WHEN THE GAME FIRES UP, YOU'LL SEE THE NAMES OF THE DEFAULT CHARACTERS
DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN. IF YOU WANT TO CREATE YOUR OWN CHARACTERS, YOU'LL
HAVE TO DELETE THOSE ALREADY PRESENT TO MAKE ROOM. TYPE THE NUMBER OF THE CHARACTER YOU WANT TO DELETE AND FOLLOW THE SCREEN PROMPTS - WHEN YOU OPEN A
SPACE IN THE PARTY, THE COMPUTER WILL OFFER YOU THE CHANCE TO CREATE A NEW
CHARACTER.
THERE'S ALSO AN OPTION TO RENAME THE DEFAULT CHARACTERS, WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO
PERSONALIZE YOUR PARTY WITHOUT HAVING TO CREATE A WHOLE NEW BATCH OF HEROES.
THE PROCESS OF CHARACTER CREATION REQUIRES YOU TO SPEND POINTS TO CUSTOM -
DESIGN YOUR CHARACTER. YOU ARE PROVIDED FIFTY CHARACTER POINTS TO SPEND ON
ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS. CHARACTERS BEGIN WITH A DEFAULT VALUE OF TEN IN ALL
ATTRIBUTES, AND HAVE NO SKILLS. BY FOLLOWING THE PROMPTS, YOU CAN PAGE
THROUGH THE CHARACTER CREATION MENUS TO MODIFY ATTRIBUTES AND PURCHASE SKILLS.
CHARACTER CREATION IS AN ART, AND YOU'LL HAVE TO EXPERIMENT IF YOU WANT TO
ARRIVE AT THE "PERFECT" DESIGN (IF SUCH A THING EXISTS). TO GET YOU STARTED
IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING DESIGN GUIDELINES.
-> NO ONE CHARACTER CAN DO IT ALL...NOR SHOULD THEY. WHILE EVERYONE WILL
BENEFIT FROM WEAPON AND MAGIC SKILLS, IT HELPS IF YOUR CHARACTERS SPECIALIZE.
IT'S BETTER TO HAVE A CHARACTER WHO IS VERY GOOD AT SOMETHING AND USELESS IN
OTHER FIELDS THAN TO HAVE ONE WHO CAN DO A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING.
-> THIS IS A GAME OF SLOW CHARACTER GROWTH. DON'T EXPECT YOUR CHARACTERS TO
CHANGE VERY MUCH, EVEN IF THEY EARN VAST AMOUNTS OF EXPERIENCE.
-> WHEN BUYING SKILLS FOR BEGINNING CHARACTERS, IT IS RARELY WISE TO PURCHASE
MORE THAN ONE LEVEL. SITUATIONS REQUIRING SKILL LEVELS OF TWO OR HIGHER ARE
RARE IN THE GAME, AND YOU'LL KNOW THEM WHEN YOU FIND THEM. IF YOU FIND THEM.
IF YOU FIND AN INSTANCE WHERE YOUR SKILLS ARE INSUFFICIENT, YOU CAN ALWAYS
PURSUE ANOTHER PATH, THEN RETURN LATER WHEN YOU'VE IMPROVED THE RELEVENT SKILL THROUGH EXPERIENCE.
-> FINALLY, BE AWARE THAT A CHARACTER MUST MASTER LOW MAGIC BEFORE ANY OTHER
VARIETY OF MAGIC CAN BE LEARNED.
CHARACTER PROFILE:
CHARACTERS ARE REPRESENTED BY A SERIES OF WORDS AND NUMBERS, THE SIGNIFICANCE
OF WHICH ARE ILLUMINATED BELOW:
STRENGTH (STR): THE MOST IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF GREAT STRENGTH IS THE ABILITY
TO CAUSE ADDITIONAL DAMAGE TO FOES. STRENGTH IS ALSO USEFUL FOR BREAKING
THINGS, LIFTING HEAVY OBJECTS, AND OPENING STUBBORN POP BOTTLES. HIGH
STRENGTH IS REQUIRED TO USE CERTAIN WEAPONS; STRENGTH IN EXCESS OF A WHAT A
WEAPON REQUIRES PROVIDES ADDITIONAL DAMAGE. INQUIRING AT A WEAPON SHOP WILL
SOMETIMES TELL YOU THE STRENGTH REQUIRED TO USE CERTAIN WEAPONS.
DEXTERITY (DEX): A HIGH DEXTERITY MAKES YOU LIGHT ON YOUR FEET, IMPROVES YOUR CHANCE OF HITTING THE BAD GUYS, AND DIMINISHED THE CHANCE OF GETTING NAILED
YOURSELF. DEXTERITY ALSO DETERMINES THE ORDER IN WHICH A CHARACTER ACTS IN
COMBAT, STARTING WITH THE HIGHEST DEXTERITY AND MOVING DOWN TO THE LOWEST.
CONSIDER DESIGNING SOME MAGIC-USERS WITH LOW DEXTERITY, SO THEY CAN CAST
HEALING SPELLS AT THE END OF A COMBAT ROUND.
INTELLIGENCE (INT): ULTIMATELY, YOUR CHARACTERS ARE ONLY AS INTELLIGENT AS
ARE YOU. THIS STATISTIC MEASURES A CHARACTER'S ABSTRACT INTELLIGENCE; IT IS
IMPORTANT FOR LEARNING SPELLS AND SOLVING PUZZLES. INTELLIGENCE ALSO AFFECTS YOUR CHANCE OF SUCCESSFULLY HITTING AN OPPONENT WITH A SPELL.
SPIRIT (SPR): ON OCEANA, THE MUNDANCE REALM IS JUST ONE PART OF LIFE. SPIRIT REFLECTS THE STRENGTH OF A PERSON'S SOUL, AND IS IMPORTANT FOR CATING SPELLS
AND RESISTING EVIL SPIRITS. SPIRIT ALSO DETERMINES THE NUMBER OF POWER POINTS RETAINED BY MAGIC-USERS.
POWER (POW): POWER IS DERIVED FROM SPIRIT, AND REPRESENTS SPELL POINTS USED
FOR ENERGIZING MAGIC SPELLS. ONCE SPENT ON A SPELL, POWER POINTS DO NOT
NATURALLY REGENERATE...YOU WILL NEED TO USE A DRAGONSTONE OR FIND SOME OTHER MEANS OF REGENERATING POWER. FOR THIS REASON, POWER POINTS SHOULD BE USED
WITH DISCRETION. POWER IS TWICE YOUR SPIRIT.
HEALTH: HEALTH IS TERRIFICALLY IMPORTANT, FOR WHEN HEALTH IS REDUCED TO ZERO, THE CHARACTER DIES. HEALTH CAN BE RESTORED ONLYBY CERTAIN SPELLS, RETAINING
THE SERVICES OF A HEALER, OR THROUGH USE OF THE BANDAGE SKILL. DEATH IS
USUALLY PERMANENT ON OCEANA, BUT LEGEND HOLDS THAT SOMEWHERE IN THE DEPTHS OF THE MAGAN UNDERWORLD CAN BE FOUND THE WELL OF SOULS, WITHIN WHICH RESURRECTION IS POSSIBLE.
STUN: STUN IS DERIVED FROM HEALTH, AND REPRESENTS THE ABILITY TO RESIST DAMAGE BEFORE A CHARACTER FALLS UNCONSCIOUS AT A STUN VALUE OF ZERO. CHARACTERS
GENERALLY RUN OUT OF STUN BEFORE THEY RUN OUT OF HEALTH. STUN FULLY
REGENERATES FOLLOWING EVERY MELEE - YOU'LL FIND YOURSELF TALKING A LOT OF
STUN DAMAGE IN THE GAME, BUT IT ISN'T REALLY SERIOUS UNLESS THE WHOLE PARTY
GETS STUNNED ALL AT ONCE.
SEX: MAEL, FEMALE, SOMETIMES, OR NEVER.
EXPERIENCE: EXPERIENCE POINTS ARE AN ABSTRACT MEASURE OF A CHARACTER'S
ACTIVITY. THE MORE THINGS A CHARACTER DOES - THE MORE MONSTERS HE SLAYS, THE MORE SECRETS HE DISCOVERS - THE MORE EXPERIENCE POINTS WILL BE EARNED.
EXPERIENCE POINTS TRANSLATE INTO LEVELS.
LEVEL: LEVELS ARE GAINED AUTOMATICALLY AS A CHARACTER EARNS EXPERIENCE POINTS . THE COMPUTER WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN A CHARACTER ATTAINS A NEW LEVEL.
INTIALLY YOUR CHARACTERS WILL RAPIDLY GAIN LEVELS, BUT AFTER THE FOURTH OR
FIFTH LEVEL YOU'LL NOTICE CHARACTER GROWTH IN CONSIDERABLY SLOWED. THIS IS
BECAUSE IT REQUIRES PROGRESSIVLY GREATER AND GREATER AMOUNTS OF EXPERIENCE TO
REACH THE HIGHER LEVELS. WHEN YOUR CHARACTER REACHES A NEW LEVEL, HE RECEIVES TWO NEW CHARACTER POINTS THAT CAN EITHER BE SAVED OR SPENT ON SKILLS AND
ATTRIBUTES.
ARMOR CLASS (AC): THIS RATING INDICATES THE QUALITY OF YOUR ARMOR. THE MORE (AND BETTER) ARMOR YOU WEAR, THE MORE DAMAGE IT CAN ABSORB BEFORE IT STARTS
COUNTING AGAINST YOUR HEALTH AND STUN. ARMOR DOES NOT MAKE IT HARDER FOR
OPPONENTS TO HIT YOU. IT DOES INCREASE YOUR LIFE EXPECTANCY BY TAKING DAMAGE
THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE TAKEN BY YOUR SKULL, RIBS, ETC. REMEMBER, ARMOR DOES NOT CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR DV - IT MAY ACTUALLY REDUCE AV. BUT YOUR AC WILL RISE IF YOU WEAR ARMOR, AND IT WILL HELP YOU SURVIVE.
ATTACK VALUE (AV) & DEFENSE VALUE (DV): THESE FACTORS ARE BASED ON YOUR
DEXTERITY VALUE BY FOUR, AND ARE THE BASIC STATISTICS INFLUENCING COMBAT.
YOU'LL WANT THESE NUMBERS TO BE AS HIGH AS POSSIBLE, AS THEY DETERMINE HOW
OFTEN YOU WILL HIT YOUR ENEMIES WITH WEAPONS AND SPELLS, AND HOW OFTEN YOU
WILL BE HIT BY THE SANE. SOME ITEMS INCREASE OR DECREASE AV AND/OR DV.
WEAPONS USUALLY IMPROVE AV, WHILE ARMOR ACTUALLY DECREASES YOUR COMBAT VALUES
- ARMOR WILL ENCUMBER YOU AND MAY IMPAIR YOUR PERFORMANCE SLIGHTLY.
YOUR AV IS DIFFERENT FOR MAGICAL COMBAT AMD WEAPON COMBAT, DEPENDING ON YOUR
MAIGICAL SKILLS AND WEAPON SKILLS. THESE SKILLS DO IMPROVE YOUR AV BUT THE
