UNLESS YOU'RE WILLING TO ROLL OVER AND DIE, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGHT.
FORTUNATELY, YOU HAVE LOTS OF OPTIONS DURING COMBAT, AND IF YOU EXIBIT THE
PROPER MIX OF PRUDENCE AND COURAGE YOU SHOULD EMERGE VICTORIOUS MORE OFTEN THAN
NOT.
YOU'LL KNOW A FIGHT IS BREWING WHEN A PICTURE OF SOME HASTY BEING APPEARS ON THE SCREEN. THE COMPUTER WILL TELL YOU WHAT YOU'VE ENCOUNTERED, AND SET THE RANGE
AT WHICH THE ENCOUNTER BEGINS. YOU'LL HAVE TO CLOSE TO WITHIN TEN FEET OF THE
ENEMY BEFORE YOU CAN ENTER HAND TO HAND COMBAT, BUT SPELLS AND MISSILE WEAPONS
CAN BE USED AT VARYING RANGES.
WHEN FACING A BATTLE YOU CAN ALWAYS RUN AWAY, BUT IT'S MORE FUN TO FIGHT. THE
GAME OFFERS YOU TWO TYPES OF COMBAT: QUICK FIGHT, AND FIGHT.
QUICK FIGHTING GIVES YOU MORE LIMITED COMBAT OPTIONS TO SPEED THE ENCOUNTERS
ALONG.
IF YOU CHOOSE FIGHT, INSTEAD OF QUICK FIGHT, YOU HAVE A FEW MORE OPTIONS. FIRST
OFF, YOU'LL HAVE THE OPTION OF STRIKING A NORMAL BLOW (JUST LIKE THE QUICK FIGHT OPTION), A MIGHTY BLOW (REDUCED CHANCE OF HITTING, BUT IMPROVES DAMAGE DONE TO
THE TARGET), OR A DISARM BLOW (TRY TO KNOCK YOUR OPPENENT'S WEAPON AWAY WITHOUT
DOING MUCH DAMAGE). YOU ALSO HAVE A CHANCE TO REARRANGE YOUR PARTY, WHICH IS
IMPORTANT IF ONE OR MORE CHARACTERS HAVE BEEN INCAPACITATED OR KILLED-ONLY THE
FIRST FOUR CHARACTERS IN THE PARTY ORDER CAN ACTUALLY FIGHT IN HAND-TO-HAND
COMBAT. FINALLY, YOU CAN ATTEMPT TO BLOCK, WHICH IMPROVES YOUR DV AGAINST THE
ATTACK OF A SINGLE FOE.
IN EITHER TYPE OF COMBAT, YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE OPTION TO USE AN ITEM, RUN (SHAME
ON YOU!), DODGE, OR CAST A SPELL. DODGING IS SIMILAR TO BLOCKING, BUT IT WORKS
AGAINST ALL ENEMIES IN THE COMBAT AND IS LESS EFFECTIVE.
NOTE THAT IF YOU RUN FROM AN ENCOUNTER, THE COMPUTER WILL ACTUALLY RUN YOU
ACROSS THE MAP YOU ARE ON FOR SEVERAL MOVES...IF YOU RETURN TO THE SCENE OF
YOUR DEFEAT, DON'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU RUN INTO THE SAME ENEMIES AGAIN. JUST
BECAUSE YOU TURNED TAIL DOESN'T MEAN THE BAD GUYS ARE GOING TO PACK IT IN!
GETTING AROUND --------------
THE COMPUTER SIMULATES THE PERSPECTIVE VIEW AVAILABLE TO YOUR CAHRACTERS. THINK
OF THE COMPUTER AS A WINDOW TO THE WORLD OF DRAGON WARS.
IF YOU LOSE TRACK OF WHERE YOU ARE, OR START TO DEVELOP A DANGEROUS CASE OF
TUNNEL VISION, TRY USING THE AUTOMAP FEATURE. YOU'LL CALL UP A TOP-DOWN VIEW OF
YOUR CHARACTER'S PRESENT POSITION, SHOWING EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE IN RELATION TO
THE LOCAL TERRAIN. BLACK AREAS ON THE MAP REPRESENT AREAS YOU HAVEN'T EXPLORED
YET-YOU MUST ACTUALLY MOVE THROUGH A SQUARE WITH YOUR PARTY TO FILL IT IN ON THE AUTOMAP. BLACK AREAS THAT YOU CANNOT REACH MAY INDICATE SECRET ADVENTURE AREAS
WORTHY OF FURTHER INVESTIGATION. THEN AGAIN, THEY MAY BE SOLID ROCK.
SPEAKING OF SECRET STUFF, YOU'LL FIND PLENTY OF IT IN THE GAME. SECRET DOORS ARE INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM NORMAL WALLS...UNTIL YOU WALK THROUGH THEM. CLEVER USE
OF THE AUTOMAP MAY REVEAL WHERE SECRET DOORS "SHOULD" BE. YOU'LL KNOW A LOCKED
DOOR WHEN YOU BUMP INTO IT-TRY BATTERING THE DOOR DOWN WITH STRENGTH, OR MAYBE
USE YOUR LOCKPIC SKILL. THE GAME ALSO FEATURES EXOTIC AND RARE ON-WAY DOORS,
TELEPORTERS, SPINNERS, AND...WELL, FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF.
PARAGRAPHS EXPLAINED --------------------
FREQUENTLY YOU WILL BE INSTRUCTED BY THE COMPUTER TO READ A CERTAIN NUMBERED
PARAGRAPH, AND SUPPLEMENT THE BRIEFER ON-LINE TEXT PRESENT IN THE PROGRAM.
PARAGRAPHS FREQUENTLY ELABORATE ON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE COMPUTER, BUT ARE AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF CLUES AND ARE NOT TO BE OVERLOOKED.
YOU'LL GREATLY INCREASE YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THE GAME BY ONLY READING THOSE
PARAGRAPHS TO WHICH YOU ARE SPECIFICALLY REFERRED BY THE GAME. "READING AHEAD"
COULD SPOIL SOME OF THE SURPIRISES THAT AWAIT YOU IN DRAGON WARS. DON'T TRY TO
READ THE PARAGRAPHS CONSECUTIVELY, AS THEY ARE PRINTED OUT OF ORDER AND WILL
PROVE CONFUSING.
SHOULD YOU USE THE PARAGRAPHS AS A FREE "CHEAT BOOK", BEWARE THE WRATH OF NAMTAR...AND BE ADVISED CERTAIN PARAGRAPHS ARE PURE YA-YA THAT WILL DO NOTHING TO
IMPROVE YOUR PERFORMANCE IN THE GAME. IN FACT, ACTING ON ILL-GOTTEN INFORMATION
COULD PROVE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
ITEMS -----
ALMOST AS IMPORTANT AS YOUR ATTRIBUTES, SPELLS, AND SKILLS ARE THE ITEMS YOU
WILL DISCOVER DURING YOUR QUEST. AN ITEM IS ANYTHING YOU CAN PICK UP. A VERY FEW ITEMS ARE WORTHLESS, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE YOU FIND, BUY, OR STEAL IN DRAGON WARS COULD BE IMPORTANT TO COMPLETING THE GAME.
SIMPLE ITEMS ARE THINGS LIKE WEAPONS (USED TO DO MAYHEM TO THE BAD GUYS) AND
ARMOR (USED TO PREVENT THE BAD GUYS FROM DOING THE SAME TO YOU). MAGIC ARMOR
AND WEAPONS CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN DILMUN-AND THERE ARE NO CURSED MAGIC ITEMS.
CERTAIN WEAPONS COULD ACTUALLY DECREASE YOUR AV, BUT THIS MEANS THEY'RE HARDER
TO USE, NOT THAT THEY ARE IMBUED WITH EVIL MAGIC. AS MUSKELS THE BARBARIAN SAID
OF HIS CUSH MACE, "YEAH, IT WAS HARDER TO SWING, BUT BOY DID IT CRACK SKULLS!"
THE USE OF MANY ITEMS MAY NOT BE IMMEDIATELY OBVIOUS. SOMETIMES YOU WILL NEED TO DISCOVER SECRET KNOWLEDGE OR CLUES TO DETERMINE WHAT TO DO WITH AN ITEM. OTHER
TIMES AN ITEM MAY BE USEFUL ONLY IN SOME PART OF THE WORLD YOU HAVE NOT
DISCOVERED. KEEP TRACK OF THE ITEMS YOUR PARTY CARRIES, AND TRY TO USE THEM IN
NOVEL WAYS. THE SECRET TO ITEM USE IS TO CONSIDER ALL THE THINGS AN ITEM CAN DO...IF YOU FIND A KEY, IT IS PROBABLY USED TO OPEN A LOCK. IF YOU HAVEN'T YET
FOUND A LOCK, REMEMBER YOU HAVE A KEY, AND KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR LOCKED
DOORS OR CHESTS AS YOU EXPLORE. NO CHARACTER CAN CARRY MORE THAN TWELVE ITEMS.
IMPORTANT!!!!!! IF YOU "DISCARD" AN ITEM, IT IS GONE FOREVER...AND ALONG WITH IT MAY GO YOUR ONLY HOPE OF SOLVING THE GAME, SO MANAGE YOUR ITEMS CAREFULLY.
THE VARIOUS STORED IN DILMUN CAN ONLY KEEP CERTAIN MUNDANE, PLENTIFUL ITEMS IN
STOCK; THERE IS HIGH DEMAND FOR THE UNUSUAL. IF YOU FIND UNIQUE ITEMS DURING
YOUR ADVENTURE AND SELL THEM TO A STORE, THEY WILL BE SOLD TO OTHER ADVENTURERS, AND YOU CANNOT BUY THEM BACK.
SOME MAGIC ITEMS HAVE LIMITED USES. ONCE YOU'VE SHOT UP AN ITEM'S CHARGES IT
USUALLY CANNOT BE RE-CHARGED, SO A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SHOULD
BE APPLIED TO ITEM USE.
A FINAL NOTE ------------
DRAGON WARS IS AS MUCH A STORY AS A GAME. TO COMPLETE YOUR QUEST YOU MUST PAY
CAREFUL ATTENTION TO YOUR ENVIRINMENT, AND REALIZE YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A
FULLY-DEVELOPED FANTASY WORLD. VERY LITTLE HAPPENS IN THIS GAME WITHOUT A REASON. TAKE NOTE OF DETAILS, CONSIDER WHAT MOTIVATES YOUR ENEMY, AND KEEP YOUR EYES
OPEN. FINALLY, DON'T BE AFRAID TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR OWN LIFE. YOU ARE THE
HERO OF THIS SAGA. AND WITHOUT YOU THERE IS NO ADVENTURE.
