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The Hemisphere
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Pool of Radiance
Stuff From the clue book
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Introduction:
Pool of Radiance is Strategic Simulations Inc.'s first
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Computer Role-Playing Epic set in the Forgotten
Realms game world. Pool of Radiance is a huge game, with over two dozen
different individual missions and adventures. It is designed to mirror the
kind of connected adventures that form the basis of the AD&D role-playing
game.
Pool of Radiance does not rely on obtuse puzzles or unfathomable word
games to create challenges. Instead, Pool of Radiance relies on challenges
that arise from within the scope of the adventure. Each adventure centers
around solving a mystery, defeating an enemy force, or discovering the true
allegiance of the mysterious groups you meet.
You are sure to have questions as you adventure through Pool of
Radiance. First, read the rule book and Adventurers Journal that come with
the game<I hope somebody gets this thing and types it up!>. These books will
answer most of the questions that come up. Second, you can refer to this clue
book<this file and others to follow> for answers.
Third, you can look into the many AD&D books for background on the game. The
AD&D Players Handbook and the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide provide the basis
for the rules in Pool of Radiance. The Forgotten Realms Campaign Set and
Ruins of Adventure module provided the background material for the storyline.
These sources should tell you all you need to know about Pool of Radiance.
Keep your current objective in mind while you play through each mission
in Pool of Radiance. Each mission has a specific goal that is given in the
city council proclamation and in the council clerk's description of each
mission. In some missions you simply have to hack<yea!> your way through
everything in front of you. In other missions you must simply survive. Stay
true to your objective as each mission unfolds.
Finally, remember the overall goal of your quest, the liberation of
Phlan from its evil oppressor. It is not necessary to clear every block,
defeat every evil, or even complete every mission to free phlan. As soon as
the Boss That controls Phlan is defeated, the undirected monsters that were
under his control will fall like wheat to the scythe. Always remember that
the defeat of the Boss is you're final goal. Good Luck!
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SELECTING HEROES
With differing ability scores, classes, class combinations, and races
you can create many different kinds of characters in Pool of Radiance. You
can win the game with almost any combination of characters, but some will
make it easier than others.
You will need a party with a balance of fighting ability, clerical spell
use, and magic-user spell use. You will also want a character with thieving
abilities in your party and at least one character with an extraordinary
strength.
You will need to balance each characters race against the class of
characters you need. Human characters can excel at any single character
class, but non-human characters can be mixed class and have several sets of
capabilities at once. But, mixed class characters advance more slowly than
single class characters. They will generally be one or two levels behind a
single class character after the same amount of adventuring.
Non-human characters have a maximum possible level in each class <except
thieves>. Because of these limits human characters will always achieve higher
level than non-human characters after sufficient adventuring. So, non-human
characters should play to their strong points and be mixed class and let
humans be the single class characters.
Human fighters can be the best fighter in the game because of their high
maximum strength and unlimited maximum level. Non-human characters can help
with the fighting as mixed class fighter/thief, fighter/magic-user,
fighter/cleric, or fighter/magic-user/cleric<as the racial limits allow>.
Non-humans have lower maxi mum strengths and have limited max level. Human
clerics can also help with the fighting but they cannot have exceptional
strength, or use the best weapons, nor is their HP, THAC0, or number of blows
as good as a true fighter.
Clerics are especially useful in your party, they have the second
fastest advancement and get the most spells of any spell using class. The
cleric's bless, cure light wounds, detect magic, hold person, and prayer
spells are very useful. Only two races can add clerical abilities to your
party, humans and half-elves. Human clerics can reach the maximum 6th level
allowed in Pool of Radiance. At 6th level a cleric is much more powerful
against undead than at lower levels, he can even destroy skeletons and
zombies, rather than just turn them. Half-elf clerics can only reach 5th
level, so they are most useful as mixed class cleric/magic-users and
fighter/cleric/magic-users.
Magic-user spells provide much of the offensive punch of your party.
Charm person, magic missile, sleep, stinking cloud, fireball, Invisibility
10' radius, and lightning bolt are all powerful spells in the magic-user
arsenal. But, magic-users are very vulnerable in combat; they have few HP and
can wear no armor. But, both elves and half-elves can be magic-users, both
can progress to the maximum 6th level allowed in Pool of Radiance, and both
can become mixed class to gain the benefits of more HP and Heavier armor. In
general, then, Your magic-using characters should be elven or half-elven
fighter/magic-users, or half-elven cleric/magic-users or
fighter/cleric/magic-users.
Thieves have the fastest advancement of any class. They also have
special abilities that allow them to open locks, find and remove traps, climb
walls, and backstab. Unfortunately, thieves are almost as vulnerable as
magic-users in combat, they have only a few more HP and the heaviest armor
they can wear is leather. Luckily, all races have unlimited advancement as
thieves, and all the non-human races can be mixed class fighter/thieves.
Dwarves and half-elves make the best fighter/thieves because of their high
maximum strength and their high maximum strength and their high maximum
fighter level.
Some kinds of characters are at a disadvantage because of their ability
score or max level limits. Female characters are at a disadvantage as a
fighter or fighter mixed class character because of their reduced maximum
strength. But, for most other types of characters, especially pure clerics
and mixed class cleric/magic-users, they function just as well as male
characters. Their lot is actually better than that of halflings and gnomes,
neither of which excels at any particular class.
Each character's capabilities are built around his ability scores. Since
it only takes a second for the computer to roll a set of scores it is no
crime to roll a few times until you get a character whose ability scores
match what you want. You can also modify a characters ability scores after he
has been built, but not after he has gone up a level.
If you want your characters to have the maximum fighting efficiency they
will need impressive ability scores. Fighters need the highest possible
strength to get maximum bonuses to THAC0 and Damage. Magic-users need an
intelligence of at least 16 to get their experience bonus. Clerics need a
wisdom of 17 or better to get the maximum number of spells. All characters
need the highest possible dexterity because dexterity gives you: the best
chance to move before your opponent, a +1 AC for each point of dexterity over
14, and a +1 THAC0 with missiles for each point of dexterity over 15. All
characters need a constitution of 16 or better, and fighter types need a
constitution of 18, to get the maximum bonus to their HP. The party's
spokesman needs a charisma of 18 to get the maximum reaction bonus.
The characters in a party do not need such amazing scores to win the
game. In fact, any well played party should be able to win. The computer is
smart enough to gauge the power of the party and it often modifies the number
of monsters in an encounter to give the party a good fight regardless of
their power. Beginning characters with very high ability scores look to the
computer like high level Adventurers. This may put them at a disadvantage
because the party does not have the HP, spells or the magic treasure of high
level adventurers.
A balanced party needs at least four characters with good fighting
capabilities, at least two characters that can throw clerical spells, at
least two characters that can throw magic-user spells, at least two
characters who are equipped with bows, and at least on character who has
thieving abilities. As this is more than six characters, some of the
characters will have to have multiple capabilities. Once you have these bases
covered, mix and match the party's capabilities to match your style of play.
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DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS
Here are some important concepts that you will need to understand to play
Pool of Radiance to the fullest capacity.
Block: A 16 square by 16 square area that is displayed from a 3D point of
view. Unless the party is lost, or it is impossible to find one's way, the X
and Y coordinates are available beneath the list of characters in the party.
0,0 is in the northwest corner; 15,15 is in the southeast corner.
Commissions: The city council awards commissions as a way to direct heroes
towards awaiting adventures. The party does not have to accept a commission.
As soon as the clerk informs the party of a mission, they may freely
undertake it. In fact, if the party completes a mission while exploring on
their own they may also get the reward, even though they have never formally
received word of the commission.
Drain and Restoration: Powerful undead such as wights, wraiths, and vampires
can drain levels from a character when they hit in combat. The character
loses his level or levels along with the additional HP, improved THAC0, and
the other advantages of level. His XP will be reduced to the minimum for his
new level. A cleric can cast a restoration spell of a scroll to restore one
drained level. The character will regain his HP, THAC0, and other advantages
of his level. But, his XP will be raised only to the minimum for his restored
level.
Maps: Page 25 and 26 of the Adventurers Journal contain three accurate maps
of the city of Phlan, the area near Phlan, and the Moonsea. The city map
shows the locations of the different blocks within the city. The area near
Phlan map shows the extent of the wilderness in Pool of Radiance. The Moonsea
map shows where Pool of Radiance occurs in relation to other areas in the
Forgotten Realms game world. Other AD&D computer products may be set in the
area near the Moonsea.
Memorizing Spells: In Pool of Radiance, spell casters must memorize their
spells before they can cast them. Each character can only have a small number
of spells memorized at any time. The number of spells a character can
memorize at one time is based on the characters level and is shown in the
Appendices of the Adventurers Journal.
To memorize spells, send the party to camp. Highlight the first character you
want to memorize spells. Access the magic menu and then the memorize command.
The characters list of available spells is shown. Use the next and Prevs
commands to find the page with the spell you want to memorize. Choose the
Memorize command. Highlight the spell you want to memorize and press the
Return or the joystick button to pick it. The computer displays the number of
remaining spells your character can memorize by level.
Choose spells until you have indicated the spells you want your
character to memorize, or your character can memorize no more spells. Choose
exit from the spell list and from the memorize menu. The computer displays
the list of spells you have chosen. Confirm that this is the list of spells
you want your character to memorize. Repeat this process for all of your
spell casters.
Once you have picked all the spells your characters want, it is time to
rest and actually memorize the spells. Choose the rest command. Note the time
already listed on the clock. This is the minimum time necessary to memorize
all the spells you have picked. Choose the rest command from the rest menu.
The computer will display each spell as it is memorized.
If your characters rest is interrupted, they may not memorize all of
their chosen spells. If the characters rest is not interrupted then they will
have all their chosen spells memorized and be ready to adventure.
Quick Combat: If you don't want to deal with combat, you may turn on Quick
Combat and let the computer run things for you. You may put any character
into Quick Combat. You may put all characters into Quick Combat by typing "Q"
during any characters turn. You may take manual control of all characters by
typing the spacebar while one of your characters is moving on the screen. You
may set characters to cast spells by typing "M" during any characters turn.
When you type "M" the computer displays 'MAGIC ON' You may turn off spell
casting by typing "M" again. Then the computer displays 'MAGIC OFF'. With
'MAGIC ON', the computer will pick spells for player characters in Quick
combat. With 'MAGIC OFF', player characters will not throw spells in Quick
combat.
You have some tactical control over characters in Quick Combat. Characters
with readied arrows and a bow will stand fast and fire arrows until the enemy
comes adjacent. Characters without readied arrows will charge toward the
enemy. Characters will attempt to use readied magic items.
Your character's choice of spells is also important if you use Magic On in
Quick Combat. Avoid spells with large areas; the computer normally aborts an
offensive spell if the computer sees an ally in the target area. Offensive
spells such as magic missile, hold person, and stinking cloud are useful
because they are single target or have a small area of effect. Large area
spells, such as sleep or fireball, are very useful under manual conrol, but
may often be aborted in Quick Combat. Healing and detect spells have little
use in Quick Combat, though bless and Prayer are sometimes useful.
If you do not want to bother with a fight and want combat over as soon as
possible, access a characters second menu and choose the Speed command. Set
the Speed to ). Decide how each character will fight by readying or
unreadying their arrows and magic items. Then type 'Q' to set all characters
in Quick Combat. If a fight is particularly difficult you may want to type
'M' to turn 'Magic On'. Then, sit back and watch the computer do all the work
for you.
The computer is not as good a tactician as you are. You may be able to direct
your heroes to win a fight that they would lose in Quick Combat. But as your
characters get tougher you can use Quick Combat with less risk. But, if your
characters begin to lose too badly, be ready to hit the spacebar and take
control back. In the end, you may have to save the day.
RANDOM ENCOUNTERS: Often monsters roam around the blocks where the missions
take place. These monsters do not have a fixed location or time, but may
occur in many different places. Often a player must defeat a number of these
random encounters, as well as all the fixed encounters, to clear a block.
Resting: A party must rest seversl hours for characters to memorize spells.
The party may also rest for a full day so that each character can heal one
HP. Manyareas are so dangerous that the party can not rest; they will be
interrupted by the enemy. Safe areas are places where the party can rest
without interruption.
SET ENCOUNTERS: A set encounter is an encounter in a fixed location and/or
time. Most set encounters are keyed to the maps in each adventure
description.
TEMPLES: Temples provide a number of services that the party cannot get
anywhere else. If a character has died due to wounds, the temple can raise
dead. If a character has been turned to stone, the temple can turn him back
to flesh. If a character has been killed by poison, the temple can neutralize
poison<to remove the poison from the system> and then raise hime from the
dead. If the party has a third level cleric, they can use the slow poison
spell to make the poisoned character 'alive' when he goes into the temple.
Then the temple need only to throe a neutralize poison to bring the character
back. If the party's characters have lost HP it is cheaper to go to an inn
and rest for many days than to have the temple throw cure spells.
THIEVING ABILITIES: Characters who are thieves or mixed class thieves have a
number of special abilities including the chance to : pick locks, climb
walls, find traps and disarm traps, and the ability to backstab for multiple
damage. But, for a mixed class character to exercise his thiefly abilities he
must not be wearing any armor heavier than leather. Remember, before the
fighter/thief can backstab, or pick a lock, he must unready his heavy armor.
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COMBAT
Your characters will be fighting alot in Pool of Radiance. Monsters and
Human enemies abound. Learning to fight well, and to fight smart will make
the game go faster and make it much more enjoyable. There can be alot of
details to successful combat, but most of them are common sense and will
become second nature after a few fights.
To fight effectively you must understand your own group's capabilities.
Does your group have ranged weapons? Does you group have mass attack magic
spells such as sleep or fireball? How heavily armored is the front line of
your group? How fast is the fastest and slowest member of your group? All of
these details change which tactics your party can apply effectively.
You should also understand your enemy's capabilities. The basic
information about ranged weapons, mass attack spells, heavy armor, and speed
still apply. Monsters also often have unuasual capabilities that you'll want
to be aware of.
Finally, you need to understand the terrain where you are fighting. Are
you inside a building where space is limited or are you in an open field with
unlimited room to maneuver? Are there choke points, such as doorways, that
you can use to channel an enemy's attack? Are there large pieces of terrain,
such as a tree or a wall, that you can acchor your flanks on?
Taking full advantage of terrain will multiply your fighting strength.
Whether you outnumber the enemy or he outnumbers you will decide your
opening tactics. If you outnumber the enemy, move up your toughest fighters
and pin them in place. Then move other troops around the enemy's flanks to
get attacks from behind. A shot from behind can hurt even to most unstoppable
monster. Thieves are at best when they can be part of a gang and backstab.
Concentrate your attacks by having a single character attack some of the
enemy and have many characters gang up on the remainder to eliminate them as
quickly as possible.
If the enemy has as many or more troops than you have, then make the
shortest possible line without giving the enemy a way around your flanks;
doorways and corridors are good defensive locations. Don't just attack the
enemy in front of you, mass as many attacks against each target as possible
to get quick kills. If your tactics are successful, you will soon outnumber
the enemy and you can surround and move in for the kill.
An important tactical consideration is whether one side and/or the other
has ranged weapons such as bows, crossbows, slings, and ranged attack magic.
If neither side has significant ranged weapons, your side sould quickly move
to the most advantageous terrain and prepare to meet the enemy. If only you
have ranged weapons then try to begin the battle at the longest possible
range. Keep a front line of clerics and fighters without bows to protect your
archers as long as possible. Magic-users with darts and clerics with flasks
of oil have a short range, and are only useful once both sides are in
contact.
If both sides have ranged weapons then the enemy archers and spell
casters should be your primary targets. An enemy who is turning your flank or
who can get back shots on your front line is also a good target. Don't shoot
at enemy front line fighters unless you are trying to disengage your front
line to maneuver or retreat.
If only the enemy has ranged weapons the close as soon as possible. Once
you get adjacent to an enemy, it's much harder for him to use his bow or
magic against you. Try to use terrain to block the enemy archer's line of
sight and limit his targets to your troops with the heaviest armor.
Magic has the capability to change defeat into victory into defeat.
Tactically, some simpler spells and magic items act very much like bows or
thrown weapons. The more devastating spells are the ones that can
incapacitate an entire group of troops in an instant. These mass attack
spells include: sleep, hold person, stinking cloud, lightning bolt, and
fireball. These spells can turn the tide of battle in an instant.
More often than not, you will have magic and your enemies will not. If
you have magic-users or magic items guard them with your life. Magic-users
are very fragile in combat; they wear little armor and don't stand up well to
being hit. Keep them behind the lines and safe, even if they have thrown all
of their spells for this battle. The magic-user you save this battle may save
you next battle.
Magic need not kill the enemy to be useful in combat. Sleep, hold
person, and stinking cloud can make the enemy helpless and a sitting duck to
your fighters attacks. Remember that you can affect up to three different
targets with a clerical hold person spell. An effective way to use these
spells is to eliminate the threat of enemy archers and magic-users. Another
tactic is to make the front ranks of the enemy helpless, thus blocking his
melee attacks and making your own shots sure kills. You can even retreat
behind the enemies helpless front line troops and safely engage the others
with ranged attacks.
If the enemy has mass attack magic, you may have to modify your tactics.
Defensively, try to keep your troops spread out; most mass attack magic
operates over a limited radius. Keep some fighters unengaged in reserve, so
that they can run up and fill any holes in the front lines caused by an enemy
magic attack. Be careful not to concentrate important targets like magic
users or archers together behind your own lines; such concentration invites
attack.
Offensively, you should concentrate magic spells and bow fire on enemy
magic-users. Even if a bow shot doesn't kill a magic-user, it can disrupt his
ability to cast a spell. Magic Missile is very good for this because it
always delivers a few points of damage and keeps an enemy magic-user from
casting for the rest of the turn. Proper use of magic, both offensively and
defensively, is often the key to your victory and the enemy's defeat.
Some monsters have abilities that might as well be magic. Dragons often
have breath weapons that can do great damage over a wide area. Your
characters should spread out to avoid several being attacked by a single
attack. Phase spiders cannot be affected by any attack until just as they
move. Your characters should choose Guard or Delay and then attack as the
Phase Spiders advance or after they move. Driders know spells as powerful as
any spell caster in Pool of Radiance. Your characters should spread out, just
as if they were fighting an enemy magic-user.
One of the most important things to get for your heroes is the best
possible Armor Class. A good AC is always useful, but it is especially
important against mass attack by weaker monsters. High dexterity, heavy
armor, rings of protection, bracers of defense, magic shields and armor all
can contribute to giving your heroes the lowest possible AC. Your front line
fighters go in harms way more often then the archers and magic-users, make
sure they have the best AC in the party.
When fighting a heavily armored foe, flanking, swarming attacks, magic,
and the backstab take on increased importance. Tactics that multiply the
number and effectiveness of your attacks, and reduce the value of the enemy
armor are worthwhile.
Soldiers often forget that mobility is as much a weapon as a sword or
spell. If you are more mobile than your opponent, you can remain disengaged
and fire arrows. You can choose to retreat or stay for battle. You can occupy
the best defensive terrain and force the enemy to come to you. Be careful not
to get your troops spread out if they have differing movement rates.
If the enemy is equal or superior in mobility, it multiplies their
effective numbers. You must worry more about flank security and keeping your
front line secure. Fast enemy's will also try to attempt to run away when
their morale breaks. Once the enemies morale has broken, use archers to bring
them down. Even a fleeing foe can be dangerous if cornered and forced to
fight.
One of the most potent weapons in the hero's arsenal is the ability of
thieves to backstab their opponents for extra damage. Thieves of level 1-4 do
douuble damage when they hit with a backstab. Level 5-8 thieves do triple
damage when they hit with a backstab. Level 9+ thieves do quadruple damage
when they hit with a backstab. Mixed class fighter/thieves with exceptional
strength and a magic long sword can take out very large monsters with one
shot.
A backstab happens when a thief attacks a monster directly from behind.
Unfortunatly, whenever a monster attacks or is attacked, his facing can
change. The following method can guarantee the thief his chance to backstab..
To attack you need a fighter or cleric as a stalking horse, and a thief.
Choose the Delay command when each characters chance to move comes up. This
guarantees that the monster will get his chance to move, and that its facing
won't be upset. After the monster has moved, have the stalking horse move up
adjacent to the monster and attack. This sets the monster's facing towards
the stalking horse. Then have the thief move up and attack from directly
opposite the stalking horse. This second attack will be a backstab that has
large bonuses to hit and does multible damage. The backstab is an especially
effective attack against large monsters that are otherwise difficult to hurt
because of a resistance to magic , many HP, and/or a very low AC.
Histories are written about great victories. But they are written by the
suvivers of well executed retreats. Every party occasionally gets into combat
where it is overmatched by enemy numbers or power. The earlier you realize
that you should retreat, the easier and more successful the retreat will be.
Once you have engaged the enemy retreat is more difficult. Anytime you
turn away from an enemy to disengage, he has a clear shot at your back. This
can be devistating if you get surrounded on many sides. You can be attacked
half a dozen times by trying to retreat while surrounded.
The first part of any successful retreat is disengagement. Flankers,
archers, spell casters, and reserves can normally disengage from the enemy
simply by moving away. But the front line has a more difficult problem.
To disengage the front line, concentrate your attacks on a few units to
create holes in the enemy front line. When your front line troops each have a
few enemies still engaged, turn and begin the retreat. Retreat as far as you
can to protected positions that minimize the enemies ability to flank you.
Stay on guard so you can strike at the enemy if they pursue. Do not retreat
the flankers, archers, and spell casters so fast that they cannot support the
retreating fighters. If the enemy is swift and aggressive, you may have to
repeat this maneuver several times to completely disengage.
If the enemy is faster then the character, then that character will not
be allowed to exit the combat area. A character can often increase his
movement by unreadying his heavy armor. When your movement is equal to the
enemy's, you have an even chance to exit the combat area. When your movement
exceeds the enemy's, you can automatically exit the combat area.
The worst time to decide to retreat is after some of your characters have
fallen. Even if your retreat is successful, the troops that have fallen are
lost forever. Even worse is cleanly retreating almost all of your heroes,
only to see the final character pinned by the enemy and overwhelmed. Do
everything in your power to avoid such a situation.
-When all else is said and done here are some rules to live by...
Keep a staight line: Your forses are the least vulnerable and provide each
other the most support when they are in a straight line..
Anchor your Flanks on terrain features: Keep the enemy from flanking or
overwhelming your troops by anchoring your flanks on impassable terrain.
Put your most Heavily Armored troops in the front line: Front line troops
take the greatest number of attacks from the enemy. Heavy armor will increase
their chance of survival.
Thieves sould only backstab when you outnumber the enemy: Thieves trying to
backstab must be behind enemy lines. Their light armor makes them vulnerable.
Onlt send the thieves around the flanks to backstab when the enemy is
outnumbered so that he can't concentrate attacks on the thieves.
Spell Casters are High Priority Targets: Enemy spell casters have the
greatest capability to quickly turn the tide of battle against you. Target
them with archers, friendly spell casters, and flankers.
Don't Panic: Even when the situation seems imposible, trust in your troops.
The enemy is probably not as powerful as it seems. Many things can happen to
turn the tide of battle yor way. The enemy morale may break, you may make a
lucky shot, or the enemy may be weaker than you realize. Keep fighting and
stay alive.
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SPELLS
In Pool of Radiance, the efficaint use of spells, both in combat and in camp,
makes the game much easiier. Some spells are useful in ways that are not
obvious from their description. Here are some 'tricks' to the efficient use
of some of the spells.
Unless otherwise specified, all spells have saving throws. In general,
damage spells do half damage if the target makes its save; non-damage spells
have no effect if the target makes its save.
Clerics get more spells per level than magic-users. Detect Magic,
Protection from evil<good>, hold person, and Dispel Magic are available to
both clerics and magic-users. So, if you want these spells in your party your
clerics should take them instead of your magic-users.
Offensive spells are of two types, damage causing spells that cause hit
points, and restraining spells that make a target helpless. A single melee or
missile attack can kill, once a target is helpless. The best offensive spells
are:
Hold Person: The most powerful clerical offensive spell. You can aim at
three<clerical> or four<magic-user> targets and make them helpless...
Charm Person: This spell makes one target fight on your side in the battle.
When the charmed enemy changes side his formor comrades turn on him so he
absorbs some enemy fire. If you attack a charmed enemy then NPC's in your
party will turn on you <you are attacking an ally, after all>. If the charmed
enemy is not killed in the fight then you won't get his treasure.
Magic Missile: Useful because it is low level, because the target gets no
saving throw, and because it is fast and cannot be interrupted. This is a
good spell to throw at spell casters before they have cast a spell and at
undead , who ignore many other attack>. It is also useful if you fight under
computer control because it has no chance to catch heroes in an area damage
spell.
Sleep: The magic-users most powerful low level spell. Speep can make a whole
horde of low level monsters helpless, and it has no saving throw. But it is
useless against larger monsters such as Trolls. Remember that sleep has a
comparatively short range, and that its variable effect can sleep your heroes
if you target the spell too close to your own front lines. Once your heroes
reach 5th level, they are immune to sleep and you can theow speep spells with
great abandon.
Stinking Cloud: A powerful spell that amkes targets in a 2 square by 2
square area helpless. Its very short range, but exact area of effect, make it
useful only after the enemy has closed to melee your front lines.
Fireball: The classic attack spell. In a closed area < when the combat map
includes walls>, fireballs have a 3 square radius and affects almost every
character on the screen. In an open area, fireballs have a 2 square radius.
Try to get as many enemy in the fireball as possible, and be sure to keep
your characters out of the radius of effect.
Lightning Bolt: This is often considered the poor cousin to the fireball,
because it does the same damage but in a more limited area <a line>. But
lightning bolt is best when you have to fight in a closed area. Properly
used, you can throw a lightning bolt into a melee, miss your your heroes, and
still hurt your enemies. Also, if the enemy is near a wall you can throw the
bolt to attack the target, bounce off the wall, and then attack the target a
second time. Remember that a lightning bolt always rebounds toward the
caster; it does not follow the angle of the wall.
Some spells are useful in preparing for combat. If you know your party is in
for a tough fight, you can prepare before combat. Encamp immediately before
triggering the combat. Throw as many preparatory spells as you have ready on
your characters, then immediately return to the Adventure menu and advance
directly into the combat. If you can't prepare before combat, many of these
spells are just as effective when you throw them in the first round of
combat. Many of these spells can be reversed and thrown on the enemy to make
him more vulnerable to your attacks. The best preparatory spells are:
Bless: this spell affects all heroes in a 5*5 area that are not adjacent to
the enemy. Bless is especially useful later in the game against monsters with
very low AC's.
Protection from Evil: this spell only protects one person, but it improves
your AC and Saving Throws by 2 against attacks from evil monsters.
Prayer: This spell is great because it can be thrown in combat and it
improves your THAC0, Damage, and Saving Throws by 1, while hurting your
enemies values by a like amount. It can also be thrown after combat has
commenced.
Enlarge: This spell makes a weak character stromg, though it doesn't help a
character who is already strong. A first level magic-user makes his target's
effective strength 18. Each additional level adds one column to the
characters effective strength, until at 6th level the target has an effective
strength of 18(00).
Strength: This spell adds 1-8 points to a characters effective strength,
depending on his class. For every point of strength over 18, 10% is added to
his exceptional strength percentage.
Some spells are handy to have memorized for use out of combat, these
include..
Cure Light Wounds: This spell is everyone's best friend. Use it after each
battle to make sure that eeryone gets back to their full HP. You can also use
cures during combat to keep a character from going down. Also, if a character
is wounded at the begining of a wave of combats, you can 'Continue Combat'
and cure characters to get them ready for the next encounter.
Detect Magic: Use this spell in the Treasure Menu to pick out the magic
items from the trash.
Dispel Magic: Use this spell to remove locking spells on doors. Remember
that your clerics can memorize this spell too.
Knock: Use this spell to open locked doors and chests.
Invisibility 10' Radius: Use this spell while moving through dangerous
territory. This keeps the enemy from finding your party until one of
characters attacks in combat. Use your enemies confusion to get all your
characters in position for 'backstabs', bouncing lightning bolts shots, and
sweap attacks. Then have all your characters choose delay, let the enemy take
his turn and guard, and then have all your characters attack at once.
Some spells should only be memorized when your party needs them; these spells
include: slow poison, cure disease, remove curse, and read magic.....
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