and Herbs. These items are similar to spells in that they all have speical results. Increasing your hit points, presence or whatever. They are fairly expensive, though. Costing more as the amount of there effects increase. Shop wisely with these items. 4.0 Keys that are used. 1.) Bevil 2.) Lehmans 3.) Velisk 4.) Dulmis 5.) Lans 6.) Skullik 7.) Threek 8.) Luvlk 9.) Kralah 10.) Kalisth 11.) Thorn 12.) Otyghl 13.) Phalk 14.) Abaril You can purchase anyone of these from some of the selected merchants in DRAGONS SHARD. Though I'll let you know in advance that some of these keys are extremely expensive, because maybe they open up tombs of great wealth?! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michael Ramsey. A computer game junkie that lives to program and play any type of computer game. He especially loves space strategy games, which allows him to destroy and conquer others at a whim ( no he's not on a ego trip!) Having one of the largest software collections around, he continues still to play some of the oldest and most addictive games from the market. Starting in the 7th grade to program on a now ancient TRS-80 he soon developed a passion for games. Period. Having seen the works of other people he was caught with the bug to write software. Starting with a rudimentary Pitfall game on his TRS-80 Color Computer to his current creation of DRAGONS SHARD he has remained true to his one intention, to become a game designer. COMING SOON! COMING SOON! COMING SOON! COMING SOON! COMING SOON! COMING SOON! COMING SOON! COMING SOON! COMING SOON! COMING SOON! COMING SOON! COMING SOON! CYBERPUNK RPG. Wanna live the corrupt and frightning future that faces us? Now with Cyberpunk you can role play characters in CYBERSPACE or take on drug crazed boosters in the alleys. Whatever your whim, you'll be thrust into one the most violent games on the market. Using an enhanced engine from DRAGONS SHARD, you are treated to a visual feast in this technically perverse future. Jack in and take a ride on the waves! You will take part in a horrid scheme to uncover a body parts ring that the local Yakuza are running. The cops can't do anything about it, the bounty hunters sure can't,...maybe you can? Improved graphics, SOUND BLASTER support, and much more! A playable demo will be available soon! Write or call us for the latest info on the CYBERPUNK RPG or if just want to give us some suggestions on what YOU want to see. STONE MIST II. The good old days of wandering about the countryside are gone. Now there are beings in the land from other worlds and their slaughtering hundreds. If they don't kill people they're addicting them to a destructive drug. Hopelessly addicted the citizens of STONE MIST face their greatest challenge. Can you as a proven champion lead the people against the evil invaders? Using an enhanced version of original DRAGON engine, this game is over 2 years in the making! Using SOUND BLASTER to enhance the game, you are provided to role playing at its best! Write or call us for the latest info on STONE MIST II. or if just want to give us some suggestions on what YOU want to see. A playable version will be available for testing shortly! WINTER 1992! CENTAURUS GRAVITY TANK. An ever expanding gravity tank game. 100% mouse driven with pull down menus and automatic scanning and "painting" of enemy units. Up to four players can compete. You can customize your own gravity tanks, maps and scenarios!