Future scenarios will have more of a goal but The City of Bywater has no underlying goal for its completion. You are a group of adventurers who have arrived in the city of Bywater with a small amount of money and a great desire for adventure.
This was a first attempt at creating a scenario so we don't have access to professional fantasy writers. (Not yet anyway) It's a pretty loose storyline. You can pretty much go where you like, when you like. Some people will like this better than the strictly linear games that guide you along a path. Finish X, so you can try Y, to get to Z. What happens if X is boring, or you can't figure it out? You would be stuck in that case. Never fear! Now you will be able to do what YOU want to do, not what the game designers want you to do. Pretty slick!
Disclaimer
We have not had the chance to beta test this on every configuration, so it may not work 100% on some systems or with some inits/cdevs/extensions. We do not make any guarantees as to the compatibility now or in the future with any hardware or software, nor do we accept responsibility for any damage caused by this software package. This software is supplied AS IS and any payments on your part are refundable at OUR discretion.
We reserve the right to make any changes to the game driver, scenarios or its playability in the future. This will be necessary as we develop new scenarios because we may have to change the way some things work in order to maintain good gameplay or add/fix features.
Preferences
After you've played a bit, you may want to customize the game so that it suits your needs better. The preferences menu will allow you to do this.
Volume can be set from within Realmz. When you quit Realmz, the volume will be reset to the volume you had before starting Realmz.
Delay Speed refers to general length of time between messages on the screen, as well as the speed at which you move around on the main and combat screens. The higher the number, the longer messages will be displayed.
Default To Last Spell will automatically pre-select the last spell cast by a character, whenever that character casts another spell. (Real handy!)
Faster Spell Casting will speed up the flight time of spells for those that hate to wait. (This may vary by the speed of your machine, so I am working on a better method.)
Max Sound Channels: If you select Max Sound Channels, then Realmz will attempt to allocate four sound channels. Otherwise it will only attempt to allocate three. This will help keep the sounds from lagging behind a bit.
Horse Party Icon will change the default icon used to depict the party's location to a horse, which may be easier to see on some systems.
Drop Item Protection will prevent you from accidentally dropping items and loosing them forever. With Drop Item Protection turned on you must hold down the command key (‚åò) and then clicking drop or hitting the 'D' key.
Forget Treasure Protection will alert you if you leave money in the money pool during the collection of treasure and items.
Fast Trade/Buy/Sell This option eliminates the need to drag items left or right across the screen to trade items amongst your PC's or to buy or sell items in the shop. With this option on you only have to click on the item and it will automatically be placed on the other side.
The big downfall to this method is that you will not be able to see the weight/cost/offer of the item prior to the action.
NOTE: Even with this option off you can still perform this method by holding the shift when clicking on an item. This will give you the added flexibility of being able to trade items quickly while still being able to see more information prior to the action at selected times.
If you have a 660AV, 840AV or a IIcx that crashes in the shop/trade screen, you may want to turn this option on. It may prevent the game from crashing on these systems.
Auto Identify With this option on, the first member in the party who is capable of casting IDENTIFY will attempt to identify items as they are taken during the collection of treasure. This will prevent you from having to cast identify on items in the items screen.
Auto Join When you take items during the collection of treasure or buy or trade items they will automatically be joined with similar items. i.e. If your PC has 12 torches in a bundle and buy 6 more he will now have a single bundle of 18 instead of a bundle of 12 and a bundle of 6.
Not all items can be bundled. Items such as torches, parchment, flasks of oil, darts, throwing stars etc... are examples of some that can.
Auto Cash In If your PC does not have enough gold to purchase an item, gems and jewelry will be cashed in to make enough gold to buy the item. Gems and jewelry from the pool are cashed in first. If there is still not enough gold then the PC's gems and jewelry will be cashed in.
Only gems and jewelry from the pool and the PC attempting to buy the item will be cashed in. Gems and jewelry from other PC's will not be cashed in.
Default Application Font If this item is checked, then the Theldrow font will not be used. Instead the default application font will be used which is less artistic but easier for some people to read.
Show Spell Description If this item is checked, then a brief description of a spells use will be displayed on the screen during the spell selection process.
Never Attack Friends If this item is checked, then when you move into a friendly PC or monster the game will assume you do not want to attack and therefore will not ask if you want to attack your friend.
Hide Desktop If this item is checked the desktop will be replaced with a black area.
Manual Bandage Only In Combat If this item is checked, you will have to bandage bleeding PC's by clicking the 'Bandage' button or by typing 'B' on the keyboard during combat. This will prevent a character that is under 'AUTO' control from bandaging a bleeding PC by default.
Ignore Bleeding PC's Message A reminder message will appear at the end of each combat round if one of your PC's is bleeding. This option will turn that reminder off if it really bugs you.
Ignore Next Round Message At the end of each combat round a message box will appear in the center of the screen to inform you that the next combat round has begun. If this message bugs you, you may turn it off by selecting this option.
Notes about the included scenario: The City of Bywater
The City of Bywater is an honest city. The average man has little to fear except for the occasional cutpurse. The city is ruled by a kind king. Recently, a tower has been built by a cult of spider worshippers just to the east of the city. Though they have broken no laws, it is widely known that they practice evil ceremonies, and rumored that they plan on the eventual overthrow of the king. Many believe the spider tower actually contains NO spiders, but other forms of arachnids instead. Open ranges frequented by goblins lie south of the city. Eastward, tribes of orcs rove the land. Southwest of the city, the land is largely unexplored. Rumors say that the lands are occupied by small groups of hill giants.
SOME TIPS:
1) Don't be paranoid. Bywater is an honest town. Do not walk around in fear of the town guard unless you have done something wrong. Realmz is unlike many adventure games that plunge you into trouble for no apparent reason.
2) A good defense is often your best offense. Before engaging in a known battle, it is helpful to camp and cast a few defensive spells. This will significantly improve your chances for success in battle.
For example: Just prior to a battle, you should camp, then cast any defensive spells such as Bless, Bark Skin, Protection from cold, etc...
3) Save your game often! This can't be stressed enough! After the successful completion of an encounter or major battle, it's wise to save the game. If your party dies, you will be able to pick up where you left off.
4) A well-balanced party is essential for success. To survive, almost any party will need at least one Cleric and either a Magic User or Enchanter. Clerics are very defensive in nature and have a wide variety of defensive and healing spells. Magic Users and Enchanters have a few defensive spells, but as a whole, have many more offensive spells. Magic is sometimes the only way into certain situations, or out of trouble.
