Monster Media 1996 #15

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Monster Media 1996 #15 / Monster Media Number 15 (Monster Media)(July 1996).ISO / games_c / roa2_f3.zip / ROA2FAQ.TXT < prev

Wrap

Text File | 1996-04-19 | 45KB | 986 lines

Star Trail : Realms of Arkania II An Unofficial FAQ (v3) -------------------------------------------------------------- I have cobbled together this FAQ of info for Star Trail from a number of messages posted by people to usenet; if I've not credited you for info in the game please forgive me, it's not intentional - see the end for a credit list. I have rounded off the FAQ with some data at the end noted from spells and experience in the game. The FAQ is split into general questions and questions on particular parts of the game. If you have any additions/corrections, pop them in an e-mail to me. I will try to answer questions if you mail me, but if my real work load is high excuse me if I can't reply or am slow replying. Enjoy! Tim (tjc@ecs.soton.ac.uk) --------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT IS STAR TRAIL? Star Trail is touted as a "fantasy role playing simulation", the reason being that there is a lot of attention to detail in the game. The game system is based on the popular German role playing system called "Das Schwarze Auge", which has been revised many times and Star Trial is based on the latest version. The game comes with a manual, reference card and a fold-out colour map of the realm. The map covers about 400 by 300 miles of land, and has over a dozen villages/towns marked on it. The manual is 70+ pages, thoughtfully written and well indexed. There are no details of monsters or weapons in the manual, but there is enough info to get you going and involved in the game. A separate clue book (I don't have it) retails for #13.99 or so. The game features 3D graphics in towns and dungeons (similar to 'Arena: Elder Scrolls', but oddly without the people - encounters either yield pop-up menus or combat). Combat is isometric and turn-based with good, but not great, graphics. On the CD version there are combat sounds, including spell chants. Travel between towns is done on an overhead map, with movement restricted to paths that you find. Characters can be from any of 12 races, and have around 50 skills they can develop, and a larger number of spells. You can skip a lot of the detail by playing in "novice" mode. There's a fair chance that if you'd like a cross between 'Arena' and 'Betrayal at Krondor', you'd like this game. Overall Star Trail is a great game; the combat is fun though a little clumsy. There is a lot of attention to detail which may annoy some people, and the plot is perhaps a little too open at times. Definately worth buying from the bargain bins though! The prequel to Star Trail is "Blades of Destiny". The sequel (due soon) is "Shadows over Riva". --------------------------------------------------------------------- GAME SPECS The reference card says the game needs a 386PC or better (486/33 is recommended), 4Mb RAM (though it says only 2Mb on the box!), 580k of free base RAM, 670k min EMS and 64k min XMS (which is a bit of a pain, especially on the CD version). The CD version, which I have, takes up about 35Mb of HD space too. Sound support looks good. I played on a DX2/66, 8Mb, SB16 with no trouble. Graphics appear to be regular VGA. The game comes on 3.5" disk or CD; I got CD and thus have some extra graphics (though I'm not sure where!) and digitised speech, which seems to pop up in cut scenes. To install the full game from CD to HD would take over 100Mb, but luckily you only need a fraction of that to play off the CD. Copy protection is a one word lookup the first time you save in any game session. There are no patches for this game, except one which fixes the faces when importing characters from Blades of Destiny. Star Taril will run under Win95. I simply set the program properties on the shortcut icon I made to prevent it from going to MSDOS mode and it ran fine and smooth with all the sounds. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ADVENTURING Star Trail has a relatively free-flowing plot; there are some linear elements, but you can spend a lot of time wandering rather aimlessly early on! Be warned though certain parts *are* linear, like you should not enter the swamps until you have been to Lowangen. To start off, save the woman being attacked by Orcs SW of the town you begin in - this gets you a bonus two levels of experience. Then make your general way towards the Finsterkamm and the dwarven pit. The quest in Gashok isn't too hard and can be completed early in the game by low level characters. General (Q) My characters get ill a lot - what can I do? Buy sleeping bags as soon as you can; these cut down on colds and flu-type infections dramatically. Always carry herbs for healing and curing disease. Early in the game sell off excess ones as the cash is more useful to you. (Q) How much food/water should I carry? It depends where you are exploring; in mountain and desert areas you should carry at least two full water skins each and probably at least 6 ration packs (you can top these up with overnight foraging). (Q) Where can I get alchemy recipes? There aren't too many around. It may be that Realms of Arkania I recipes will work. You'll find two in the Dwarven Pit. Vomicum: lamp oil, shurin bulb, mandrake. Hylailian fire: 2 brandies, licorish, 2 lamp oils. Some players report these parchments as reading like nonsense, so manybe you need some skill to read them... There are three more later in the game: Moneymaker (Phex temple) Magic drink (Phex-temple) Sleeping drink (temple of nameless) (Q) The markets seem always shut? No. The markets arrive one day a week in Kvirasim (Fireday) and Gashok (Praiosday). Time your visits to the towns accordingly or spend a few nights in an inn. (Q) Which "obscure" spells might I need later? These will help - the last two are certainly important: Teleport Spell MELT SOLID (Temple of Nameless One) BANE GHOSTS (Temple of Phex) The most useful spell in combat is often the (blinding) lightning spell which lets you get free attacks on an opponent. (Q) Why do I lose movement points (MPs) for no apparent reason? The more you carry, the more hindered you become, and the less you can move each turn in combat. It pays to spread the load around, and the Gridles of Strength and magic Water Skin you find earlyish in the game are thus very valuable. (Q) What combat techniques work best? The secret is to gang up and outnumber opponents where possible, due to the way parrying works. Make use of the "blindness" spell, which will incapacitate an opponent for a few rounds. Obviously, where possible keep your spellcaster(s) protected behind a shield of fighters. Remember you can split your party, so you don't *have* to send everyone into combat - a spellcaster could just boost fighter stats and never enter a (planned) fight. (Q) How do you know if the miracle button is working? As long as time passes each time you press it, you know that the miracle button is working. (Q) What is spending money in temples good for? Spending money in temples and praying afterwoods will become quite useful - depending of the temple you will get: repairing weapons, raising magic resistance, feed the group, call back from death, and others. (Q) Why is getting experience so hard? Fighting the same monster type a second time gives much reduced experience. The most experience seems to be gained by solving the mini-quests in the game, rather than by fighting. (Q) What's a good party mix? The official clue book suggests three different parties: 1. Hocus Pocus- Green Elf -- Ice Elf -- Silvan Elf -- Druid -- Magician (of combat) -- Magicienne (Two helps) 2. Fight! Fight! Fight! - Warrior -- Thorwalian -- Dwarf -- Huntress -- She-Rogue -- Magician (of combat) 3. Brains & Brawn- Warrior -- Dwarf -- Green Elf -- Silvan Elff -- Druid -- Magician There's no real bad party mix, unless you're really silly. But do try to get the important spells listed elsewhere. See also Eric's notes at the end ... (Q) Where do I get an alchemy set? You will find one in Finsterkoppen. --------------------------------------------------------------------- THE PLOT Notes are listed here for the various areas in the "plot" ... the basic thread is: help woman, then go to Gashok, Dwarf Pit, Lowangen, Swamp, Blood Peaks, Tiefhusen and finally Tjolmar (Temple of Nameless). Gashok Situated just north of Lowangen, the town of Gashok has at least one quest to solve. (Q) I've heard the sword and bow of Atherion (sp?) mentioned, but haven't run into them in any of the dwarven pit/orc cave/phex temple (i've been through them all in this or other games...). where do you run into them? To find these weapons you'll need to investigate the burnt out mill in the town. Ask around about it, one good place in particular is the market place area. The clues should lead you out of town to Artherion, and you can then help him. The Dwarven Pit The pit is in the Dwarven town in the Finsterkamm mountains. Herein lies the salamander stone and a few other handy items including a magic waterskin and a number of +5 STR belts. It is important NOT to rob anything (the altar, the graves and the axes) else you'll anger the Dwarven god. You may find a rope, spade, crowbar and more than one lockpick useful for the pit. Oh, and a torch and tinder box. (Q) How do I get in? You can use the back entrance, but better still ask the priest in the temple of Ingerimm (inside the mountain) about the pit three times and he will give you the key. (Q) How do I get out? Either go out the back way, or get the key from the gnome and leave by the main entrance. The back tunnel will collapse the first time you pass through it. The back exit is at the lowest level. Just keep climbing down (not using the stairs) till you can go no further. Or you can leave a character with a key outside the double door entrance. (Q) Where is the magical water skin? The skin must be found in the watery level; if you turn the wheel on the higher level the water (and the skin) drain away. You need to turn the wheel later to get through the trapdoor on that level (and you need a crowbar for that). The wheel is on the west wall in the room in the NW corner of the 4th level. The wheel looks sort of like a ship's wheel. The first room you come to on this level has the octagonal pool surrounded by statues. (Q) What is the Asthenal Ring? It seems to be a fire resistence ring. It's in the brazier on the first level north and east of the main pit double door. You will take temporary damage retreiving it. It is "useful" in the hot "hole" on a level further down as entering there with a rope ladder and the ring at least shows you that it's empty! Go up to the altar of Ingerimm (same room as the hammer and the face with the pitch torches) while wearing the ring. You'll have a vision. (Q) When does the hammer strike? If one of your party members (dwarf?) is wearing the Asthenil ring he'll fall into trance if he approaches the altar. You'll learn about Ingerimm. If you light the torch next to the hammer and anvil the first 3 levels of the pit are lit for 12 hours; then the hammer hits the anvil which marks the end of the day's work and it's dark again. (Q) How do I get across the fire plates? You need the leathers from the chest; wear them and put them back when you are done (else the stairs won't come back). Take only one set for one person. The character crossing the plates should ideally wear the Asthenal Ring. To get to the golem you *must* use a torch and tinder box, not magic light. You only need to send one person over with the leathers, medallion and ring. Teleport won't work on this level. (Q) What is the answer to the gnome's riddle? MOOSE! (The gnome has the key for the upper gates) (Q) Can I get the sword and the stone? The only way I've found to get both the sword and the Salamander Stone and get out alive is to do things in this order: Talk to Golem first time. Go to far SE chest and take stone *but* when offered chance to swap or not hit ESCAPE instead of choosing. Then go back to Golem and when he's done with the sword you'll get it. If you take the sword and DON'T hit ESCAPE, you can't pass the glowing red tile. (Q) My druid and elf aren't allowed in the pit - help! Use spells to disguise them or make them invisible so that they can walk past the dwarf guards. (Q) Where are the hot plates? In the pit, there's a shaft you can climb up or down. Go to the top, search, and you'll find a key. Go down to the area filled with water (you need to drain this by turning the wheel in room with the dwarfs) Use a crowbar to open the slab, go down to this new level. There is one door you can oen with a blank wall behind it. the new key opens this door. (Q) What items from the pit are useful later? The stone medallion (needed on level 6) and the fire powder (can be used later in a recipe) or (possibly?) in the lava hole. It's probably safe to sell the rest. Lowangen This is the city under seige by an Orc army. Here you will lose the Salamander Stone when you enter the city with it. If Antharon is with you, he will take it, if not, the stone will get lost in the crowd. You need to recover the stone and find the secret way out of the town. Be prepared to lose the real Stone again when you leave town! When you enter the town, look to find Dragan Escht, ask about Gavron, and do the favour asked. Lowangen is a good place to sell stuff (high prices due to seige) once you have the key. (Q) Who is Gavron? Usually, a party who enters Lowangen carries the stone with them and get it stolen by Gavron. To get it back you have to find him (wait in the Orc Death tavern). You will also find out about the fake stone if you get yours stolen. Or ask Dragan (close to the western wall) about Gavron. Gavron should appear at the Orc Death tavern, then you should attempt to follow him to Ailann's house, as he has the real stone. (Q) Can I sneak into Lowangen? You'll have to give your non-magic items to the orcs first time in, but after that you should find a secret passage in/out. To keep your stuff leave it with another party member outside the town in a temple (you can create just a "dummy" character or two for this). Or simply sell up everything, as your cash is apparently safe from being taken. (Q) Where is Black Jandora Four squares west of the eastern wall, about halfway up. Or: 4 paces north of the Rod and Mare brothel in Colorful Flight. Finding Black Jandora will help you get out. Once you leave you can always reenter through the secret passage. (Q) Where is Vidaria Leechbronn? Her house is located in Eydal...1 pace east and 3 paces south of the Canal Tavern. (Q) Where is Vinsalter? Find the Temple of Rahja on your automap, Vinsalter is five steps west and one step south of there (Lowangen is shaped like a big "U". Vinsalter is in the eastern arm of the "U", about half way up on the western edge of the arm). When you meet him, tell him Dragan sent you - you may have to wait a day or so before he agrees to help you though (use your most charismatic person to talk to him, and use charisma-boosting spells). (Q) Who has the stone? It is probably held by Allain(sp?). After you get it back, be prepared to lose it again when you meet the wizards outside town. (Q) How do I get into the castle? You`ll find out if you find Dragan and ask him about travelling. (**It is apparently very important to do this!**). The Swamp The swamp is in the middle of the main map. Do **NOT** enter the swamp until you've been into Lowangen and lost the stone there. If you do, you'll possibly not be able to find the old woman and special rantzy in the swamp, and thus be stuck! (Q) Where is the "special" rantzy? The special swamp rantzy is in a 2x2 plot of land in the upper right center of the map. The 2x2 square is only accessible by water. You will get a message that says that this rantzy seems different or something, then combat begins, and you then need to net him. (Q) How do I catch the Rantzy? Equip a character with a net, then use it in combat, ie. equip the net in that character's left hand. (Q) What do I do with the Swamp Rantzy wearing the necklace? Catch him with the net. Then find heather plants W of there. When you get back near Lowangen use the 18th heather on him. There are also two documents related to this problem. (Or: Go to where the heather is. Pluck each bush, until you find the one that makes the rantzy react. Throw away heathers that do not make him react.) To transform the character back into a human, have a character with adequate skills hold the rantzy, the dcoument, and the magic heather. Use the document, then use the heather. If you do not have adequate healing skills, wait till you are about to enter Lowangen. If your party has a healer, you can cure his disease and adventure with him. (Q) How do you open the chest in the swamp? Turn stepwise mode off to get into the chest.(!) You should then be able to click on or press SPACE by the chest to open it. Some people report this as being rather buggy though ... it may depend on the character opening the chest. [According to the sir-tech people, the only narrative requirements to open the chest are to have been to Lowangen, and to have talked to the witch (lady). You can email sirtech yourself "76711.33@compuserve.com", but if my experience is any measure, don't expect quick responses.] Having helped the lizard people and killed the witch, it should open. (Q) How do I get into the tower? Talk to the witch. Apparently if you do not go to Lowangen first, the witch will NOT answer her door (her house is the shack near the herbs, and not the house by the chest). (Q) How do you appease the Fire Elemental? Answer with one word at a time...... Love, Mercy, Pity, Justice, Life ... any of these will do. (Q) Do I have to kill the witch? After you have given her the magician's things she will likely attack you and give you a hard fight. You can simply not go back to her after dealing with the magician, but the experience is probably worth it. (Q) What do I do for the lizard men? The lizard men want you to kill the engulfer. (Q) Where is this so-called Heather bush that I need to destroy/utilize to restore the rantzy / mage back to his former self? It's north of the village of the lizard men; you will only find it, if you've read the the magical document from the mages' tower. Going back to Lowangen after the Swamp Here you can get weapons and supplies. You'll probably end up with two salamander stones, one real, one fake. However, when you leave Lowangen you will lose the real/both stone(s) to a group of magician/wizards. Having lost it, you need to go to Blood Peaks (Orc Pit) to get it back. Apparently you only have 7 days of game time to get the stone back ... (Q) How am I supposed to know where to go after that, did I miss something in lowangen in the way of hints, or what? If you ask this elf Sevensprings in Lowangen he will tell you that Ingramosch went to the Blood Peaks. Blood Peaks and the Orc Pit Herein lies a lot of fights, a couple of NPC's and the Salamader Stone (if you lost it "to plan"). You are brought here if you are captured by an orc patrol near Lowangen (which is not good as you lose a lot of your kit, but seems to be an unescapable part of the game plot!). Inside look down and search the straw mats as there is some stuff to be found in these. (Q) How do i get in to the Blood Peaks? You can go in the easy way, or the hard way. The hard way is to head toward the south of the mountain range; you will be captured by the orcs and stripped of all your stuff (as with entering Lowangen). Your stuff is gone forever then. The easy way is to enter via one of the 3 entrances in the mountains west of the Svall river. You do not lose your stuff this way, though you will need to go out and enter by another one of the 3 routes to fully explore all the levels. (Q) When i bumped into a certain cabinet, it says that there's a hole above it, but that i can't reach it. What do i do? You need to increase your reach. Try giving the lead character a spear. (Q) How do i kill the big spider and/or squash the nest of spiders? You need something that protects you from poison. You should have found black "phials", or "webbster" somewhere along the way (tastes bad, feels good). Split off a party small enough so each character can drink one, do so, then squash all the little spiders in the nest. You get a gold necklace and a key for doing this. The key opens a door on the middle level that lets you move quickly from stairs up to stairs down. You can explore everything without this key. (Q) How do i open the chest near the severed hand and coin? Put the coin you find with the hand and the cast-iron key on one character. [This did not work for me, probably a bug]. There is reportedly nothing important in the chest anyway. The hand causes you damage when you attempt to take it, but has no other function. (Q) There's two prisoners, who should I take? There's a shape-changing vampire and an Orc. If you take the vampire you'll find he sucks (literally) ... (Q) Where is the dead dark mage with the stone? The dead dark mage is in one of the southern-most cells in the "jail" area (where you picked up the shape shifter and/or Thurazz the orc). It is near what seems to be the kitchen area, where there's a table with a knife on it. I believe that it is on the west side of the passageway. (Q) How do I get through the spider webs? You should find an axe nearby, equip your leader with it and you should be able to hack through them. (Q) How do I defeat that big orc gathering in the hall in level one? They are very tough, but it's not a fight you have to fight. You should be able to get to the stone without this battle, but if you take it on there's supposedly a good experience bonus. Tiefhusen A port in the NW of the map, Tiefhusen contains the Temple of Phex and is a place to go to find the legendary Star Trail. (Q) Who do I ask about Star Trail? Try the priest in the Hesinde(?) temple, or ask in the tavern. (Q) Where is Hensgen? You should be able to find him sitting by a tree outside the city walls (I think it's in the north, but I'm not sure). You'll need to speak to him. The Phex Dungeon This dungeon is good for experience, though not a lot more. (Q) Can I escape the first skeleton trap in the Phex dungeon, as after picking up the scroll and defeating the skeletons there seems to be no way out? There is a way: you should find another scroll in that region. When you pick it up, the barrier vanishes (Q) What is the answer to the the riddle? - NIGHT. (Q) How do I solve the "Memory Game" ? You have to find the animal representing Phex. Look into your Manual. It should become pretty clear. (Q) How do I get the Helmet and Shield of Phex ? When you take these items, a Poltergeist appears and blocks your way back out. He can be dispelled using the BANE GHOSTS spell. (Q) I searched the whole dungeon, but I still can't open some secret passages. What must I do ? Solve all the riddles. You also have to put 60 Ducats(sp?) into the bowl standing on a desk (or it may be >50 Ducats, but by now 9 Ducats won't hurt you :) (Q) How do I get out? Close to the place where you fought the skeletal warriors and got the key there's a secret door in the northern corridor. In the same area there's another one. You should be able to see them as they are a little lighter gray than the other walls. Tjolmar You have to come here to get into the Temple of the Nameless. There is a cheat here whereby you can advance your characters' experience endlessly: In the Vault Under Tjolmar, there is a frozen woman. In the room next to this, there is a statue of Hesinde that asks if you want to make a trade. Each time she asks, your experience points are bumped by 1000. So if you answer "No", touch the statue again, get the same question, answer "No"... you can build up levels. [Use this at your own risk!! ] (Q) Who do I see here? You need to visit Ingramosch and carry the stone. Under his house lies the Temple of the Nameless. (Q) Can someone please tell me how to finish this level? Do you mean the door behind the secret passage in the south-eastern part of the level? You need a statue to open this door. Opposite the secret passage is another secret door (on the west wall) and behind you'll find the statue. (The stairway around here is a teleport trap) The Temple of the Nameless This is the last stop in the game. (Q) How do I get in? Look at the scroll you get from the Dwarf's house; it has the letters "2L 4R 4L" on it; you have to push the walls is the right order, ie. 2 Left, 4 Right and 4 Left from that passage. Position yourself at the entrance of the room. Then move 2 walls left and try to walk into the wall. It's the correct wall when you hear the click sound and see a message about something special (as what you said). Remember that wall and what keystrokes got you there. Then move right 4 walls and try to walk into the wall. If you missed it, repeat from the starting point (entrance of the room and walk into the first wall again) and try either the wall on the left or right of the one you tried earlier. By this trial and error, you will know the sequence for the 3 walls and when you perform this sequence, the path will be revealed. (Q) Which four-digit code do I have to enter on one of lowest floors? The code is 1325 and I got the answer from someone else who never explained how *they* got it. Apparantly the code in the German (original) version of the game is 1945; it's obtained as follows - the answer is related to the message on the wall opposites the stairs. You'll probably have a document with the word 'cult' on it. Look for the letters 'c','u','l' and 't' in the message (they should appear only once). Count the position of the letters starting from the beginning of the row they're in (NOT from the beginning of the word they're in)! (Q) How do I release the girl? To free the NPC you have to use melt solid (if you have spent more than 100 D to HESINDE(?) during the game she will help you by increasing melt solid by 15 points; the girl NPC will help you on the first two levels and then disappear (too much fear). (Q) What do I do with the 4 amulet chunks? There is a crack near the southeast corner of the map. It requires a sun-shaped key to open a secret door. Get all the amulet pieces (don't worry about putting them together) then immediately go to that crack on the wall. It should open once all the pieces are there. I had to use teleport *a lot* to get those damn pieces. Be careful as the skeleton warriors resurrect after some time and get back their pieces! (Q) Where is the key on level 2? It is hidden in a shelf where there are tools in the far upper right corner of the dungeon. When the game asks you "Would you like to take some of the tools to use as makeshift weapons?" answer yes and then keep clicking on these shelves until you find the key. This key will be used in the upper-middle of the east wall in the large tiger room, keep searching as the keyhole is well hidden. (Q) Any other points? - to get the key from the plant and go out of the room you have to split your group, but you can bring out all of them. - the visible door (first level) is an illusion. (Q) How do I kill the dragon? It's rumoured you can kill it, but at some point he will be impressed with your fighting skills and grant you your life. This will be around the time when you caused him about 500 HP(!) of damage, maybe more. You should have a Dragonslayer Sword, that helps. If your party is not sufficiently built up, you may need to resort to kikrus poison. It's on sale at Kvirasim. --------------------------------------------------------------------- WEAPONS Attack Defense Damage Bonus Bonus Weight Type Knife 1-6 -3 -4 10 pointed Obsidian dagger 1-6 -2 -3 30 pointed Kukris mengbilar (*) 2-7 -3 -4 20 pointed Dagger 2-7 -2 -3 20 pointed Asthenil dagger 2-7 -2 -3 20 pointed Kukris dagger (*) 2-7 -2 -3 30 pointed Heavy dagger 3-8 -1 -2 30 pointed Foil 4-9 0 -1 30 pointed Epee 4-9 0 -1 35 pointed Rapier 4-9 0 -1 35 pointed Wolf knife 4-9 0 -1 50 pointed Magic wand (+) 2-7 0 0 70 polearm Quarterstaff 2-7 0 -1 70 polearm Catchogre 3-8 -2 -3 30 polearm Trident 4-9 0 -3 90 polearm Pike 4-9 -1 -4 150 polearm Whip 1-6 0 -6 60 edged wpn Grain flail 3-8 -2 -3 100 edged wpn Sickle 3-8 -3 -4 30 edged wpn Scythe 4-9 -3 -4 100 edged wpn Seal Slayer 4-9 0 0 60 edged wpn Cutlass 4-9 0 -1 70 edged wpn Sabre 4-9 0 0 60 edged wpn Mace 5-10 0 -2 110 edged wpn Kunchomer 5-10 0 -1 70 edged wpn Babak Bully 6-11 -1 -2 120 edged wpn Morning Star 6-11 -1 -3 120 edged wpn Gruufshark 7-12 -2 -4 180 edged wpn War Hammer 5-15 -2 -4 150 edged wpn Goupillon 6-21 -3 -4 240 edged wpn Short sword 3-8 0 -1 40 sword Sword 5-10 0 0 80 sword Asthenil Sword 5-10 0 0 80 sword Sword of Artherion 6-11 +3 -1 80 sword Rondracomb 4-14 -2 -2 150 2-handed Bastard sword 6-11 -1 -2 140 2-handed Two-handed sword 6-16 -2 -3 160 2-handed War axe 6-16 -1 -4 150 2-handed Tazukian 7-12 -2 -2 135 2-handed Skraja 4-9 0 -2 90 axe Hatchet 5-10 0 -3 120 axe Halberd 5-10 -1 -3 150 axe Orc hook 6-11 -1 -3 120 axe Short bow 4-9 0 0 20 missile Long bow 5-10 0 0 30 missile Bow of Artherion 7-12 0 0 30 missile Crossbow 7-12 0 0 200 missile Heavy crossbow 8-13 0 0 220 missile Throwing knife 1-6 -3 -4 10 thrown Shurikan 2-7 0 0 15 thrown Born thorn 3-8 -1 -3 30 thrown Francesca 4-9 -1 -3 60 thrown Throwing axe 4-9 -1 -4 120 thrown Cutting tooth 5-10 0 0 50 thrown (*) weapon carries poison (+) can hold special charges Note certain weapons can only be used by certain character races. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARMOURS Name AR Hind At Pa Weight Quilt Armor 2 2 1 1 120 Leather Armor 3 3 1 2 180 Toad Skin Armor 3 3 1 2 150 Chain Shirt 4 4 2 2 320 Scale Armor 5 4 2 2 480 Shield 1 0 0 0 140 Iron Shield 2 1 0 -1 200 Golden Shield 2 1 0 1 120 Leather Cap 1 0 0 0 90 Pot Helm 2 1 0 1 100 Iron Helm 3 2 1 1 180 Silver Helm 3 2 1 1 180 Leather Greaves 1 0 0 0 70 Chain Greaves 2 2 1 1 80 Plate Greaves 2 1 0 1 100 Skull girdle - - - - 10 Necrophobia -4 --------------------------------------------------------------------- CREATURES Name Lvl At Pa AR MR Att Dam LP AP Orc 1 3 0 2 -17 1 3-8 30 0 Stag Beetle 1 8 2 3 10 1 2-7 30 0 Frost spider 1 9 0 1 10 1 2-7 16 0 War Ogre 13 17 14 6 0 1 8-18 60 0 Goblin 3 7 3 2 4 1 4-9 18 0 Lion 1 11 6 1 4 2 5-10 40 0 Elf 4 12 9 3 4 1 5-10 44 20 Harpy 1 15 10 2 10 1 5-10 40 0 Forest gnome 1 14 6 6 7 1 7-12 28 0 Tusk tiger 1 15 7 1 -2 2 5-20 52 0 Robber 8 15 12 3 5 1 7-12 57 0 Deregon (*) 10 8 6 2 6 1 7-12 62 0 Exholt (*) 10 16 14 3 6 1 7-12 72 0 Ogre 1 9 3 3 -2 1 8-18 48 0 Arkanian 3 11 9 3 -3 1 5-10 42 0 Mummy 1 7 7 2 15 1 5-10 35 0 Orc Veteran 11 14 12 3 -3 1 6-11 42 0 Priest (Phex) 3 8 7 2 5 1 4-9 35 28 Zombie ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? 20 0 Gargoyle 1 10 5 6 12 1 7-12 60 0 Dwarf undead 8 9 5 3 5 1 7-12 40 0 Thorwalian 6 13 10 4 0 1 5-10 51 0 Dwarf 4 13 11 4 6 1 7-12 60 0 Hunter 10 15 12 2 3 1 9-14 63 0 Magician 6 10 10 2 10 1 4-9 47 35 (*) Individual "NPC" in game. This is not a complete list of adversaries! Life Points are LPs observed from healthy opponents via spellcasting; these will vary for individual creatures. It may be that other stats vary too (including for example their levels for orcs). LPs on Orcs certainly have a wide range (from 13 to 30+). Beware the priests in Phex; they cast weapon-breaking spells. --------------------------------------------------------------------- MAGIC ITEMS This list may not be complete ... (7) belts of strength strength +5 dwarf pit skull belt dwarf pit recipe Hylaier fire dwarf pit recipe Vomicum dwarf pit magic water bag always water dwarf pit Asthenilring against fire dwarf pit Salamanderstone dwarf pit silver helmet can be worn by magicians ... Lowangen, Siebenquell golden shield can be worn by magicians ... Lowangen, Siebenquell (not really magic) silver ring Ignifaxius magic skill Lowangen, V. Egelbronn bow of Artherion very accurate Artherion sword of Artherion better then others Artherion sword bad vibrations orc-pit silver ring ARMATRUZ, i think orc-pit Phex shield magic Phex temple Phex helmet magic (worn by everyone) Phex temple recipe money maker Phex temple recipe magic drink Phex temple recipe sleeping drink temple of nameless helmet like those above temple of nameless sword magic temple of nameless Sometime when walking around in towns an old woman will come and sell some amulets, in some cases these amulets are magic and bring you +5 Magic Resistance. --------------------------------------------------------------------- NPC's There are a number of NPC's you can encounter. - Antharon some miles before Lowangen, he just needs the group to go there, but if you make the dwarfen pit with him, he stays with the group (until Lowangen, where he takes the Salamander stone which will be stolen anyway). - some sort of magician (Praiodan?) in the orc pit. Beware this guy as he doesn't leave your party empty handed (he needs energy :-) - some sort of Orc prisoner in the orc pit (Thurraz), he will just help you fighting and leave the group when you go out of the pit. Useful for orc language. - a warrior (Helen) in the Temple of the Nameless god, all she thinks is that it is still cold (she was frozen), but she will help you in the first two levels before leaving. - a female warrior (Korima) who travels the roads east of the Rorhwed mountains. She requires 1 silver piece per day payment and may offer to sell you her two-handed sword. - Ingramosch may join you after the last fight. --------------------------------------------------------------------- A NOTE ON SKILLS AND SPELLS (by Eric Mathis) These hints/suggestions may (or may not :-) be useful ... (Q) What type of characters would you include in your party? This is the sort of game encourages a well-mixed party: you're going to need your basic heavy hitters, of course, plus spell-casters, plus healers, plus people with good survival skills so you can forage for what you need in the wild, plus... Well, actually, let's just say you need a wide mix of skills and you can fill that need with whatever classes you like. (Q) What skills are necessary? What skills are unnecessary? Combat skills: Essential, natch. Since you can only go up one point in any combat skill per level increase, and since there's a fair bit of variety in what sort of cool weapons are out there, it makes a certain amount of sense to have a diverse range of weapon skills. Swords and edged weapons seem to be the most prevalent ones you run across (i.e., loot from your victims' corpses), with pointed weapons close behind. I wouldn't bother with polearms; there are only a couple of polearms out there, they're not all that impressive, and they've proven annoyingly difficult for me to find (I've been running around looking for a decent polearm for my hunter and so far, no luck). Same goes for thrown weapons; missile weapons are much better in my experience (although maybe they work better poisoned...). It looks like only the full-blown warrior types can use two-handed weapons, so don't bother training someone who isn't a warrior how to use them. Find out what weapons the character classes you choose start with; don't waste your points training in weapons you don't have and maybe can't even use (the magic-wielding classes have some annoying restrictions). Chances are the weapons you leave the first town with are the ones you're gonna be stuck with for some time. Body skills: Climb, Swim, and Physical Control are the most obviously useful skills here, and since you'll have to do the first two from time to time, you should make sure everyone's at least competent. Acrobatics and Dance are a nice way to make some extra money in taverns; otherwise, they're not important, near as I can tell. Carouse doesn't seem to do much good; my characters only rarely get drunk. I haven't had to Ride anything yet, so I don't know if you need that; and Stealth and Hide haven't come into play yet either, near as I can tell. Intuitive skills: I try to jack up everybody's Danger Sense and Perception, just on general principles; I don't know how much good it does gameplay though. Social skills: Haggle is definitely worthwhile, considering all the buying and selling you do in this game; you only need one really good haggler, though. I haven't had a use for the other skills yet, really. Nature skills: Survival and Herb Lore are definitely useful; the former helps you forage for food and water, the latter helps you find herbs in the wild (which have important healing properties, are used to make potions, and/or can be sold later for money). [BTW, while camped at night, you can have two people forage for food and one search for herbs.] As for the others...well, your guess is as good as mine as to how useful they are, based on the skill descriptions; I don't think I've used any of them yet. Lore: You'll need Alchemy if you want to mix your own potions; Ancient Tongues and Read/Write are, I think, necessary to translate some important scrolls and stuff; and Arcane Lore is supposedly vital to a magician. The rest I don't think I've used. Craftsmanship: Treat Disease and Treat Wounds are absolutely vital; make sure you have at least two very good healers in your party, since a character can't treat their own wounds. Treat Poison isn't something I've used yet, but I'm keeping it up, just in case. Locks is also very important, since you've got to get through a *lot* of locked doors. Instrument, like Dance and Acrobatics, is a nice way to pick up a little extra cash, but appears useless otherwise. Pickpocket and Cheat are less honest but more profitable means of making money, although a friend of mine says you get in trouble if you do it too much. I haven't met any animals that I would need Drive or Train Animals for. Spells: I've found that I don't use the conventional healing and attack spells that much; I can heal fine with the use of proper herbs and Treat Wounds and the basic attack spells don't do enough damage to compensate for the lost Astral Points (which regenerate reaaal slow). Some spells divided in my own little categories: Spells I know or have been told are necessary: Banish Spirits, Transversalis (Teleport), Melt Solid Spells for evening the odds in combat by sending my opponents running: Great Need, Horriphobus Spells for evening the odds by temporarily neutralizing my enemies: Ball and Chain, Bambaladam, Somnigravis, Lightning Spell for when lockpicks just can't cut it: Foramen Spell for when high priest turns someone into a rock: Transformation Spell that doubles the number of attacks a PC can make: Acceleratus Spell witches and elves need to slip past dwarves: Camouflage, Visibili (Q) Do the negative attributes make a large impact on play? Not as far as I can tell. I mean, Superstition negatively affects your Magic Resistance, but I haven't seen any other tremendous impact yet. --------------------------------------------------------------------- That's all - please e-mail additions/corrections to tjc@ecs.soton.ac.uk Credits: This FAQ could not have been made without the help and comments from the following people: Garfield (4darkow@informatik.uni-hamburg.de) Ernst (Ernst.Eigenbauer@VM.AKH-WIEN.AC.AT) Bobbie (bobbiekat@aol.com) Dirk (Dirk.Bruggemann@durham.ac.uk) Rick (redrick@delphi.com) Lance (pfrench@clark.net) Drifter (banz@pegasus.rutgers.edu) Clark (clump@cs.mcgill.ca) Mike (Spectre350@AOL.com) Eric (mathis@gate.net) Lord Soth (cmd@aimnet.com) Barbara (barbara@albion.franken.de) Scott (author of a mini-FAQ) Alton (altonu@on-ramp.ior.com) Alex (alex.lefaive@eng.sun.com) Andy (fadden@netcom.com) + others (please no insult intended if I forgot you!)