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THE BARD'S TALE Taken from an ST SEWER SOFTWARE docs disk. Edited by Parasite. GETTING STARTED: Note: Make sure your shift lock is off, and there are no joysticks or cartridges plugged into your system. To leave the title page press the space bar. MAKING A CHARACTER DISK: Before you begin playing, you will need to create your own character disk, a disk the computer can write as you play, to keep track of your fortunes and misfortunes. Use the following steps to make a character disk which contains a completely outfitted and ready to go banned of adventures named "ATEAM"". Get a blank disk or one that contains information you no longer need. Select M)ake a disk and follow the instructions to make a copy of your Character disk, which you will find on the flip side of your boot disk. This process can be time consuming. If you wish, you may use another copy utility instead of M)ake a disk. After copying the character disk, reboot the system following the steps outlined above. When the prompt appears asking for your character disk, insert the copy you made, then press any key. (Again, make sure your joysticks are unplugged). The Utilities menu which appears contains 3 choices. To enter the Adventure's Guild so you can start playing, just press "S" for start game. For information about the other two choices, see utilities menu below. The ATEAM: the character disk you made in step one already contains a good beginning party of adventurers who are equipt and ready to go. To use them, just type "A" to add a character, and then type "*ATEAM" to load the entire party. Type "E" to exit the Guild and enter the town of Skara Brae. To learn how to create your own characters, form your own parties, remove characters or rearrange their order, see below. HINT: The first dungeon is the wine cellar in the only tavern in town which serves wine. It's on Rakhir Street. SAFETY AND DEATH Face it. The sort of streets where you run into wandering Kobolds, Werewolves and Orcs are dangerous. And the streets of Skara Brae are especially dangerous at night. Beginning parties, therefore, should not be shy about spending the night in the Adventures Guild. When you leave the Adventures Guild the clock is always set ahead to the next morning. Don't dispair if you lose a favorite ATEAM member. First delete him from your character disk (with the delete command from the disk menu in the Adventurers Guild). Then use the copy characters command in the Utilities menu (described below) to copy the original from the back of the boot disk or the most recently saved version from a backup of your character disk. Finally, add him to your party. MOVING`ABOUT I or Return - move forward K - Kick a door open J or Left Arrow - turn left L or Right Arrow - turn right VIEWING CHARACTERS Press the number (1-6) of the character whose statistics you want to view. In the sub-menu, press: E to E(quip) a character with an item. You will be prompted for the item number (1-8). Press O to unequip all of a character's items. T to T(rade) an item. Type the item number at the prompt. To trade gold, type G. Then type the number of the character you want to give the item to. D to D(rop) an item. Type the item number at the prompt. P to P(ool) all gold. This gives all the party's gold to the character being viewed. Press the SPACEBAR to leave the View Character mode. UTILITIES`MENU To produce this menu, start you system with the Bard's Tale Boot Disk and insert a Character Disk when prompted to do so. When the menu appears, press: S to S(tart) playing the game. C to C(opy) characters from one character disk to another. Just follow the prompts as they appear. The disk you are copying from is the source disk, the one you are copying to is the target disk. M to M(ake) a new Character disk. COMBAT`COMMANDS If monsters attack, press F to F(ight) or R to R(un). `(Note, you don't always get to run just because you want to.) Or you can press P for Party attack at any time to voluntarily enter intra-party combat. In combat, press: A to Attack monsters in first 2 ranks, hand-to-hand. Available to the first 3 party members. D to Defend. This lessens the chance of damage from a monster in that round. U to Use a magical item. The character must have been equipped with the item in advance. B to sing on of the 6 Bard's tunes for one combat round. Available only to Bards. C to Cast a spell. Type in the code letters for the spell at the prompt. Available to magic users only. H to Hide in the shadows. Available only to rogues. Left Arrow and Right Arrow to speed up or slow down the combat message scrolling rate. OTHER`ADVENTURING COMMANDS C to Cast a spell when not in combat. At the prompt, type the number of the character who will cast the spell, then type the code letters for the spell. P to start intra-party combat at any time with a Party Attack. B to sing one of the 6 Bard's tunes while wandering. Available only to Bards. E to go up a portal. The party must have a levitation spell in operation. Works in dungeons only. D to go down a portal. Works in dungeons only. ? to learn the name of the street your party is on, and the time of day. N to establish a New Order for the party members. At the prompt, type the numbers of the members in the order you want them to march. U to Use an item. Some items, like torches, must be activated with this command in order to work. Type the character number who has the item at the prompt, then pick the item (by typing its number) from the list which will appear. Some items run out of power after only one use. V to turn sound on/off. ESC to pause/resume the game. HOW TO FORM PARTIES AND CREATE NEW CHARACTERS Characters can be created and parties formed only in the Adventurer's Guild. When you're ready to leave the Guild, type E for Exit. Here are the other commands available to you there. Press: C to Check the roster of characters and party names contained on the Character disk. Party names are indicated with an *. The characters that belong to a party may be anywhere in the list. A to load a party or Add a character to an already loaded party. Type either a character name or a party name at the prompt. Party names must begin with an * (e.g., *ATEAM). A party can contain up to 6 adventurers and must contain at least one adventurer to use the Exit command. R to Remove a character from a party. This saves all current character status information to disk. N to establish a New marching order for a party. D to bring up a set of additional Disk options so you can create a new character, save a party name, delete a character from the disk or leave the game, saving the current character status to disk. After pressing D to bring up the disk options, press: C to create a new character. Select the race and class for the character as prompted, then type in a character name up to 15 letters and spaces. Press Return to enter the name. A disk can hold up to 30 characters. S to Save a party name. IMPORTANT: This command does not save the characters themselves. It only saves a roster of the currently loaded characters under the name you type in. When you use this command, the program will automatically add an asterisk to the name to mark it as the name of a party. You must type the asterisk first when you want to load the party again. D to Delete a character from a character disk to make room for another character. L to Leave the game, saving all current character status information to disk. E to Exit the disk options menu and return to the Guild. ADDENDA The higher the intelligence of your magic user, the faster the rate of increase in spell points through experience. But the beginning number of spell points is randomly bestowed at creation. The words Save and Exit in connections with the game were meant as common verbs rather than command names. The save command in the Guild disk menu only does one thing: It saves a Roster of Currently loaded Characters under a Party name. To write the current status of a single character to disk, use the REMOVE command to remove him from the party. To write the current status of all loaded characters to disk, use the LEAVE GAME command in the Main Guild Menu. If you turn off the power without using the Leave Command, all currently loaded characters will lose all their gold regardless of when they acquired it. Documentation Compliments Of KEYBOARD EXPRESS NETWORK <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> THE MANUAL ABOUT FANTASY ROLE PLAYING: The Bard's Tale is a fantasy role-playing game. First in a series of TALES OF THE UNKNOWN, this one is set in the city of Skara Brae. Like Other fantasy role-playing games, there are three ob- jectives you will be trying to accomplish. How you do this is up to you... Your most important goal is to complete the quest built into the game. In Bard's Tale the city of Skara Brae is threatened by an evil mage called 'MANGAR'. You must find Mangar and Persuade him to release the once-harmonious city from his evil control. But Mangar is protected by layers of obstacles, mazes and evil henchmen. Your second goal is to develop characters capable of survoiving these barriers. These characters are your alter ego in Bard's Tale. They act according to your commands, but over the course of the game they change, much as real people do over a lifetime. They improve their skills in magic, combat, stealth, etc. They amass wealth and treasured objects. And they worry about dying too soon. Your third goal is to explore the entire world of Bard's Tale. There are numberous goodies, puzzles, and special places in Skara Brae. Part of the fun is finding them, and discovering the layout of this fantasy world. How do you get into the walled off towers? What's in the castle? Where are the legendary catacombs of Skara Brae? Skara Brae awaits you!!!!!! A QUICK OVERVIEW An Orientation for beginners, a quick start guide for experts!!!! HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENTATION: This documentation has three parts. This overview is designed to give first-time adventure gamers a quick sense of the overall gameplay and give experienced fantasy role-players all they need to know to start quickly. The rest of the docs is reference material about how various parts of Bard's Tale operates, including character building and development, places and mapping, the combat system and the magic system. There is also a listing and description of all the magic spells and the beginning items available in the Bard's Tale. Finally, there are hints and clues interspersed throughout the manual. 1. Command Summary Docs This is Part 1 of the Bard's Tale Documentation, which lists keystroke commands, disk utilities and step-by-step instructions for starting up. If you are an experienced adventurer, part 1 gives you most of what you need to know; the rest is covered in this section. 2. Adventurer's Guild The Guild is where you start each time. This is the ONLY spot a party can be formed, characters created, or characters saved to disk. 3. Use The Pre-Built Party For your convenience, you will find a pre-built party already waiting for you when you enter the Guild for the first time. The party is called '*ATEAM'. They are even outfitted with weapons and armor affordable to characters of their humble stations. For more about characters and party selections see 'CHARACTERS' listed further on in this socumentation. 4. Use City Map Mapping the dungeons and mazes is up to you. You even have to figure out how to get into the mazes on your own. One clue: each of the 16 mazes is set up on a 22 by 22 grid. North is to the top of the screen, East is to the right. Be sure to go to every square; there are lots of specials. For more about the City of Skara Brae see 'Places'. 5. Combat Only your first 3 characters and the first 2 rows of monsters can attack in hand-to-hand combat. There are several new combat commands including PARTY ATTACK, for gighting between party members; BARD SONG, for making magic by playing music; HIDE IN SHADOWS, to avoid combat. For more information see the 'Combat System'. 6. Magic There are 4 classes of Magic Users, each with unique magical capabilities: CONJURERS: can create objects and head adventurers. MAGICIANS: can bestow magical effects on comman items. SORCERORS: can create illusions and heighten awareness. WIZARDS: can summon and control supernatural creatures. Sorceror and Wizard classes are not abailable to first level adventurers. To create one of these, you must change class of a Magic User who has achieved 3rd level magic spells in one [for Sorceror] or two [for Wizard] other magical arts. Class change takes place in the Review Board. A Magic User who successfully learns all 7 levels of spells for each of the 4 Magic Classes is an ARCHMAGE, one of the most powerful characters in Bard's Tale. Once a Magic User leaves a class, he can never return to it. Magic Users qualify to learn next level spells based on their experience levels, but it takes gold to actually learn the new spells. Casting spells uses SPELL POINTS in different amounts depending on the spell. Spell points are regenerated automatically when a Magic User is in the City in the daytime, and may also be regenerated in ROSCOE'S ENERGY EMPORIUM, or special 'REGEN' squares in some dungeons. For more informations see 'THE MAGIC SYSTEM & MAGIC SPELLS'. 7. The Bard The Bard makes magic by playing music. He needs an instrument, of course. He can play in combat or during exploration, with different effect. Only one tune at a time. And one tune for every experience level. Then he needs to get a drink from any nearby tavern. You may listen to the music or not. See docs part 1. 8. Time Time waits for no one. Even without keystrokes, time passes, from day to night and back again. Nighttime is especially nasty. The really evil monsters hit the city streets at night, looking for characters just like you! And, what's worse, you use up spell points faster, because spell points only regenerate in daylight. Now you know enough to get started, if you are an experienced adventurer. By the way, the tavern on Rakhir Street is the only tavern that serves wine. And that wine 'goes down' easily. You may wish to drop by to wet the whistle of your Bard. Good Luck!!! CHARACTERS Races Humans are not the only race in the world of the Bard's Tale. Others are more magically inclined, stronger and smarter. Part of the fun of a fantasy rol-playing game is getting to know these different races, and forming your party accordingly. The races and their descriptions are: Human: While possibly being of hardier stock, this charact- er is nonetheless like you or me. Elf: Patterned after the Tolkien elf, the elf is slight of build, frequently taller than a human, and very inclined to magic. Dwarf: The Dwarven people are short and stout, extremely strong and healthy, but not amazingly intelligent [i.e. excellent fighters]. Hobbit: Hobbits are slightly smaller than Dwarves but are nimble and desterous. Just the right make-up for a rogue. Half-Elf: These crossbreeds are usually blond and fair skinned, like elves, and get some added size and strength from their human ancestry. Half Orc: An orc is a large, goblin-like creature often found working for evil wizards. The Half Orc, being half human, is not quite as despicable as his orc parent, but you wouldn't want to date one. Gnome: Gnomes closely resemble dwarves, but have less hair and even shorter tempers. They are also more magically inclined, as a rule. Character Classes In fantasy role-playing games, characters choose different 'Classes' or professions. There is no single best class; each has its own strengths. Your characters must use teamwork to succeed. Class selection is the most important aspect of creating a character in Bard's Tale. There are 10 different classes of characters, but only 8 can be selected for a newly generated character. Class types carry with them different abilities and limitations, as are roughly covered below: Warrior: The base fighter-type in Bard's Tale, warriors can use nearly every weapon there is. For every 4 levels of experience after the 1st Warriors get an extra attack ability in combat. Paladin: Paladins are fighters who have sworn to abstain from all evil, and to uphold honor and purity in all places. They can use most weapons and even some that no other fighters can. They get multiple attacks at higher levels. They also have a greatly increased resistance to evil magic. Rogue: A professional thief with so-so combat ability, the rogue can hide in shadows, search for traps and disarm them. Without a rogue your party will pay very dearly for the booty it wins. Bard: The Bard is a wandering minstrel. You'll see him with a tankard of ale in front of him in the less reputable taverns-the rowdier the better. Bards were once warriors, and can still use most warrior weapons. But they turned to music instead and now play songs with an almost magical effect on other characters. Bards don't get the warrior's advantage of extra attacks in combat anymore-but their magic is so unique, it is almost impossible to survive in Skara Brae without one. Any true Bard has 6 tunes on his lips, though to play them he must have an instrument equipped. A song played as the part is exploring is long-lasting and continues even after the party returns from combat mode, even if other songs were played during combat. Any songs played during combat are abbreviated and so create different magical effects than the full non-combat versions. The shorter combat versions don't endure as long either, only one round of fighting. Only one Bard tune can be played at a time. If a second one is played while the first is still playing (by the same or a different Bard), the first will end. A bard can play as many tunes as he has experience levels before his throat gets dry. Then it's off to a tavern for a drink to rejuvenate his voice. Tough duty, but someone has to do it! Bard songs vary according to the difficulty of the dungeon. When the going gets tough, the Bard goes drinking. Hunter: An assassin, a mercenary, a ninja. The hunter can use most weapons, and has the ability [which grows with experience] to do critical hits in combat [i.e. to attack a nerve center or other vital area and instantly kill an opp- onent]. A good skill. Monk: A martial artist, an almost inhuman fighting machine trained to fight without weapons or armor. The monk can use them, but, at higher levels particularly, often does better without. Conjurer: One of the 4 classes of Magic Users, Magicians deal with magic as it affects physical objects [i.e enchanting a sword, making armor stronger, making a dungeon wall disappear]. Sorcerer: Sorcerers are Magic Users who deal with the creation and manipulation of illusion. Due to the power of sorcerer spells, this class is not available to newly created characters. Wizard: Wizards are Magic Users who are dedicated to the summoning and binding of various supernatural creatures. These creatures are not friendly to humankind and trying tocontrol them is extremely hazardous. The Wizard-class is not available to new characters either. For more on magic classes see further below. Character Attributes Each character you create has 5 basic attributes which define his physical and mental prowess. When you create a character each attribute is randomly assigned a value from 1 to 18, with the higher number reflecting higher capabil- ity. Strength: [Shown as 'ST' on the screen] is a physical power and chiefly affects the amount of damage a character can do to an opponent in hand-to-hand combat. Make sure your fighting characters are strong. Intelligence [IQ]: Intelligence is mental power. A high intelligence rating will enable your Magic Users to get bonus spell points. Dexterity [DX]: Measures agility & nimbleness. A high score makes your characters harder to hit and helps them strike the first blow in combat. Constitution [CN]: Measures healthiness. It takes more damage to kill a character with a high constitution score. This is reflected in bonus 'hit points', the characters life span. Luck [LK]: Luck is an ambiguous attribute, as it has a number of unseen effects on gameplay. For example, lucky characters are more likely to resist evil magic and avoid nasty traps. Other Character Statistics Armor Class [AC]: This statistic reflects the level of protection a character has from physical attack. In classic fantasy rol-playing style, the armor class starts at 10 for a totally unprotected, unarmored character with low dexterity, and goes down to '-10' [called LO] as his protection improves by armor, spells or other means. Hit Points [HITS]: Hit points measure the damage a character can take before he is killed. The 'HITS' statistic shows his potential at fullest helath, rather than current status. Condition [COND]: Condition shows the characters present number of hit points. For example, if a character with 10 hit points is wounded for 7 hit points, his Condition will drop to 3. Another wound of 3 or more hit points will kill him. If he is fully healed, his Condition will return to the full 10 again. [Even though his Condition score changes, his Hit Points stay at 10]. Spell Points [SP PT]: This shows current spell point status Points are used up with each cast of a magic spell. If a Conjurer has 20 spell points and casts a Mage Flame spell at a cost of 2 spell points, his new total would be 18. A character's maximum spell points are listed in his view-character mode. Experience Points: This measures abilities gained by experience, the higher the number, the better the character. Characters get experience points for successful combat, according to the difficulty of the fight and the number of characters who survive. The amount is indicated after every successful combat. A character's running total of experience points is indicated in view-mode. Gold: Gold is the unit of currency in this world. Your characters start with just barely enough gold to buy the armor and weapons they need to survive. There are two ways to get rich enough to buy better equipment: taking gold from the monsters you defeat in combat or selling items you find in dungeons. The first way is more fun!!! Level [LV 1]: Level is a general measure of achievement within a character's class. Level 1 is a novice, Level 13, for example, is required to become a Master of a Magic User class. The Review Board will promote a character to higher levels based on his experience points, but only upon the character's in-person request. An advance in level is very important because it generally means an increase in attribute scores, hit points, spell points and other abilit- ies. Spell Levels [e.g. MAGI 1]: This shows the highest group of magic spells a character cna use in any of the 4 classes of Magic Users. There are 7 groups of magic spells for each different class. To learn a new group of magic spells [a 'spell level'] a Magic User must advance two experience levels. [Note: spell levels and experience levels are not the same thing]. For any of the 4 magic classes, a Magic User advances as follows Experience Level Spell Level 1 1 2 1 3 2 5 3 7 4 9 5 11 6 13 7 14 [and up] 7 [maximum] To change class to Sorceror, a Magic User must first have learned Spell Level 3 [or higher] in at least one magical art. To change to Wizard, a Maic User must first have learned Spell Level 3 [or higher] in two other magical arts. Items: Items fall into 10 Categories: Weapons, shields, armor, helms, gloves, musical instruments, figurines, rings, wands, and miscellaneous. Only one item of each type can be EQUIPPED for use at one time. For example, two different shields cannot be used at once to protect a character, though the spare shield could be toted around. Some items can only be used by specific characters. For example, only Bard's can use musical instruments. An item which can never be used by a character is marked with an zero with a line thru it when he examines it in his view mode or in the Equipment Shoppe. An item which has been equipped is marked with a half circle with a stem on top. A character can carry up to 8 different items. How To Create A Character 1. While i the Adventurer's Guild, select a race. 2. Character attribute numbers displayed are a combination of genes and luck. For each different race there is a lowest possible number for each attribute [the 'genes']. The computer then adds a random number [the 'luck'] to each attribute. 3. If you are satisified with the 'roll of the dice', choose a character class, then name this character. If you aren't satisified 'reroll the dice.' 4. After being named, the character will be saved to disk, ready to adventure. PLACES If you ever get lost press the '?' key and the program will tell you where you are and what time of day it is!!!! Unmarked Buildings Most buildings in Skara Brae are unmarked. But some of them are inhabited by the corrupt creatures who have skulked into Skara Brae. So kick in a few doors and find them. Remember that fighting is good for you; its the only way to build up enough experience to challenge Mangar. You should be disappointed when you kick in a door, screaming a battle cry, and find it empty. No fun. When you exit a building and enter the street, the building will be behind you, and you will be facing the building or landmark across the street. The Adventurer's Guild The Guild is like a union hall where adventurers 'hang out' hoping to join a party. This is where you form a party, and where all adventures begin. Garth's Equipment Shoppe Garth is one of yesterday's almost forgotten heros, now retired from active adventuring to supply tomorrow's would- be greats. At Garth's Shoppe characters can buy armor and weapons, sell items, have items identified, or pool all the party's gold for buying expensive items. Due to a deal with the city blacksmith, Garth has an infinite supply of basic armor and supplies. But unique items found in labyrinths, even if sold to Garth, remain in his inventory only until they are sold. Occasionally an item won in combat will remain unidentified, this mean that its general type might be apparent [e.g. shield, ring] but not which exact type [e.g. Dragon shield, ring of power]. Garth can identify this item for you for a price!!!!!!!! The Review Board The Review Board is a group of high level representatives from all 10 different classes. Upon your request in person, the Board will determine whether a character has accumulated enough experience points for advancement to higher levels. The Board teaches new spells to Magic Users who qualify for higher spell levels, too, but charges for this training. It pays to rent. You may have todo a bit of exploring to locate the Review Board. And it's closed at night. Taverns Taverns are the Bard's favorite places for gossip and refreshment. There's even a tavern named after him. Watch him carefully though, the Bard has a tendency to overtip the bartender. Dungeon Delving The term 'dungeon' refers to any indoor labyrinth, designed for mapping, combat and puzzle interaction. They take a variety of forms, from lowers to catacombs, and have a varied number of levels for each. You can go up or down to levels higher and lower than the one you're on via stairways, portals, and teleportation. Stairways are not visible from a distance. But when you move onto one you will be asked if you wish to ascent or descend. Portals are hole in the floors and ceilings, and are visible from a distance. You will not go through a portal merely by standing on it, you must first command your char- acter to do so. If he jumps down through a portal, he will be damaged from the fall unless he is using a levitation spell. The only way to go up through a portal is by levit- ation. The locations of dungeon entrances are well-kept secrets, but there are plenty of hints in Skara Brae. Roscoe's Energy Emporium If your spell points aren't rechargin fast enough, go see Roscoe. But be prepared for electrifyingly high fees!!! Temples Temples are divine places of resurrection and complete healing. In fact, this is the only place to cure characters who have been withered or turned to stone. A resurrected character retains all the items, gold and exper- ience points he had before dying, but he comes to life with only 1 hit point. When he finds out how much it costs to be resurrected, he may turn over in his grave. Tips from the Underground: Places 1. Your 1st 3 dungeons should be the sewers, the catacombs and the castle [in that order]. Each is progressively tougher. Don't attempt the catacombs with a party of level 9 or higher characters. 2. Esplore and map every square in every maze. There are Magical Mouths that give hints. There are 1-of-a-kind magic items and spell regeneration zones. Good maps will show you the logical spots for secret doors and secret rooms, too. 3. Avoid traps. Higher level rogues are excellent at opening chests, but when in doubt use the 'TRAPZAP' spell. TRZP is guaranteed to work with no harm to the party, unless, of course, the trap is protected by even more power- ful magic. In fact, you can use TRZP to disarm any traps you encounter. Gas Cloud traps have doomed many brave but foolish adventurers. If you set off a trap and nothing happens, you were lucky not good. You could have been killed. 4. Be sure that your party is fully healed before entering a new dungeon. 5. When you are finding your bearings in a maze, remember that each succeeding level goes UP in a tower or castle and DOWN in a dungeon. THE COMBAT SYSTEM The Bard's Tale is a game of fighting. It's the only way to build experience. Fortunately, Mangar and his gruesome creatures are very evil, so don't worry about their feelings kill them, if you can!! Combat with 'monsters' [the generic term for all opponents] occurs both randomly and at set locations. You can also initate intra-party combat at almost any time, in case one of your members is turned to the dark side. At th outset of combat a list of foes will be given, broken down into the number of foes in each group. The manimum is 99 monsters per group, with up to 4 groups. Combat is divided into a series of 'rounds', like a boxing match. At the start of each round, each of your characters must decide what action he will undertake in the upcoming melee, unless, of course, your party decides to run away. A menu of possible selections will appear for each character. These options are as follows: Attack Foes: The physically assault foes in the first or second group of monsters. Party Attack: To assault another member of the party, including special members. Defend: Do not interact this round - reduces chance of being hit. Use An Item: Make use of a magical item held in the charact er's inventory and currently equipped. This may require specifying a target for the effect. Bard Song: Bards can play a short tune to affect the party or the foremost group of monsters in some fashion. Cast A Spell: Cast a spell at the party or a group of foes. The spell code must be entered, and a target ident- ified. Hide In Shadows: A rogue can try to avoid combat altogether by hiding and, if successful, will be skipped as a target of attack in the upcoming combat round. The first 3 characters in your party can be attacked physically by monsters, and can attack back. The last 3 characters can only be struck by magical attacks, and can only attack back with magic. This simulates your first 3 characters being up on the front line of attack, with the last 3 characters acting as backup in case one of the first 3 is killed. The first two groups of monsters are in a similar position; they are the only monsters who can attack or be attacked physically. Once all the choices for your characters have been entered, the round begins. The most dexterous characters or monsters usually make the first strike, but luck, character level and character class also affect this. In evenly matched fights, the outcome often depends on which side gets in the first blow. The rate of scrolling of the combat messages can be speeded or slowed. See the Command Summary list of keystrokes for details. At the end of a combat round, dead monsters will be removed from the ranks of your foes, and dead characters will be shuffled back to the end of your party. A fresh group of monsters may also advance into the first two ranks to give their fellow monsters a breather. At the end of combat, treasure and experience points will be split amoung the battle's survivors. SPECIAL MEMBERS The 'special slot' [marked 's'] is for monsters who can become part of your party. They can join by: 1. Being summoned or created as an illusion, or some other artifice related to a cast spell. 2. Introducing themselves to the party and offering their services as a comrade. Specials cannot be controlled in battle, they choose their own attack mode and generally go after the primary group of monsters the party is facing. Specials are cleared out of the S slot when killed. Illusionary specials [created by a sorcerer] are cleared out if any foes disbelieve them. If a non-illusionary special is attacked by another member of the party for any reason, it will turn immediately hostile and fight until defeated!!!! Tips From The Underground: Combat 1. Usually the highest desterity character attacks first. For particularly nasty monsters [like blue dragons] attack with your highest desterity characters first. Your less dexterous characters may not survive long enough to get in a first strike. 2. Use your spells and Bard songs to lower the armor class of your entire party. The lower the better. 3. If you are attacked by more than 2 groups of monsters, concentrate on Magic Users first. If you cannot kill off all the magic-using monsters, you may want to cast anti-magic spells to protect against illusions, possissions and other spells. 4. You can minimize damage by killing off all but one mon- ster in either of the first two attacking groups. As a general rule, attack groups with only one monster last, unless it is a deadly monster. 5. Many of the undead monsters are capable of draingin experience levels, turning characters old and gray or even turning characters to stone. Treat the undead with respect. In other words, kill them quickly! 6. Be prepared to die a lot with level 1 and 2 characters. Especially at night. Especially when you don't have any weapons and are just walking to Garth's Shoppe. It might even be a good idea to stay close to a Temple at night, so you can quickly heal any wounds. 7. Fill the special slot quickly. Conjure or summon a monster or create an illusion, if necessary. The special member will take a lot of heat off your fighters. Monsters tend to attack special members first. 8. Monsters are smart. They usually attack your most vul- nerable characters first, unless one of your members repre- sents a significant threat. THE MAGIC SYSTEM Magic is power. It can make the difference between success and failure in the Bard's Tale. It is not necessary or wise to rely on magic, though, because magic is by no means foolproof. There are some places where magic never functions, and some monsters who are highly resistant to spells. Sometimes you just have to wade in with fists flying and get dirty. The Best way to tell that your party has wandered into an anti-magic zone is that all residual spells except light spells are cancelled. Residual spells are magic spells that keep working for more than just an instant. Light spells, trap detection, secret door detection and magical armor are some examples. Most residual spells cause a graphic symbol to appear in the central blank strip on the screen, to keep the player aware that the duration hasn't yet expired. All spells have a point cost. In other words, al spells cost the mage casting them a bit of his internal energy. This energy is returned automatically in direct sunlight, and may be regenerated at Roscoe's Energy Emporium or in special regeneration zones you have to discover. There are magical items hidden in the dungeons and carried by the monsters of Bard's Tale. Magical weapons do extra damage. Magical armor gives extra protection. Other magical items radiate special energies. There are even magic keys and talismans necessary to get into certain im- portant parts of the game. The most powerful magic items are secreted in the most challenging dungeons and are guard- ed by ferocious monsters. When you win one, you should be very proud and very happy. They can be the key to success against the wickedest opponents. To cast a spell, you type in 4-letter codes which are a rough abbreviation of the spell name. The entire list of spells, codes and spell points required are listed below. All Magic Users, even level 1 novices, start the game with knowledge of all level 1 spells in their magical art. Rather than learning one spell at a time, Magic Users always learn whole groups [spell levels] of spells at once. Its the closest thing to mass production in Skara Brae. Here is a description of the 4 magical arts: Conjuring Conjuring deals with the instantaneous creation of objects and effects through the channeling of a mage's power. Con- jurer spells are potent, but not unlimited in effect, since the exercise of creation takes a large amount of energy toproduce even a moderate effect. A conjurer can also produce effects that distort non-solid things to produce new effects, like the distortion of space and time required to teleport human bodies toa new location. Magic Magic [meaning the art practiced by a magician] deals with bestowing magical effects on common objects. The items do not become magical, but radiate fields of power for the duration of a spell [which is usually the length of combat]. The gist of Magic is that it can increase an item's capabil- ity, or change its form to something totally different. Some examples: making a sword do greater damage, making dungeon walls glow with a magical light, or causing a wall to totally vanish for 1 move. Sorcery The byword of sorcery is 'seeing is believing'. Sorcery does not deal with a physical manifestation, but rather a creation of illusion and a tapping into a heightened sense of awareness. An illusion is an image envisioned by the spell caster, which he then lays over the retinas of all who watch, augmenting this with appropriate stimulation of nerve endings to fool the other 4 senses. The human mind, believing an illusionary creation to be real, can be hurt or even killed by it, unless it is somehow disbelieved. A sorcerer, with the aid of his art, can also perceeive certain special things hidden from view. Widardry Wizardry deals with the summoning and control of supernatura l creatures. The wizard has fewer spells than the other three classes, but his are by far the most potent. The creatures he can summon come from another plane of existance, called the 'negative plane'. They join the special slot in the party, and will fight until defeated. The wizard has some ability to trap and control normal monsters, as well Mages who have learned at least 3 spell levels in an art may elect to change to another mage class at any time. Thus, a level 5 conjurer could choose to become a level 1 magician. His experience points would be reset to 0, but he would re- tain his previous attributes, hit points, spell points, and all knowledge of his conjurer spells. He would be unable to learn any higher conjurer spells, however, once a mage leaves a magic art, he cannot return to it. A mage can become a conjurer, magician, or corcerer as a second class. A mage can become a conjurer, magician, sorc- erer, or wizard as a third class. A mage who has knowledge of all 7 levels of spells in all 4 classes is called an Archmage, and is one of the most powerful personages in the world of the Bard's Tale. SPELL KEY GLOSSARY Range Terms View: spell affects line of sight 1 Foe: spell affects a single monster All Foes: spell affects all monsters you face Group: spell affects 1 of 4 monster groups Self: spell affects spellcaster only 30': 3 squares in the direction you fact Char: one of 6 party members or special Party: spell affects all 6 party members and special= Special: spell affects 'S' slot only; summoned creature enters combat next round. Duration Terms Combat: spell lasts until all monsters or all party mem- bers are killed or until party runs away. Short: spell lasts only a few minutes. Medium: spell lasts a little longer than short. Long: spell lasts twice as long as 'short' Indef.: spell lasts until party enters the Adventurer's Guild or an anti-magic zone. CONJURER SPELLS Spell Name/Description Code, Pt. Cost,Range,Duration Conjurer Spells - Level 1 MAGE FLAME, a small, mobile to MAFL, 2, View, Medium rch will appear & float above the spell caster as he travels ARC FIRE, a fan of blue flames ARFI, 3, 1 Foe,... will shoot from the caster's fingers, doing 1-4 hits of dam- age to a select opponent, times caster's level. SORCERER SHIELD, the mage is SOSH, 3, Self, Combat protected by an invisible sh- ield of magic that turns aside many blows that would otherwise kill him. TRAP ZAP, this spell will dis- TRZP, 2, 30',... arm any trap within 20 feet, in the direction the party is fac- ing. It will also disarm traps on chests. Level 2 FREEZE FOES, binds your enemies FRFO, 3, Group, Combat with a magical force, slowing their movements & making them easier to hit. KIEL'S`MAGIC`COMPASS, compass MACO, 3,...,Medium of shimmering magelight appears above the party, telling the direction they face. BATTLESKILL, increases one of BASK, 4, Char, Combat your party memeber's skill with weapons, increasing the accur- acy and ferocity of his attacks WORD OF HEALING, with the utt- WOHL, 4, Char,... erance of a single word the spell caster can cure a party member of minor wounds, healing 2-8 points of damage. Level 3 ARCYNES MAGESTAR, a bright MAST, 5, Group,... flare will ignite in front of a group of your enemies, tempor- arily blinding them & causing them to miss the next combat round. LESSER REVELATION, this is an LERE, 5, View, Long extended Mage Flame spell which also reveals secret doors. LEVITATION, partially negates LEVI, 4, Party, Short the effect of gravity on the party, causing them to float over traps or up through port- als. WARSTRIKE, causes a spray of WAST, 5, Group, ... energy to spring from the cast- er's ginger, sizzling a group of opponents for 4-16 hits dam- age. Level 4 ELIK'S INSTANT WOLF, caster can INWO, 6, Special, ... make a real wolf appear & join the party, fighting in its de- fense. FLESH RESTORE, powerful healing FLRE, 6, Char, ... spell will restore 6-24 hit points to a party member & cure poisoning & insanity. POISON STRIKE, hurls porcupine POST, 6, Foe, ... sharp needles from the mages finger into a selected monster poisoning it. Level 5 GREATER REVELATION, functions GRRE, 7, View, Long like a lesser revelation spell only it illuminates a wider area WRATH FO VALHALLA, makes a mem- WROV, 7, Char, Combat ber of your party fight with the strength and accuracy of ancient Norse heroes for the entire com- bat. SHOCK - SPHERE, a large glove of SHSP, 7, Group,... intense wlectrical energy envel- opes a group of enemies doing 8-32 hits of damage. Level 6 ELIK'S INSTANT OGRE, this incan- INOG, 9, Special, ... tation will cause a real ogre to appear and join the party. MAJOR LEVITATION, will make the MALE, 8, Party, Indef. party levitate as does the level 3 spell, but its effects will last until dispelled. Level 7 FLESH ANEW, behaves like the FLAN, 12, party, ... flesh restore spell, except that it will affect every member of the party. APPORT ARCANE, allows the party APAR, 15, Party, ... to teleport anywhere within a dungeon, except for places pro- tected by teleportation shields. Magician Spells Level 1 VORPAL PLATING, causes the wea- VOPL, 3, Char, Combat pon [or hands] of a party mem- ber to be covered with a magical field, which causes him to do an additional 2-8 points of dam- age. AIR ARMOR, will make the air AIAR, 3, Self, Combat around the spell caster bind it- self into a weightless suit of armor. SABHARS STEELLIGHT SPELL, causes STLI, 2, View, Short all metal near the party to glow with a magical light, illuminat- ing the surrounding area. SCRY SITE, the walls will speak SCSI, 2, Party, ... under direction of the spell, revealing to the spell caster his location in the labyrinth. Level 2 HOLY WATER, a spray of water HOWA, 4, 1 Foe, ... will emanate from the mage's fingers, doing 6-24 points of damage to any undead foe. [e.g. skeleton, zombie, vampire]. WITHER STRIKE, any foe at whom WIST, 5, 1 Foe, ... this spell is cast is likely to be turned old, thus reducing his ability to attack and def- end in combat. MAGE GAUNTLETS, makes a party MAGA, 5, Char, Combat member's hands [or weapons] more deadly, adding 4-16 points of damage to every wound he inflicts AREA ENCHANT, will cause the AREN, 5, 30', Short dungeon walls within 30' of a stairway to call out, if the party is travelling toward it. Level 3 YBARRA'S MYSTIC SHIELD, the air MYSH, 6, Party, Medium in front of the party will bind itself into metallic hardness and will accompany the party when it mpoves, as a sort of invisible shield. OSCON'S OGRESTRENGTH, allows a OGST, 6, Char, Combat member of your party to damage monsters as if he were as in- credibly strong as on ogre. MITHRIL MIGHT, increases the MIMI, 7, Party, Combat armor protection of each party member by enhancing their armors natural strength by magic. STARFLARE, the air surrounding STFL, 6, Group, ... a group of your enemies will instantly ignite, causing them to be burnt for 6-24 damage points. Level 4 SPECTRE TOUCH, will drain a SPTO, 8, 1 Foe, ... single enemy of 12-48 points of damage, as if touched by a spectre. DRAGON BREATH, allows the mage DRBR, 7, Group, ... to breathe fire at a group of foes, doing 8-32 points of dam- age to each. SABHAR'S STONELIGHT SPELL, makes STSI, 7, View, Medium all stone and earth within range of the party glow with magical light, revealing even secret doors. Level 5 ANTI-MAGIC, causes the ground ANMA, 8, Party, Combat to absorb a portion of the mag- ical energies cast at the party, frequently allowing the members to escape all damage. Also aids in disblieving illusions and in turning back magical fire, like dragon's breath. AKERS ANIMATED SWORD, a magical ANSW, 8, Spec, Combat sword will apear and fight like a summonded monster in defense of the party. STONE TOUCH, will often turn an STTO, 8, 1 Foe, ... enemy to stone, or a stone mon- ster from living stone to dead stone, but it doesn't always work. Level 6 PHASE DOOR, will alter the str- PHDO, 9, 1 Wall, 1 Move ucture of almost any wall dir- ectly in front of the party, turning it to air for exactly 1 move. YBARRAS MYSTICAL COAT OF ARMOR, YMCA, 10, Party, Indef. causes an effect like 'air armor' to cover every member of the party, lasting indefinitely. Level 7 RESTORATION, makes all wounds REST, 12, Party, ... disappear as your entire party is reforged into unflawed bod- ies. Also cures poisoning & insanity. DEATHSTRIKE, is very likely to DEST, 14, 1 Foe, ... instantly kill 1 selected enemy big or small. SORCEROR SPELLS Level 1 MANGARS MIND JAB, the mage casts MIJA, 3, 1 Foe, ... a concentrated blast of psychic energy at 1 opponent doing 2-8 hits of damage for each exper- ience level of the mage. PHASE BLUR, the entire party PHBL, 2, Party, Combat will seem to waver and blue in the sight of the monsters, mak- ing the party very difficult to strike. LOCATE TRAPS, the spell caster LOTR, 2, 30', Short will be able to sense a trap within 30', if he faces it. HYPNOTIC IMAGE, if successfully HYIM, 3, Group, ... cast, will make a group of your enemies miss the following attack round. Level 2 DISBELIEVE, will reveal the true DISB, 4, Party, ... nature of any illusion attacking the party, causing it to inst- antly vanish. TARGET-DUMMY, a magical illusion TADU, 4, Spec, Combat appears in the party's special slot. Unable to attack, it will serve to draw enemy attacks to himself. MANGAR'S MIND FIST, a higher MIFI, 4, 1 Foe, ... power 'mind jab' does 3-12 hits of damage to 1 foe, times the experience level of the maga. WORD OF FEAR, will make a group FEAR, 4, Group, Combat of your enemies shake in fear reducing their ability to attack and do damage. Level 3 WIND WOLF, creates an illusion- WIWO, 5, Spec, ... ary wolf to join the party. This & other illusions are only eff- ective as long as an enemy bel- ieves them. Depending on power & location, the monster may see through the illusion & cause it to vanish. KYLEARNANS VANISHING SPELL, the VANI, 6, self, Combat mage casting this spell will turn nearly invisible in the eyes of his enemies, who will have great difficulty in striking him. SECOND SIGHT, the mage will ex- SESI, 6, 30', Medium perience heightened awareness and be able to sense stairways, special encounters, spell neg- ation zones, & other unusual occurrences. CURSE, causes a group of your CURS, 5, Group, Combat enemies to fear you greatly, lessening their morale and their ability to hit and damage you. Level 4 CAT EYES, members of the mages CAEY, 7, View, Indef party will all receive perfect night-vision, which will last indefinitely. WIND WARRIOR, will create the WIWA, 6, Spec, ... illusion of a battle-ready war- rior that joins your party. KYLEARNANS INVISIBILITY SPELL, INVI, 7, Party, Combat will perform a vanishing spell on the entire party Level 5 WIND OGRE, will create the ill- WIOG, 7, Party, ... usion of an ogre which will accompany fight with your party. DISRUPT ILLUSION, will destroy DIIL, 8, Party, Combat any illusion fighting the party and any new illusions created later in the combat. It will also point out any dopplegangers in the party. MANGARS MIND BLADE, a sharp ex- MIBL, 8, All Foes, ... plosion of psychic energy that inflicts 10-40 hits to each & every enemy you face. Level 6 WIND DRAGON, will create an ill- WIDR, 10, Spec, ... usionary red dragon to fight with your party. MIND WARP, will make a member of MIWP, 8, Char, ... your party go totally insane. Useful for possessions. Level 7 WIND GIANT, will create an ill- WIGI, 12, Spec, ... usionary storm giant, to join with and fight for your party. SORCERER SIGHT, functions the SOSI, 11, 30', Indef same as the Second Sight Spell but it will last indefinitely. WIZARD SPELLS Level 1 SUMMON DEAD, will gate into our SUDE, 6, Spec, lll universe a zombie or skeleton to fight for the party. REPEL DEAD, will do 16-80 points REDE, 4, Group, ... of damage to a group of undead creatures. Level 2 LESSER SUMMONING, will gate into LESU, 8, Spec, ... our universe a lower power ele- mental or demon, who will [under protest] join the party. DEMON BANE, will do 32-128 DEBA, 8, 1 Foe, ... points of damage to a single demon. The power to summon is the power to destroy. Level 3 SUMMON PHANTOM, will bring a SUPH, 10, Spec, ... medium level undead creature into the party. DISPOSSESS, will make any poss- DISP, 10, Char, ... essed party member return to his normal state. Level 4 PRIME SUMMONING, gates in a med- PRSU, 12, Spec, ... ium level elemental or demon to fight with the party. ANIMATE DEAD, gives a dead char- ANDE, 11, Char, ... acter undead strength, making him attack your enemies as though he was alive. Level 5 BAYLORS SPELL BIND, if success- SPBI, 14, 1 Foe, ... ful, possesses the mind of an enemy, forcing him to join your party & fight in its defense. DEMON STRIKE, works like Demon DMST, 14, Group, ... Bane, but it will affect an en- tire group of demons. Level 6 SPELL SPIRIT, will gate in a SPSP, 15, Spec, ... higher-level undead creature to fight for the party. BEYOND DEATH, will restore life BEDE, 18, Char, ... and 1 hit point to a character. Level 7 GREATER SUMMONING, will gate a GRSU, 22, Spec, ... greater demon into our universe and bind him to the party. BARD'S SONGS 1. FALKENTYNES FURY: this tune increases the damage your party will do in combat, by driving them into a berserk rage. 2. THE SEEKERS BALLAD: will produce light when exploring & during combat it will increase the party's chance of hitting a foe with a weapon. 3. WAYLANDS WATCH: will sooth you savage foes, making them do less damage in combat. 4. BADH'R KILNFEST: an ancient Elven melody, will heal the Bard's wounds during traveling & heal the party's wounds during combat. 5. TRAVELLERS TUNE: makes the members of your party more desterous and agile, thus more diff- icult to hit. 6. LUCKLARAN: sets up a partial 'anti magic' field which gives party members some incr- eased protection against spell cast- ing. TIPS FROM THE UNDERGROUND Characters 1. Don't be concerned about losing a Level 1 character. Just make another one. But when your characters reach the 3rd level, back them up regularly using your favorite disk copy program. 2. If your favorite character gets killed, there are several things you can do. You can resurrect him by magic or in a temple by spending spell points or gold. You can turn off the computer and reboot, and your entire party will be restored, but without the experience, gold and magic items they have won since the last time you saved the game. You can load the character from your back-up disk onto the main disk. NOTE: you can only restore a character by rebooting if you have previously saved your party by exiting the game when in the Adventurers Guild. 3. In 'rolling' a characters attribute numbers, 17s and 18s can often make a big difference, as follows: Intelligence give Magic Users bonus spell points; Dexterity gives fighters [not Bard's] bonus armor protection and first strike capabilty; Strength allows fighters to do an extra damage in combat. Luck allows Rogues to survive even if they accidentally set off a trap; and Constitution gives all characters bonus hit points. 4. Most character races have at least one attribute they are particularly high in. Pay close attention to starting attributes when designing your party. 5. Develope a Sorceror fast. They are very useful in dungeons. Wizards are extremely important in advanced levels; they can summon demons extremely powerful specials. Develope an Archmage, too. You'll need one; you'll want more. 6. Your pre-built party, excellent for beginning levels, may not be the best group for advanced levels. You may want to experiment with a hunter, because his 'critical hit' capability can vanquish superior monsters, and the monk, who is perhaps the best fighter of all after he reaches the 6th level. 7. Warriors and other fighters often play less of a role against higher level, magic-using monsters. But without the protection of their armor and strong arms, your Magic Users would not survive long enough to learn the higher level magic spells. 8. Beware the Doppelganger monster. It enters your party & looks just like one of your members. Magic 1. Don't venture too far into any dungeon without your maximum spell points. A good rule is to leave a dungeon when you are down to one quarter of your maximum spell points. 2. Manage your spell points carefully. Don't waste a spell if you can accomplish the same thing without magic. Torches, for example, often work as well as magic light spells. On the other hand, don't be shy about using magic in combat. When in doubt, blast them with magic!!! 3. Locate traps, second sight and sorceror sight spells all identify traps within 30'. Trapzap spell disarms all traps within 30'. 4. Cast a long-lasting Bard spell right before entering a tavern. It's like getting a free spell. ITEMS These are the basic items found in Garth's Equipment Shoppe in unlimited quantity: Torch: for light in dungeons Lamp: longer duration than a torch Broadsword: most damaging non-mag sword, usable only fighters Short Sword: a lighter sword, usable by all but mages Dagger: usable by all, but not too effective War Axe: a heavy, damaging weapon, not usable by bards, rogues or magic users Halbard: a combination battle axe & pike, the most damaging non-magical weapon Mace: most powerful weapon a rogue can use, an armor crusher Staff: simple, non-magical cudgel Buckler: small round shield Tower Shield: a larger shield Leather Armor: the lightest armor, wearable by all but magicians and conjurers Chain Mail: light metal mesh armor, best against light weapons Scale Armor: better still, difficult to pierce Plate Armor: strongest non-magical armor Robes: will dull old knives, but thats it. Helm: covers the head & saves the adventurers good looks Leather Gloves: some protection for the hands Gauntlets: metal gloves Mandolin, Harp, & Flute: musical instruments used by Bards Item Abbreviations FGN: Figurine, a magical statuette which can come to life MTHR: Mithril, an elven metal with magical qualities. ADMT: Adamant, another magical metal DMND: Diamond, one of the hardest substances know to man or monster Tips From the Underground: Items 1. Generally, the more expensive the item is the better it works. Almost like real life. 2. There are no cursed or bad items, unlike real life. 3. Don't be stingy. Equip you fighters with the best armor, weapon, shield, helmet and gauntlets money can buy. After all, he can't take it with him. 4. Experiment with all items you find to determine their capabilities. Magical items are key to success. Remember that an item may only be magical for certain characters and classes, so trade items around if you have to. 5. Make sure some of your characters carry less than 8 items, or else the party will never be able to pick up new magical items in the dungeons. 6. Whenever your party captures an especially interesting or powerful magic item, save the party as soon as possible. That way, even if disaster strikes, you will never lose that powerful armor, weapon, talisman or whatever. 7. This documentation is not protected by magic shields or air armor. Don't let your dog eat it!!!!!