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The Dungeons of MORIA __________ Moria is intended for Public Domain, and may not be sold or marketed IN ANY FORM without the permission and written consent from the author Robert Alan Koeneke. I retain all copyrights to this program, in either the original or modified forms, and no violation, deletion, or change of the copyright notice is allowed. Furthermore, I will have no liability or responsibility to any user with respect to loss or damage caused directly or indirectly by this program. 1 The Dungeons of MORIA MORIA MORIA player may choose from a number of races and classes when creating their character, and then 'run' that character over a period of days, weeks, even months; attempting to win the game by defeating the Balrog which lurks in the deeper levels. The player will begin his adventure on the town level where he may acquire supplies, weapons, armor, and magical devices by bartering with various shop owners. After preparing for his MORIA where fantastic adventures await his coming! Before beginning your first adventure, you should read this MORIA will require a dedicated player to win. ___ _________ All characters have six main attributes which modify their basic abilities. These six attributes, called stats, are STRENGTH, INTELLIGENCE, WISDOM, DEXTERITY, CONSTITUTION, and CHARISMA. Stats may vary from 3 as a minimum to 18/100 as a maximum. Because adventurers of interest tend to be better than MORIA further adjusted by race and class. Some races are just naturally better at being certain classes, as will be shown later. In addition to the more visible stats, each character has certain abilities which are mainly determined by his race and class, but are also modified by his stats. The abilities are FIGHTING, THROWING/BOWS, SAVING THROW, STEALTH, DISARMING, MAGICAL DEVICES, PERCEPTION, SEARCHING, and INFRA-VISION. Characters will be assigned an early history, with money and a social class based on that history. Starting money is assigned based on history, charisma, and somewhat upon the average of a character's stats. A character with below average stats will receive extra money to help him survive the first adventure. Each character will also have physical attributes such as a race, a height, weight, sex, and a physical description. None of these, except weight, play any part in the game other than to give the player a "feeling" for his character. Weight is used for computing carrying capacity and also for BASHING. Finally each character is assigned HIT POINTS based on their race, class, and constitution. Spell casters will also receive "MANA" which is expended when casting spells. MANA is based on Wisdom for Priests and Intelligence for Mages. 2 The Dungeons of MORIA 2.1.1 Character Stats - STR - Strength Strength is important in fighting with weapons, or hand to hand. A high strength can improve your chances of hitting, and the amount of damage done with each hit. Characters with low strengths may receive penalties. Strength is also useful in tunneling, body and shield bashing, and in the carrying of heavy items. INT - Intelligence Intelligence is the prime stat of a mage, or magician. A high intelligence increases a mages chances of learning spells, and in gaining mana. No spell may be learned by mages with intelligences under 8. Intelligence also modifies a character's chance of disarming traps and picking locks. WIS - Wisdom Wisdom is the prime stat of a priest. A high wisdom increases the chance of receiving new spells from a priest's diety, and in the gaining of mana. Wisdom also modifies a character's chance of resisting magical spells cast upon his person. DEX - Dexterity Dexterity is the combination of agility and quickness. A high dexterity may allow a character to get multiple blows with lighter weapons, thus greatly increasing his kill power, and may increase his chances of hitting with any weapon. Dexterity is also useful in picking locks and disarming traps. CON - Constitution Constitution is a characters ability to resist damage to their body, and to recover from damage received. Therefore a character with a high constitution will receive more hit points, and be more resistant to poisons. CHR - Charisma Charisma represents a character's personality, as well as physical looks. A character with a high charisma will receive better prices from store owners, whereas a character with a very low charisma will be robbed blind. A high charisma will also mean more starting money for the character. 3 The Dungeons of MORIA 2.1.2 Character Sex - You may choose to be either a male or a female character. Only height and weight are affected by a character's sex. Female characters tend to be somewhat smaller and lighter then their male counterparts. No adjustments to stats or abilities are made because of the sex of a character. 4 The Dungeons of MORIA 2.1.3 Character Abilities - Characters possess nine different abilities which can help them to survive. The starting abilities of a character are based upon race and class. Abilities may be adjusted by high or low stats, and may increase with the level of the character. - Fighting Fighting is the ability to hit and do damage with weapons or fists. Normally a character gets a single blow from any weapon, but if his dexterity and strength are high enough, he may receive more blows per round with lighter weapons. Strength and dexterity both modify the ability to hit an opponent. In addition this skill increases with the level of the character. - Throwing/Bows Using stand-off missile weapons and throwing objects is included in this skill. Different stats apply to different weapons, but may modify the distance an object is thrown/fired, the amount of damage done, and the ability to hit a creature. This skill increases with the level of the character. - Saving Throw A Saving Throw is the ability of a character to resist the effects of a spell cast on him by another person/creature. Note that 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. - 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 entirely, allowing a player to avoid certain fights. - Disarming Disarming is the ability to remove traps (safely), and includes picking locks on traps and doors. Note that a successful disarming will gain the character some experience. The character must have found a trap before it can be disarmed. Dexterity and intelligence both modify the ability to disarm, and this ability increases with the level of the character. 5 The Dungeons of MORIA - Using Magical Devices Using a magical device such as a wand or staff requires experience and knowledge. Spell users such as mages and priests are therefore much better at using a magical device than say a fighter. This skill is modified by intelligence, and increases with the level of the character. - Perception Perception is the ability to notice something without actively seeking it out. This skill is based entirely upon race and class, and will never improve unless magically enhanced. - Searching To search is to actively look for secret doors, floor traps, and traps on chests. Rogues are the best at searching, but mages, rangers, and priests are good at it. Intelligence modifies your ability at searching, and your ability will also increase with your level. - Infra Vision Infra-vision is the ability to see heat sources. Since most of the dungeon is cool or cold, infra-vision will not allow the player to see walls and objects. Infra-vision will allow a character to see any warm-blooded creatures up to a certain distance. This ability works equally well with or with out a MORIA cold blooded, and will not be detected unless lit up by a light source. 6 The Dungeons of MORIA ________ _ ____ There are eight different races that you can choose from in MORIA be, and each race has it's own adjustments to a character's stats and abilities. - Human The human is the base character, all other races are compared to him. Human's can choose any class, and are average at everything. Humans tend to go up levels faster than any other race, because of their shorter life-spans. No racial adjustments occur to character's choosing human. - Half-Elf Half-elves tend to be smarter and faster than a human, but not as strong. Half-elves are slightly better at searching, disarming, perception, stealth, and magic, but they are not as good at hand weapons. Half-elves may choose any class. - Elf Elves are better magicians then humans, but not as good at fighting. They tend to be smarter and faster than either humans or half-elves, and also have better wisdom. Elves are better at searching, disarming, perception, stealth, and magic, but they are not as good at hand weapons. Elves may choose any class except Paladin. - Halfling Halflings, or Hobbits, are very good at bows, throwing, and have good saving throws. They also are very good at searching, disarming, perception, and stealth; so they make excellent thieves (but prefer to be called burglars...). They will be much weaker than humans, and no good at bashing. Halflings have fair infra-vision, so can detect warm creatures at a distance. Halflings can choose between being a fighter, mage, or rogue. - Gnome Gnomes are smaller than dwarfs, but larger than halflings. They, like the halflings, live in the earth in burrow-like homes. Gnomes are practical jokers, so if they can kill something in a humorous way, so much the better. Gnomes make excellent mages, and have very good saving throws. They are good at searching, disarming, perception, and stealth. They have lower strengths and constitutions then humans so they are not very good at fighting with hand weapons. Gnomes have fair infra-vision, so can detect warm creatures at a distance. A gnome may choose between being a fighter, mage, priest, or rogue. 7 The Dungeons of MORIA - Dwarf Dwarves are the headstrong miners and fighters of legend. Since dungeons are the natural home of a dwarf, they are excellent choices for a warrior or priest. Dwarves tend to be stronger, have higher constitutions, but are slower and less intelligent than humans. Because they are so headstrong and are somewhat wise, they resist spells which are cast on them. Dwarves also have good infra-vision because they live underground. They do have one big draw-back though. Dwarves are loud-mouthed 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. - Half-Orc Half-Orcs make excellent fighters, and decent priests, but are terrible at magic. They are as bad as dwarves at stealth, and horrible at searching, disarming, and perception. Half-Orcs are; let's face it, ugly. They tend to pay more for goods in town. Half-Orcs do make good priest's and rogues, for the simple reason that Half-Orcs tend to have great constitutions and lots of hit points. - Half-Troll Half-Trolls are incredibly strong, and have the highest hit points of any character race. They are also very stupid and slow. They will make great fighters and iffy priests. They are bad at searching, disarming, perception, and stealth. They are so ugly that a Half-Orc grimaces in their presence. They also happen to be fun to run... 8 The Dungeons of MORIA 2.1.4.1 Chart 1 : Race VS Skills And Stats - Stat Modifications due to race: (This chart needs updating) Hit Required Race Str Int Wis Dex Con Chr Dice EXP/level Human Half-Elf Elf Halfling Gnome Dwarf Half-Orc Half-Troll Abilities as compared to each other: 1 is lowest, or worst; 10 is highest, or best. | | Race Disarm Search Stealt Percep Fight Bows Save Infra Human Half-Elf Elf Halfling Gnome Dwarf Half-Orc Half-Troll 9 The Dungeons of MORIA ________ _ _____ Once a race has been chosen, you will need to pick a class. Some classes will not be available to certain races; for instance a Half-Troll cannot become a Paladin. For the first few adventures it is suggested that you run a warrior or rogue. Spell casting generally requires a more experienced player that is familiar with survival techniques. - Warrior A Warrior is a hack-and-slash character, who solves most of his problems by cutting them to pieces, but will occasionally fall back on the help of a magical device. His prime stats are Strength and Constitution, and a good Dexterity can really help at times. A Warrior will be good at Fighting and Throwing/Bows, but bad at most other skills. - Mage A Mage must live by his wits. He cannot hope to simply hack his way through the dungeon, and so must therefore use his magic to defeat, deceive, confuse, and to escape with. A mage is not really complete without a golf-cart of magical devices to use in addition to his spells. He can master the higher level magical devices far easier than anyone else, and has the best saving throw to resist effects of spells cast at him. Intelligence and Dexterity are his primary stats. There is no rule that says a mage cannot become a good fighter, but spells are his true realm. - Priest A Priest is a character of holy devotion. They explore the dungeon only to destroy the evil that lurks within, and if treasure just happens to fall into their packs; well, so much more to the glory of their church! Priests receive their spells from a diety, and therefore do not choose which spells they will learn. He is familiar with magical devices, preferring to call them instruments of god, but is not as good as a mage in their use. Priests have good saving throws, and make decent fighters, preferring blunt weapons over edged ones. Wisdom and Charisma are the priests primary stats. 10 The Dungeons of MORIA - Rogue A Rogue is a character that prefers to live by his cunning, but is capable of fighting his way out of a tight spot. He is the master of traps and locks, no device being impossible for him to over-come. A rogue has a high stealth allowing him to sneak around many creatures without having to fight, or sneak up and get the first blow. A rogue's perception is higher than any other class, and many times he will notice a trap or secret door before having to search. A rogue is better than warriors or paladins with magical devices, but still can not rely on their performance. A rogue's primary stats are Intelligence and Dexterity. - Ranger A Ranger is a fighter/mage. He is a good fighter, and the best of the classes with a missile weapon such as a bow. The ranger learns spells much more slowly than a mage, but is capable of learning all but the most powerful spell. Because a ranger is really a dual class character, it requires more experience to advance him. A ranger has a good stealth, good perception, good searching, a good saving throw, and is good with magical devices. His primary stats are Intelligence and Dexterity. - Paladin A Paladin is a fighter/priest. He is a very good fighter, second only to the warrior class, but not very good at missile weapons. He receives prayers at a slower pace then the priest, and can receive all but the most powerful prayer. Because a paladin is really a dual class character, it requires more experience to advance him. A paladin lacks much in the way of abilities. He is poor at stealth, perception, searching, and magical devices. He has a decent saving throw due to his divine alliance. His primary stats are Strength and Charisma. 11 The Dungeons of MORIA 2.1.5.1 Chart 2 : Race VS Class - CLASS Race Warrior Mage... Priest. Rogue.. Ranger. Paladin Human Half-Elf Elf Halfling Gnome Dwarf Half-Orc Half-Troll 2.1.5.2 Chart 3 : Class VS Skills - Abilities as compared to each other: 1 is lowest, or worst; 10 is highest, or best. | | Save Magic Required Race Fight Bows Throw Stlth Disarm Device Percep Search Exp. Warrior Mage Priest Rogue Ranger Paladin 12 The Dungeons of MORIA ___________ After you have created your character, you will begin your MORIA the dungeon's walls and floor, objects and features, and creatures lurking about. In order to direct your character through his adventure, you will enter single character commands. MORIA to them. You should review these sections before attempting an adventure. Finally, a description of the town level and some general help on adventuring are included. _______ __ ____ ___ Symbols on your map can be broken down into three categories; Features of the dungeon such as walls, floor, doors, and traps; Objects which can be picked up such as treasure, weapons, magical devices, etc; and Monsters which may or may not move about the dungeon, but are mostly harmful to your character's well being. Note that some symbols can be in more than one category. Also note that treasure may be imbedded in a wall, and the wall must be removed before the treasure can be picked up. It will not be necessary to remember all of the symbols and their meanings. A simple command; the '/'; will identify any character appearing on your map. See the section on commands for further help. 13 The Dungeons of MORIA Features : . A floor space, or hidden trap. 1 Entrance to General Store. # A wall. 2 Entrance to Armory. ' An open door. 3 Entrance to Weapon Smith. + A closed door. 4 Entrance to Temple. ^ A trap. 5 Entrance to Alchemy Shop. < A staircase up. 6 Entrance to Magic Shop. > A staircase down. : Obstructing rubble. ; A loose floor stone. An open pit. (Blank) Objects : ! A flask or potion. ? A scroll. " An amulet. [ Hard armor. $ Money (Can be imbedded). \ A hafted weapon. & A chest. ] Misc. armor. ( Soft armor. _ A staff. ) A shield. { Missile (arrow, bolt, pebble). * Gems (Can be imbedded). | Sword or dagger. - A wand. } Missile arm (Bow, crossbow, sling). / A pole-arm. ~ Misc. = A ring. , Food. s A skeleton. Monsters : a Giant Ant. A Giant Ant Lion. b Giant Bat. B The Balrog. c Giant Centipede. C Gelatinous Cube. d Dragon D Ancient Dragon. e Floating Eye. E Elemental. f Giant Frog. F Fly. g Golem. G Ghost. h Harpy. H Hob-Goblin. i Icky-Thing. I Invisible Stalker. j Jackal. J Jelly. k Kobold. K Killer Beetle. l Giant Lice. L Lich. m Mold. M Mummy. n Naga. N o Orc or Ogre. O Ooze. p Human(iod). P Giant Human(iod). q Quasit. Q Quythulg. r Rodent. R Reptile. s Skeleton. S Scorpion. t Giant Tick. T Troll. u U Umber Hulk. v V Vampire. w Worm or Worm Mass. W Wight or Wraith. x X Xorn. y Yeek. Y Yeti. z Zombie. Z $ Creeping Coins. , Mushroom Patch. 14 The Dungeons of MORIA ________ All commands are entered by pressing a single key, or control sequence (holding down the control key while pressing a key). If a particular command requires additional action, it will be prompted for, with one exception. When a direction is required, no prompt is given unless and until an illegal response is given. 2.2.2.1 Note On <Dir> - In the following instructions, the symbol <Dir> refers to a numeric direction based on your keypad. It is not valid to use the number '5' in this context. One exception to this is with movement, in which case '5' will rest the character for one turn. Commands which require a direction will not prompt you for one, unless you input an illegal direction. Just enter a direction after the entering the command. Directions \ | / 7 8 9 - 4 6 - 1 2 3 / | \ 15 The Dungeons of MORIA Movement Movement is accomplished by using your numeric keypad. Simply press a number and your character will move one step in that direction. Pressing a '5' is equivalent to waiting for one round (More efficient resting over long periods of time is accomplished by using the Rest command). You can only move onto and through floor spots, and only if they contain no creatures or obstructing objects such as a closed door. Moving your character one step at a time can be time consuming and boring, so a faster method has been supplied. By using the Move command '.', you may move in a direction until something interesting happens. For instance, by pressing the period key '.' followed by the direction 8, your character would continue to move up the screen, only coming to a stop after at least one condition is satisfied. These conditions are: 1. A creature appears upon the screen, or a creature already on the screen moves. 2. You move next to an object, or feature such as a door, staircase, or trap. 3. You come to a wall, and have more than one choice of directions from which to continue, or are in a dead in passage. 4. You come to a junction of several passages. Movement \ | / 7 8 9 - 4 6 - 5 rests the character for one turn. 1 2 3 / | \ B <Dir> - Bash The Bash command includes breaking open doors and chests, or bashing an opponent. Two main factors determine the ability of a character to bash; their weight and their strength. In addition, when bashing an opponent, you will either perform a body bash, or if wielding a shield, perform a shield bash which is more effective. Bashing a door can throw the character off-balance, but this will not generally be a problem. Doors that have been jammed closed with spikes can only be opened by bashing. Locked doors may also be bashed open. Note that bashing a door open will permanently break it. Bashing a creature has effects on both the player and his opponent. Depending on a character's dexterity, he may or may not be thrown off-balance allowing free moves to his opponents. 16 The Dungeons of MORIA If the bash is successful, the opponent will be thrown off-balance for 1 to 3 turns, thus allowing the character free hits or a chance to run. A player automatically performs a shield bash instead of a body bash, if he is currently wearing a shield. A shield bash adds the damage of a shield to that of the bash, so is more effective. Note that size and material both affect the damage that a shield will do. C - Print character (to screen or file) This command allows the player to either display his character on the terminal screen, or to print an entire character info listing to a file. If printed to a file, history, equipment list, and an inventory list are included. D <Dir> - Disarm a trap. You can attempt to disarm floor traps, or trapped chests. If you fail to disarm a trap, there is a chance that you blunder and set it off. You can only disarm a trap on a chest after finding it with the search command. E - Eat some food. A character must eat occasionally to remain effective. As a character grows hungry, a message will appear at the bottom of the screen saying "Hungry". If a character remains hungry long enough, he will become weak and eventually start fainting. F - Fill a lamp or lantern with oil. If your character is currently using a lamp for light, and if he has a flask of oil in inventory, he may refill the lamp by using this command. A lamp is capable of a maximum of 5500 turns of light, and each flask has 5000 turns of oil contained in it. L - Display map co-ordinates. The Location command will display your character's current co-ordinates as shown on a printed map (printed with the 'P' command). Sectors contain up to 44 rows by 99 columns each. The Location command will display the character's current row and column map co-ordinates, as well as the sector number. P - Print map to file. The Print command will write an entire map of the dungeon floor explored to a file. Since the dungeon floor is large, the map is broken up into sectors, each containing up to 44 rows by 99 columns. 17