Aminet 41/Aminet 41 (2001)(Schatztruhe)[!][Feb 2001].iso/Aminet/game/role/oangband.lha/Oangband050b/help/abilattr.txt

Text File | 2000-10-02 | 15KB | 274 lines

============================ Character Attributes =============================

     This file describes your character.  It discusses the attributes shown on
the left side of the main window, the basic skills characters possess, and the
various special immunities and qualities that characters may acquire in their
adventures.  It also tells you how to keep track of all this information.


=== Character Attributes Shown on the Left Side of the Main Window ===

     Experience:
         Experience affects almost everything else about your character.  As he
         kills monsters, casts spells and prays prayers for the first time,
         learns about an object kind by using it, disarms traps, and unlocks
         doors (listed in descending order of importance), he gains experience.
         Every so often, he will attain a new experience level.  This:
              -increases hit points (HPs)
              -increases magical power (mana)
              -improves every skill except searching, perception, and stealth.
              -makes it possible to use more powerful magical devices, wield
               heavier weapons, learn more effective spells and improve spells
               already learnt.
              -adds entirely new abilities or benefits.
         The maximum experience level is 50.  Depending on the class and race
         you choose, the number of exp points required to attain this level
         varies widely, which balances out more and less powerful combinations.

     Gold:
         Gold is amazingly handy, because everything the town can sell can be
         yours with enough of the stuff.  Characters start out with an amount
         of gold determined by charisma (higher is better), sex (female char-
         acters start with more gold.  In Oangband, males and females are
         clones, so take advantage of this!), social class (higher is better),
         and the player class's primary statistic (lower is much better).

         Inside the dungeon lies more gold than you will ever find, more seams
         of treasure than you will ever dig, and more monsters carrying loot
         than you will ever kill.

     Vital Statistics:
         Your character has six primary statistics, or stats.  Each of them has
         important effects, and how you juggle equipment to boost some stats at
         the expense of others can greatly help or hinder your character's ad-
         venturing.  Because stats are so important, you will want to keep a
         sharp eye out for potions of Strength, Wisdom, etc.  They may start
         appearing at 1250' (level 25) and don't become at all common until well
         below 2000' (level 40).
              The lowest any stat can go is 3, a level which greatly reduces any
         abilities that stat influences.  The lowest "safe" figure for most
         stats is 7, but you can't expect any significant bonuses until the stat
         reaches 18 or higher.  Once you get a stat that high, further increases
         will greatly enhance your character's skills, eventually making it pos-
         sible to slay some truly formidable monsters.  Stats max out at 18/220.
         More information on individual stats is available below.

     Armor Class:
         Armor class helps prevent you getting killed.  It may be increased by
         equipping more and better armor, and by increasing your Dexterity.  As
         time passes, you will find this value rising past 100, even to 150 and
         above at very high levels.  More information is available in the help
         file "defence.txt".

     Hit Points:
         Each character has hit points, representing how much damage he can
         sustain before he dies.  The maximum number of hit points is derived
         from your race, class, level, and constitution.  Hit points may be
         regained by resting, or by a variety of magical means.

     Mana:
         Each character has spell points, or mana, which represents how many
         spells (or prayers) a character can cast (or pray).  The maximum number
         of spell points is derived from your class, level, and intelligence
         (for classes using sorcery and necromancy) or wisdom (for classes using
         natural or holy magics).  Spell points may be regained by resting, or
         (very rarely) by magical means.

     Be warned:  Every one of the above can be lowered by monster attacks or
by traps.  On the plus side, every character has means of repairing the
damage or hunting down the thief.  See the help file "defence.txt".


=== Stats ===

     Strength:
         Strength is critical to fighting effectively in melee and with missile
         weapons.  Increases in Strength increase damage, allows players to
         get more blows with heavier weapons, and boost the effectiveness of
         shield bashes.  Strength is also useful in tunneling and for carrying
         heavy items without being slowed down.

     Intelligence:
         Intelligence affects the spellcasting abilities of mages, rogues,
         necromancers, and assassins.  For these classes, this stat will affect
         the number of spells they may learn each level, the number of spell
         points they receive, and the chance for spells to fail.  These classes
         cannot learn spells if their intelligence is 6 or lower.  Intelligent
         characters also use magic devices, pick locks, and disarm traps more
         effectively.

     Wisdom:
          Wisdom affects the spellcasting abilities of priests, druids, rangers,
          and paladins. For these classes, this stat will affect the number of
          prayers or spells they may learn each level, the number of spell
          points they receive, and the chance for prayers or spells to fail.
          These classes cannot learn spells if their wisdom is 6 or lower.  Wise
          characters also have a better chance of resisting magical spells cast
          upon them by monsters.

     Dexterity:
          Dexterity is a combination of agility and quickness.  A high dexterity
          may allow a character to get multiple blows with lighter weapons, get
          in slightly more shield bashes, and will significantly increase his
          chances of hitting with any weapon and dodging blows from enemies.
          Dexterity is also useful in picking locks, disarming traps, and pro-
          tecting yourself from some of the thieves that inhabit the dungeon.

     Constitution:
          Constitution is a character's ability to resist damage to his body,
          and to recover from stuns, poison, cuts, and pure damage.  Therefore a
          character with a high constitution will receive more hit points and
          also recover them faster while resting.

     Charisma:
          Charisma represents a character's personality and physical appearance.
          A character with a high charisma will receive better prices from store
          owners, whereas a character with a very low charisma may be robbed
          blind.  A high charisma will also mean more starting money for the
          character.


=== Abilities ===

Characters possess various abilities which help them to survive and prosper.
The starting abilities of a character are based upon race and class.  Abilities
may be adjusted by high or low stats, and some increase with experience level.

     Fighting Ability:
          Melee (hand to hand) combat depends on this skill.  A character with
          a low fighting skill cannot hope to either hit monsters often or do
          much damage if he does.  This skill increases with the level of the
          character. The only stat that affects it is Dexterity.

     Shooting Ability:
          Using ranged missile weapons and throwing objects are both included in
          this skill.  The higher your character's shooting ability, the more
          frequently he will hit his target and the more damage he will do when
          he does.  This skill increases with the level of the character.  The
          only stat that affects it is Dexterity.

     Saving Throws:
          A Saving Throw is the ability of a character to resist the effects of
          a spell cast on him by another person/creature.  This does not include
          spells cast on the player by his own stupidity, such as quaffing a
          nasty potion.  This ability increases with the level of the character,
          but then most high level creatures are better at casting spells, so it
          tends to even out.  A high wisdom also increases this ability.

     Stealth:
          The ability to move silently about is very useful.  Characters with
          good stealth can usually surprise their opponents, gaining the first
          blow.  Also, creatures may fail to notice a stealthy character en-
          tirely, allowing a player to avoid certain fights and squash multiply-
          ing monsters before they take over the dungeon level.  This skill is
          based entirely upon race and class, and will never improve unless
          magically enhanced.  Note that mages slowly lose stealth as they
          gain levels.

     Disarming:  (Warning:  much more important in Oangband)
          Disarming is the ability to safely remove traps and pick locks on
          chests and doors.  A successful disarming will gain the character
          some experience.  A trap must be found before it can be disarmed.
          Dexterity and Intelligence both modify the ability to disarm, and this
          ability increases with the level of the character.

     Magical Devices:  (Warning:  somewhat more important in Oangband)
          Using a magical device such as a wand, staff, or any activatable
          object requires experience and knowledge.  Mages have considerably
          more skill in this field than any other class.  This skill is modified
          by Intelligence, and increases with the level of the character.

     Searching Frequency (Perception):
          Perception is the ability to notice something without actively seeking
          it out.  Only rogues and assassins can improve this skill naturally,
          but anyone can magically enhance it.

     Searching Ability (Searching):
          To search is to actively look for secret doors, floor traps, and traps
          on chests.  Rogues are the best at searching, but mages, druids,
          assassins, rangers, and priests are also good at it.  Only rogues and
          assassins can improve this skill naturally, but anyone can magically
          enhance it.

     Infra-vision:
          Infra-vision is the ability to see heat sources.  It will allow a
          character to see any warm-blooded creature up to a certain distance.
          This ability works equally well with or without a light source.  Many
          non-human races have innate infravision, and this skill can be
          enhanced only by magical means.


=== The Special Qualities and Immunities that your Character may Possess ===

     After your character is born, you may discover what special qualities and
immunities he has - and that you know about - by displaying the Character Screen
(type "C"), and then hitting "h" twice to display a list.  This list is amaz-
ingly handy for finding out what you qualities you need and do not yet possess.
Because it only takes into account your racial intrinsics, shapeshift bonuses,
and fully known (*Identified*) or obvious items, consulting this list is not
cheating. A list of displayed qualities and their full names follows.  Consult
the help file "equip.txt" if you want full details:

     Acid, Elec, Fire, Cold, Pois:
          Acid, electricity, fire, cold, and poison resistance.
     Fear:
          You cannot fight hand-to-hand when panicking.  Some potions remove
          fear and you may obtain resist fear from various items of equipment.
     Lite, Dark:
          Resistance to light and darkness.
     Blind, Confu:
          Resistance to blindness and confusion can save your life.  Until you
          get these important survival aids, keep certain potions and mushrooms
          handy.
     Sound, Shard, Nexus, Nethr, Chaos, Disen:
          Resistance to sound, shards, nexus, nether, chaos, and disenchantment.
     S. Dig:
          Slow Digestion reduces the amount of food you consume.
     PLite:
          Wearing one (or more) objects possessing Permanent Light will increase
          your light radius by one; very handy for seeing foes before they leap
          upon you.
     Regen:
          Characters who regenerate regain hit points at twice the normal rate
          and mana at 1.5x the normal rate.  Characters who regenerate need to
          eat heartily.
     Telep:
          Try not to randomly teleport.
     Invis:
          Many creatures in the dungeons are invisible, and you will need to
          keep some source of permanent or temporary see invisible handy if you
          descend more than a few levels into the dungeon.
     FrAct:
          Some creatures are able to paralyze or slow you with melee attacks or
          spells.  Free Action is a survival essential deep in the dungeon.
     HLife:
          Characters with Hold Life resist experience draining attacks, and may
          even escape their effects entirely.
     M-Mas:
          Some items increase your magical device skill, allowing you to more
          easily take advantage of important utility and combat magics.
     Stea :
          Items with this ability decrease the amount of noise your character
          makes as he moves around the dungeon and performs actions.
     Sear :
          Items with this ability allow your character to find traps and secret
          doors more easily.
     Infra:
          Some objects increase the range at which you may see warm-blooded
          creatures, regardless of whether they are illuminated or even visible
          to the unaided eye.
     Tunn :
          All shovels and picks and certain other weapons grant bonuses to
          tunnelling skill.
     Speed:
          The faster you move, the fewer dangerous things monsters can do to
          you before you get to take a turn.  Speed items are rare for all but
          high-level characters.
     Might:
          Some missile launchers have a higher base damage multiplier than
          normal.
     Shots:
          Some missile launchers allow you to spend less time firing each shot.