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

Text File | 2000-09-04 | 14KB | 264 lines

============================== Non-magical Combat =============================

     Without using magic, you may attack monsters hand-to-hand (melee), with
missile weapons, or by throwing objects at them.  Rogues may steal from monsters
and druids use various barehanded attacks.


-- Theory of Non-magical Combat --

     Oangband non-magical combat takes some getting used to.  However you attack
a monster, whether in melee or by shooting or throwing missiles, the weapon or
object's base number of damage dice are _cumulatively multiplied_ by any and all
applicable modifiers.  Actual damage is determined by rolling the final number
of dice.

Example:
-you hit a critter with a dagger (1d4):  roll one die.
-it's a weapon of slay Troll, and critter is a Troll:  roll two dice.
-you get a critical hit for 2x damage:  roll four dice.
-you have a total bonus to Deadliness of 100%:  roll eight dice.

roll eight dice, each of four sides, and you'll end up doing something close
to 20 points of damage.


-- Melee Combat --

     Melee can do more damage per turn than any other form of attack, and the
basic equipment (a weapon) is easy to find.  On the other hand, melee only works
against adjacent monsters and takes a great deal of training and equipment to
come into its own deeper in the dungeon.  As you will shortly discover, up-
grading to weapons with higher base damages is vital but heavy weapons are very
hard to master.  You will have to find a compromise, depending on class, exper-
ience level, and available equipment (use the 'C'haracter screen to see how
various weapons affect your melee skill).  Magical aids to combat (Bless,
Heroism, and Berserk) can make all the difference when fighting tough monsters.


     Managing Weapons and Shields:
          Most melee weapons fit comfortably in one hand, keeping your shield
          arm free.  If you have a shield on your arm, you can automatically
          take advantage of opportunities to bash, gain a significant amount
          of standard protection (shield have a high base armour class), and
          sometimes even deflect non-magical missiles or partially protect
          against shards.
          Other weapons require two hands (but many of these can be wielded in
          one hand by very strong players).  Any shield worn is transferred to
          your back.  This reduces armour protection, removes the special shield
          abilities above, but has no effect on magical resistances or other
          attributes.
     Attacking:
         If you move your character into a square containing a monster, you will
         attack that monster.  If you are wielding no weapon, and are not a
         Druid (who actually much prefer to fight barehanded), you will do very
         little damage.  If you are wielding a weapon, things are a little diff-
         erent.

     Number of Blows:
         On your character screen ('C') is displayed the number of blows you can
         get per turn.  If you are wielding no weapon, you get two blows.  If
         your weapon is too heavy for you to wield properly, you get one blow.
         Otherwise, you get between two and four blows, depending solely on
         weapon weight, Dexterity, and Strength.

     Your Weapon:
         All weapons have damage dice, displayed after their name.  When you hit
         a monster with a Dagger (1d4), you start off rolling one die with four
         sides.  In addition to damage dice, weapons may also have magical
         bonuses to Skill and to Deadliness (e.g. a Dagger (1d4) (+6, +5)), and
         various brands and slays (e.g. a Dagger of Fire (1d4) (+10, +10)).  For
         full information on possible weapon qualities, see the help file
         "equip.txt".

     What Happens When You Hit a Monster:
         If you hit a monster with a dagger, you start off rolling one die.  One
         after the other, critical hits, brands/slays, and the Deadliness bonus
         multiply the number of dice you roll.  Get a good hit in with a Dagger
         of Fire while wearing a Ring of Deadliness, and you can easily end up
         rolling 6 dice or more (6d4).  Let's look at the damage dice multi-
         pliers in turn:

     Combat Skill:
         Your total combat skill not only allows you even to hit a monster, but
         also determines how often you get critical hits.  The more skilled you
         are, the better those critical hits.  Although critical hits are vital
         for any serious fighter using any weapon in Oangband, weapons with low
         base damages (less than 2d5) benefit even more (up to twice as much).
         It is quite easy for a Rogue to stick a dagger in his foe for four or
         six times normal damage.  You know you just got a critical hit when you
         get any combat message other than "you hit" (or punch) "the <<monster
         name>>".

     Brands and Slays:
         Some remarkable weapons do extra damage to various kinds of monsters;
         a Dagger of Fire, for instance, would do extra damage to creatures not
         immune to fire.  Same story for all the other special brands you may
         find.  Slays, in contrast, do extra damage to particular monster races,
         so wield that Mace of Orc Slaying if you come upon any orcs.  Only the
         best applicable ego-quality is used; they do not combine.

     Deadliness:    (formerly called the plus to damage)
         As you descend deeper into the dungeon, a character relying on melee
         will need to play careful attention to Deadliness.  It acts as a
         percentage bonus (you may inspect your current bonus on the character
         screen).  High-level characters may have bonuses of 200% displayed on
         their character screens, and therefore triple the number of dice they
         roll on every blow with the Deadliness multiplier alone.

     Shield Bashes:
         When fighting hand-to-hand, you will occasionally get in a shield bash,
         if you are wearing a shield on your arm.  The frequency of shield
         bashes depends on Dexterity, melee combat skill, and the level of
         monster you are fighting.  Warriors and Paladins get in more shield
         bashes.  The effectiveness of shield bashes depends mostly on strength
         and shield size and weight.  When you bash a monster, you will inflict
         damage, and possibly stunning or even confusion.  You may also stumble,
         and lose normal melee blows.

     Special Notes:
         In order to attack a creature that you can't see in a wall or door, you
         must issue the Tunnel or alter adjacent grid command.


-- Shooting Missiles --

Shooting missiles:
     Ranged fire with missile launchers is a non-magical method of doing damage
at a safe distance.  As in melee, lighter weapons are much easier to effectively
use, but heavier weapons can do enormous damage in skilled hands.  Skill and
Deadliness bonuses are used from all equipped items other than your melee
weapon.  As in melee, magical aids to combat (Bless and Heroism) can make all
the difference, but note that Berserkers make lousy archers and throwers.

     Setting up to Shoot:
         Slings shoot shots and seeker shots, bows shoot arrows and seeker
         arrows, and crossbows shoot bolts and seeker bolts.  Simply equip the
         weapon and keep plenty of the ammo on hand and you're ready.

     Attacking:
         You shoot at a monster by typing 'f' (or 't' in the roguelike command
         set), then selecting a missile you would like to fire.  This activates
         the targeting interface described in the help file "cmddesc.txt".

     Number of Shots:
         On your character screen ('C') is displayed the number of shots you can
         get per turn.  The number of shots depends on class and level, plus any
         bonus shots that the weapon provides.  Unlike in melee, extra shots are
         not fired all at once (to avoid wasted ammo).  Instead, each shot takes
         less time, making monsters appear to move in slow motion.

     Your Launcher and Ammo:
         All launchers have a multiplier to damage, for example a Longbow (x3)
         would multiply the damage dice of the ammo it fires by three.  Like
         melee weapons, launchers can have plusses to Skill and to Deadliness.
         Unlike such weapons, they can have bonuses to shots, bonuses to their
         damage multiplier, and cannot impart slays and brands.  Ammo also can
         have bonuses to Skill and to Deadliness, and occasionally possess the
         same kinds of slays and brands you can find on melee weapons.  For
         full information on possible missile weapon and ammo qualities, see the
         help file "equip.txt".


     What Happens When You Hit a Monster:
         Here, archery and melee are virtually identical, with the biggest
         difference being that missile weapons have a damage multiplier.  After
         that is figured in, everything works the same.  Like in melee, Skill
         is essential to fighting effectively, having the right slays for tough
         targets is very handy, and Deadliness can make all the difference in
         the long run.


--- Throwing Objects ---

     Throwing objects requires less skill than using missile weapons, and can
be an important combat method in Oangband.  On the other hand, most thrown
objects do not benefit from Skill and Deadliness bonuses from other equipped
items.  For novice adventurers, throwing flasks of oil can be a life-saver,
and there are rumours of objects deep in the dungeon that can do large amounts
of damage when thrown.  Perhaps the most effective use of a high throwing skill
is whipping daggers, darts, spears, throwing axes, and throwing hammers at your
foes.  Such items do benefit from other Skill and Deadliness bonuses.

     Attacking:
         To throw an object, you use the 'v' command and select any item in
         your backpack, on your person, or on the floor.  This activates the
         targeting interface described in the help file "cmddesc.txt".

     Number of Throws:
         You may never throw more than one item per turn.

     Your Thrown Object:
         All objects have damage dice, but most do not display them.  If you
         think an object should do nasty things to your foes, it's certainly
         worth trying to throw it at them, just to see if anything happens.
         Whether or not they display them, all thrown objects may benefit from
         bonuses to Skill and Deadliness, should they possess any.  In addition,
         throwing weapons may have the same kind of elemental brands and monster
         slaying abilities as other weapons do.  If they possess such special
         qualities, they may also be perfectly balanced and do even more damage.

     What Happens When You Hit a Monster:
         Here, throwing and melee are broadly similar, with four differences:
         Firstly, throwing weapons have a damage multiplier, which increases as
         you gain experience levels (it ranges from 2 to 6, or 4 to 12 with
         perfectly balanced weapons).  Secondly, no thrown object other than
         the special throwing weapons may take advantage of bonuses to Skill or
         Deadliness granted by your equipment.  Thirdly, only throwing weapons
         can get critical hits when thrown.  Finally, thrown objects may break,
         but throwing weapons only do so rarely.



=== How to Steal and Set Traps ===

     Only Rogues may steal and set traps.  If you type the alter command ('+' in
either keyset), enter a direction and target a visible monster, you will attempt
to steal.  If you target a totally bare floor square, you will set a monster
trap.
     Stealing is lucrative but risky.  All monsters that drop anything will have
at least some treasure on them.  Humans, humanoids, and dragons are the juiciest
targets, and most other smart bipedal creatures, nagas, or wraiths are fairly
well-off too; the higher the monster level, the larger the purse.  Uniques are
especially rich.  High-level monsters and other thieves are harder to steal
from, but sleeping monsters are easier.  But burglary is not all fun and games.
Every time you steal on a level, the monsters get warier.  Steal too often,
and you may very quickly get hunted down.
     Monster traps are trivial to set and disarm.  They do a reasonable amount
of damage, increasing with player level and monster HPs, but seldom kill a
monster of any power outright.  Traps may be disarmed or flown over.  Only one
monster trap may exist on a level at any one time, so disarm an old trap to use
your trap gear elsewhere.  If your trap is buried in rubble, you will not be
able to make any more on that level.


=== Listing of Druid Blows and their Damage Potential ===

Name        number of dice, sides to each die

"punch",                 1, 5
"kick",                  2, 4
"knee",                  1,12
"chop",                  2, 7
"uppercut",              3, 6
"boot",                  3, 9
"bang on",               6, 4
"slam",                  4, 9
"grapple with",         13, 3
"hammer",                9, 6
"head butt",             3,24
"strangle",              8,10
"roundhouse kick",       5,19
"assault",              10,11
"crush",                11,11
"double-kick",          21, 6
"thunderclap belt",      8,19
"blizzard gouge",       14,11
"tsunami whirl",         7,26
"stormwind chop",       10,22

There are twenty possible druid attacks.  The highest level attack a druid is
capable of depends on his experience level:  for example, a 25th level druid
can use the first 10 attack types.  In combat, druids will automatically pick
one at random, biased towards those with the largest damage.