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=============================== Character Birth =============================== This file describes your character and his creation. It discusses the races and classes available in Oangband and explains "maximize" and "preserve". Racial and class tables are provided at the bottom. === Creating a Character === Oangband is a role-playing game, in which you, the player, control a character in a world of magic and cold steel. Perhaps the most important thing you control is the birth of your character, in which you choose or allow to be chosen various attributes that will affect his future adventures. You choose a race, a class, and may set minimum values for vital statistics (be careful not to ask for too much). You may start the entire process over at any time by pressing 'S'. Once you have accepted a character you will asked to provide a name for the character. In general, the actual choice of a name is not important, but do keep in mind that it may have some effect on the game itself. For example, on some machines, the character name determines the filename that will be used to save the character to disk. On others, the character name specifies special "pref" files. And the character name is used on the high score list. === Races === There are thirteen different races that you can choose from in Oangband, representing most of the speaking peoples found in Tolkien's books, plus Gnomes. Some races cannot realistically choose all professions, and each race has its own adjustments to a character's stats and abilities. Most races also have intrinsic abilities. Maiar are especially designed for new and inexperienced players, and are not recommended for the veteran. Dunedain and High-Elves are good choices for players whose spellcasters of other races die too quickly. Human: Humans are the base characters. All other races are compared to them. Humans can choose any class and are average at everything. Humans tend to go up levels faster than any other race (except Half-Orcs) because of their shorter life spans. They have a slight bonus to fighting skill when using swords and crossbows, and have more hit points than many other races, but otherwise they have no racial adjustments or intrinsics. Half-Elf: Half-elves tend to be smarter and more agile than humans, but are not as strong. Half-elves are slightly better at searching, disarming, saving throws, stealth, shooting (especially with bows), and magic, but they are not as good at hand weapons, and have slightly fewer hit points. Half-elves may choose any class and do not receive any intrin- sic abilities. Elf: Elves are better magicians then humans, but not as good at fighting. They tend to be smarter, wiser, and more dexterous than either humans or half-elves, but lack the strength or the hit points of either. Elves are better at searching, disarming, perception, shooting (especially with bows), and magic, but they are not as good at hand weapons. They are very stealthy. Elves may choose any class except Paladin. They resist light effects intrinsically. Hobbits: Hobbits are very good at bows (especially slings), throwing, and have good saving throws. They are even better at searching, disarming, perception, and stealth; so they make excellent rogues, but prefer to be called burglars. They will be much weaker than humans, and no good at melee fighting. They have few hit points, but can sometimes endure ailments that would lay other races low. Hobbits have fair infra- vision, so they can detect warm creatures at a distance. Hobbits can choose between being a warrior, mage, rogue, druid, or assassin. They have no special abilities. Gnome: Gnomes are the pudgy pranksters of the dungeon; if they can kill some- thing in a humorous way, so much the better... They, like hobbits, live in the earth in burrow-like homes. Gnomes make excellent mages, are the best magical device users of any race, and are good at searching, disarming, and perception. They are reasonably stealthy. They have lower strength and fewer hitpoints than humans so they are not very good at fighting with hand weapons. Gnomes have good infra-vision, so they can detect warm-blooded creatures at a distance. A gnome may choose between being a warrior, mage, priest, rogue, necromancer, or assassin. Gnomes are intrinsically protected against paralysis and some slowing effects. Dwarf: Dwarves are the headstrong miners and fighters of legend. Since dun- geons are the natural home of dwarves, they are excellent choices for a warrior, priest, or necromancer. Dwarves tend to be stronger and tougher but less intelligent and dexterous than humans. They gain a small bonus to combat skill when using polearms, but don't know the first thing about bows. Because they are so headstrong and wise, they resist spells which are cast on them. Dwarves also have very good infra-vision because they live underground. They do have one big draw- back, though. Dwarves are loudmouthed and proud, singing in loud voices, arguing with themselves for no good reason, screaming out challenges at imagined foes. In other words, dwarves have a miserable stealth. They can never be blinded. Half-Orc: Half-Orcs can become warriors, priests, rogues, necromancers, or assassins, doing their best to make great constitutions and loads of hit points make up for poor magical and dungeon survival skills. Both their intelligence and wisdom are suspect, but they do know hand-to- hand combat, are tough and strong, and advance as quickly as humans do. Half-Orcs are, let's face it, ugly. They tend to pay more for goods in town. Because of their preference to living underground to on the surface, half-orcs resist darkness attacks. Half-Troll: Half-Trolls are incredibly strong, and have more hit points than any other character race. They are also very stupid and clumsy. They will make great warriors, iffy priests, and rather interesting necromancers. They are bad at searching, disarming, perception, and stealth. They need to eat a lot. They are so ugly that a Half-Orc grimaces in their presence. They also happen to be fun to run... Half-trolls always have their strength sustained. Dunadan: Dunedain are a race of hardy men from the West. This elder race sur- passes the abilities of other humans in every field, and have amazing wisdom and constitution. However, being men of the world, very little is new to them, and levels are very hard to gain... They may play any class. Their constitution cannot be reduced. High-Elf: High-elves are a race of undying beings dating from the beginning of the world. They attain experience levels even more slowly than Dune- dain. They are masters of all skills, and are agile and intelligent, although their wisdom is sometimes suspect. They can play all classes except Paladin, and very well at that. High-elves begin their lives able to see the unseen, and resist light effects just like other elves. Maia: (Special race for players new to Oangband. Score is reduced by 50%) The Maiar, lesser deities of the created world, often take tangible form and mingle among earthly beings. They can be found among the ranks of wise counselors, peerless warriors, mighty wizards and necromancers; indeed they can play any class with credit. Their vital statistics put all other races to shame, their standard abilities are always good and sometimes superlative, and they recover divinely quickly from all sorts of wounds, poison, stunning, confusion, blind- ness, and paralyzation. (They do not, however, get any innate resis- tances or special abilities). Despite all these qualities, Maiar advance fairly quickly, making them the perfect race for those desiring a character able to survive the perils of an unfamiliar game. Shadow Fairy: Also known as Fays, these beings were created neither by the powers of good nor of evil but, for all anyone knows, appeared when the world was formed out of primeval darkness and void. They are physically weak and perilously frail, but possess considerable powers of intellect and understanding. They know little of combat, and only have modest advantages in disarming and magical device skill - but all this is offset by incomparable concealment. Not merely can Shadow Fairies wreath themselves in murk and gloomy night, thus gaining by far the highest stealth of any race, but they never aggravate monsters. (If they normally would, they suffer a penalty of three to stealth). Shadow Fairies must beware of bright light. Ent: Clad in bark-like skin, and with bodies like the trunks of trees, Ents can nevertheless move about perfectly well. They have poor dungeon survival skills, and are bad at archery and with polearms, but can fight better than average with other weapons. As long as they stay away from fire (fire damage is increased by 33%. Resistances operate normally after this.), Ents will find themselves well capable of sur- viving many a bitter fight. As they age, Ents slowly lose the relative suppleness of their sapling youth, trading dexterity for increased strength and constitution. Members of this wise race can never gain feather fall by any means, but will slowly acquire the ability needed to tear rock apart with their weaponless hands. === Classes === Nine different classes are available in Oangband. Some classes are not re- commended for certain races; for instance, a Half-Troll would be a very confused Paladin. More information about magics available to each class con be found in the help file "magic.txt". For the first few adventures it is suggested that you run a warrior, rogue, or paladin. The pure spellcasters generally require a more experienced player that is familiar with survival techniques. Warrior: The great melee fighter, capable of doing more damage and surviving longer at close quarters than any other class. So skilled in combat can a warrior become that he gains permanent protection from fear at level 30, learns to probe for weaknesses (see the help doc "magic.txt") at level 35, can spread attacks out among weaker monsters at level 40, and regenerates intrinsically at level 45. He is unchallengable with melee weapons, and is also good with all missile launchers, getting an extra shot with bows (level 35) and crossbows (level 40). His biggest drawback is his ignorance of spells and many magical items. Most of his dungeon survival skills are mediocre. A Warrior learns no magical spells, and has poor magical defences. He has very fast, strong pseudo-ID. His prime stat is Strength, and a good Dexterity and Constitution can really help at times. Mage: Master of sorcery. A mage is not really happy without an assortment of magical devices to use in addition to his spells. He can master the higher level magical devices far more easily than anyone else. A mage fights very poorly, except with the lightest of weapons, and is almost as bad at archery. He is stealthy at low levels, but his magic betrays his presence later on. Most of his other skills are mediocre. He has excellent magical defences, but dangerously poor physical ones. He has very slow, weak pseudo-ID. Intelligence is his primary stat, and a high Constitution is very useful. Priest: Covenanted with a mighty and generous god. He explores the dungeon only to destroy the evil that lurks within, and if treasure just happens to fall into his pack, well, so much more to the glory of his church! A priest is spoilt for choice with protection and healing prayers, and possesses an unequalled collection of knowledge gaining prayers. He is a fair fighter with blunt weapons and miserable with edged. He is poor at archery. His magical defences are excellent, and his physical ones acceptable. Priests are familiar with magic items. He has merely mediocre stealth and dungeon survival skills. Priests gain +1 to light radius at level 35 and above and permanent protection against evil at level 50. He has very fast but weak pseudo-ID. Wisdom is a Priest's primary stat. Rogue: The flexible dungeon sneaker. First in line when dungeon survival skills were handed out. He can fight very well with light weapons and is dangerous with a sling (gets extra shots at 20th and 40th level). He is clumsy with heavy weapons. He has decent magical skills. A Rogue will have a fairly decent collection of spells to improve his natural skills, aid in battle, and gain information, but almost no ability to deal magical damage. He can fight hand-to-hand more quietly than can any other class, and gets the most effective sneak attacks against sleeping monsters. Rogues have the unique capacity of filching purses and setting traps (use the '+' command). See the help file "combat.txt for more details. Unfortunately, no shopkeeper trusts a rogue, and so members of this class will pay dearly for goods in town. A Rogue has acceptable physical and magical defences. He has fairly fast, strong pseudo-ID. His primary stats are Intelligence and Dexterity. Ranger: An archer skilled in nature lore. He is better than any other class with any missile weapon except slings. A Ranger gets one extra shot with any missile weapon (25th level for slings, 45th for xbows), and two with bows (20th and 40th level). He is a merely acceptable melee fighter, yet not as limited to light weapons as is a Rogue. A ranger can use magical items effectively, and finds his spells handy but not critical. A Ranger has decent dungeon survival skills, and good stealth. He has acceptable magical and physical defences. He has fairly slow, weak pseudo-ID. His primary stats are Wisdom and Dex- terity. Paladin: A champion of the Faith. A paladin is the second best melee fighter available. As long as he sticks to priestly weapons, his mastery of the elements and of battle prayers will render him formidable to his foes. Missile weapons and magical devices confuse him. He has little stealth, and poor dungeon survival skills, but can survive as well or better than any other class in battle or against magic. He has a sub- set of the priestly prayers. Plus one to light radius at level 45 and above. He has moderately-paced, strong pseudo-ID. His primary stats are Wisdom and Strength. Druid: At one with nature. He possesses a wide and varied range of healing, dungeon alteration, and knowledge spells, plus a large number of spells to hinder and reduce foes. Can fight well bare-handed and acceptably with slings, but not with other missile weapons or any melee weapon. Although a druid can do a lot of damage, his spells are more random than are those of other realms. He has decent magical skill, fairly high stealth, and good magical defences. A Druid will have decent dungeon survival skills. He has extremely slow, weak pseudo-ID. His primary stat is Wisdom. Necromancer: Dealer in death. He has an unsurpassed collection of highly deadly combat spells, and can dish out damage like nobody's business. His magical item ability is acceptable, but virtually all of his other skills are poor, and he has a hard time protecting himself. Fortu- ately, at higher levels his magic can help with some of these prob- lems. He has slow, weak pseudo-ID. His primary stat is Intelligence, and he needs to watch his Constitution. Assassin: The death-dealing stalker. He is better than a Rogue at melee, but is still limited to reasonably light weapons. An Assassin is deadly with lighter missile launchers, and can eventually poison missiles, but gets no innate extra shots. He is a master at using thrown weapons against sleeping monsters. He has rather good stealth, but lacks protection if caught. His other dungeon survival skills are good, and he has access to a sub-set of the necromantic spells. He can shoot missiles and throw objects more quietly than any other class, and makes little noise in melee as well. An Assassin will have mediocre magic skill, and poor magical defences. He has fairly fast, strong pseudo-ID. His primary stats are Intelligence and Strength. === Combinations of Race and Class (recommendations only) === Warrior Priest Ranger Druid Assassin Mage Rogue Paladin Necro Human Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Half-Elf Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Elf Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Hobbit Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes No Yes Gnome Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Dwarf Yes No Yes No No No No Yes No Half-Orc Yes No Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Half-Troll Yes No Yes No No No No Yes No Dunadan Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes High-Elf Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Maia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Shadow Fairy Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Ent Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes === Stat Bonus and Hit Point Tables === STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Hit Dice Rqd Exp/level Human 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 +0% Half-Elf -1 +1 0 +1 -1 +1 9 +10% Elf -1 +2 +1 +1 -2 +1 8 +25% Hobbit -2 +2 +1 +3 +2 +1 7 +15% Gnome -1 +2 0 +2 +0 -2 8 +20% Dwarf +2 -2 +2 -2 +2 -3 11 +25% Half-Orc +2 -1 -1 0 +2 -3 11 +0% Half-Troll +4 -4 -2 -4 +3 -6 12 +10% Dunadan +1 +1 +3 +2 +3 +2 10 +100% High-Elf +1 +3 -1 +3 +1 +5 10 +100% Maia +4 +3 +3 +3 +4 +5 12 +25%* Shadow Fairy -2 +2 +2 +1 -1 0 7 +20% Ent +2 0 +2 -3 +2 0 12 +30% * : Also halves your score. STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Hit Dice Rqd Exp/level Warrior +5 -2 -2 +2 +2 -1 +9 +00% Mage -4 +3 0 +1 -2 +1 +0 +25% Priest -1 -3 +3 -1 0 +2 +2 +20% Rogue +2 +1 -2 +3 +1 -5 +5 +30% Ranger +2 0 +1 +1 +1 +1 +5 +30% Paladin +3 -3 +1 0 +2 +2 +7 +35% Druid -2 -2 +3 +2 0 +1 +0 +20% Necromancer -3 +3 -3 -1 0 -2 +0 +25% Assassin +2 +1 -3 +2 +0 -2 +4 +30% === Ability Tables === See the help file "abilattr" for complete explanations of what each ability does for your character. Abilities are ranked on a comparative scale ranging from 1 to 10. disarm device save stealth search percep melee shooting Human 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Half-Elf 6 6 6 6 7 6 4 6 Elf 7 8 7 8 8 7 3 7 Hobbit 10 8 9 8 10 10 1 7 Gnome 9 10 6 6 7 7 2 5 Dwarf 4 5 9 3 6 6 8 4 Half-Orc 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 4 Half-Troll 3 3 3 3 3 3 9 3 Dunadan 7 6 6 6 6 8 7 7 High-Elf 8 9 9 7 7 9 5 9 Maia 9 9 10 6 7 10 10 10 Shadow Fairy 8 6 5 10+ 10 10 2 4 Ent 3 5 7 6 3 5 7 3 disarm device save stealth search percep melee missile Warrior 5 4 5 3 4 4 10 8 Mage 3 10 6 5->2 5 6 3 3 Priest 3 6 8 4 5 5 5* 5 Rogue 9 6 6 8 10 10 6 8 Ranger 5 6 6 5 6 7 6 10 Paladin 3 3 6 3 3 3 9* 4 Druid 4 5 7 6 6 7 4 6 Necromancer 3 6 4 4 4 4 3 3 Assassin 7 5 3 7 8 8 7 9 * : With blunt weapons; otherwise much worse (use the 'I'nspect command to find out which weapons are blunt)