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The Dragon's Claw
═════════════════
Welcome to The Dragon's Claw. The Dragon's Claw is a midevil
style scenario for Rude Dog On-Line Adventure Engine. I have
spent quite a few hours designing and creating this scenario. I
hope that you enjoy it as much as my beta testers do.
The Dragon's Claw uses ANSI graphics extensively to give you a
topographical view and easy movement around the game's terrain and
dungeon maps. The Dragon's Claw features over 200 monsters, each
complete with their own statistics including descriptions,
alignment, descriptions for a successful hit, special abilities,
etc. Other features include towns, inns, temples, ruins, ancient
relics, traps, various shops, a variety of weapons and armor, and
much more.
Getting Started
═══════════════
The first and most important thing about playing The Dragon's
Claw is to turn on your Num-Lock key. Movement around the terrain
and dungeon maps is done using the keys on your numeric keypad as
shown in the diagram below. If your computer isn't equipped with
a numeric keypad, you can use the corresponding number keys on
your standard keyboard.
7 │ 8 │ 9
Up- │ │ Up-
Left │ Up │Right
─────┼─────┼─────
4 │ 5 │ 6
│ │
Left │ │Right
─────┼─────┼─────
3 │ 2 │ 1
Down-│ │Down-
Left │Down │Right
The second most important thing is that you can save your
position and character nearly anywhere in the game by pressing
"S." Saving often is a good idea. If you get killed by a trap
or monster, you can restart at your last saved position.
Creating Your Character
═══════════════════════
The first thing that you will do in the game is to create a
character. You should pay special attention to this process. A
good character is the key to winning The Dragon's Claw. Below is
a list of questions asked during the character creation process.
Name: The name you want your character to be called.
Gender: What gender you want your character to be.
Alignment: The alignment that you want for your character.
Alignment is used to determine if a given priest or
priestess will heal your character, and to determine if
a monster will negotiate with you. A list of available
alignments is listed below:
Chaotic Evil
Lawful Evil
Evil
Chaotic Good
Lawful Good
Good
Neutral Evil
Neutral Good
Neutral
Character Attributes: At this point the game will randomly
generate your character's attributes. Each
attribute determines your character's
strengths and weaknesses in certain aspects
of the game. You can have the game re-roll
these attributes until you are happy with
their values. In all cases, the higher the
value, the better. Below is a listing of
the randomly generated character attributes:
Strength: The strength attribute ranges from 1 to 20. This is
used in determining the amount of damage that your
character does to an opponent during combat. If your
strength is greater than 15, you will receive a
damage bonus against your opponent. If your strength
is less than 15, you will be assessed a damage
penalty.
Dexterity: The dexterity attribute ranges from 1 to 20. This
is used in determining your ability to hit an
opponent during combat, as well as his ability to
hit you. If your dexterity is greater than 15, you
will receive a 'to hit' bonus against your
opponent, increasing your chance to hit your opponent
and decreasing your opponent's chance of hitting
you. If your dexterity is below 15, you will
receive a 'to hit' penalty, decreasing your chance
to hit your opponent and increasing his chance to
hit you.
Constitution: The constitution attribute ranges from 1 to 20.
This attribute is used in the determination of
contracting a disease of some sort. As with the
other attributes, you gain a bonus if your
constitution is greater than 15 and a penalty if
your constitution is lower than 15.
Hit Points: This attribute ranges from 9 to 12 for new
characters. Hit points are basically your
character's life force. When you get hit in
combat, you lose hit points. If your hit points
get to zero or less, your character dies. You can
restore lost hit points by means of a healing
potion. When your character advances a skill
level, his overall hit points are raised by 1 to
6.
Disarm Trap: This attribute is a percentage. It is used in
determining your character's ability to find and
disarm traps.
The Main Menu
═════════════
The options on the main menu are pretty much self explanatory.
However, I will give a brief description of each option.
[A] View History: Display the history of Korindia.
[B] View Story Line: Display the game's story line.
[C] View Documentation: Display the game's full documentation.
[D] View Credits: Display the program and scenario credits.
[E] View High Scores: Display the high scores file.
[F] View Hall of Fame: Display the hall of fame. The hall of
fame is a list of players who have won
the game.
[G] List Players: List all players currently active in the
game.
[H] View Character Profile: Display your character's
statistics and inventory. This
option is fully explained later in
this documentation.
[I] Change Character Name: Change your character's name.
[J] Create New Character: Create a new character. This option
first deletes your current character.
[L] Load Game: Load a previously saved game.
[S] Save Game: Save your current game.
[P] Play Game: Play the game.
[Q] Quit Game: Exit to the BBS.
Character Profile
═════════════════
The character profile is a display of all of your character's
statistics and inventory. Below is a sample character profile,
followed by a description of each piece of information.
Name: This is your character's name.
Gender: This is your character's gender.
Alignment: This is your character's alignment.
Level: This is your character's current level of ability. It
is displayed as a number followed by a description for
that level. These two statistics are separated by a
forward slash.
Experience: This is the amount of experience that your
character has earned. When your character gains
enough experience, he will be raised a level.
Experience is gained by defeating monsters in
battle.
Hit Points: This displays your current hit points, followed by
the total amount of hit points possible for your
character. These statistics are separated be a
forward slash. You can use these statistics to
determine how damaged your character is. If both
of these values are equal, your character has
sustained no damage. If the current hit points is
lower than the total possible hit points, your
character is hurt. The difference between the
total possible hit points and the current hit
points tells you how much damage that you have
sustained.
Gold: This tells how many gold pieces that your character is
carrying. Gold pieces are the common currency of
Korindia. With them you can purchase just about
anything. You gain gold pieces by defeating monsters
or from treasure found in dungeons.
Strength: The strength attribute ranges from 1 to 20. This is
used in determining the amount of damage that your
character does to an opponent during combat. If your
strength is greater than 15, you will receive a
damage bonus against your opponent. If your strength
is less than 15, you will be assessed a damage
penalty.
Dexterity: The dexterity attribute ranges from 1 to 20. This
is used in determining your ability to hit an
opponent during combat, as well as his ability to
hit you. If your dexterity is greater than 15, you
will receive a 'to hit' bonus against your
opponent, increasing your chance to hit your opponent
and decreasing your opponent's chance of hitting
you. If your dexterity is below 15, you will
receive a 'to hit' penalty, decreasing your chance
to hit your opponent and increasing his chance to
hit you.
Constitution: The constitution attribute ranges from 1 to 20.
This attribute is used in the determination of
contracting a disease of some sort. As with the
other attributes, you gain a bonus if your
constitution is greater than 15 and a penalty if
your constitution is lower than 15.
Disarm Trap: This attribute is a percentage. It is used in
determining your character's ability to find and
disarm traps.
Armor: This is the type of armor that your character is
wearing. A plus symbol ("+") followed by a number
before the armor type indicates that this armor is
magical. There are many different types of armor
available to your character. Each type of armor has a
rating called "armor class." This rating helps
determine a monster's ability to hit your character
during combat. The higher the rating, the more
difficult it is for a monster to hit you. If your
armor is magical, the number following the plus symbol
indicates the armor's magical bonus. This value is
assessed as a penalty against a monster's attempt to
hit you during combat. (For complete information on
armor types and armor class ratings, refer to the
section on Shops.)
Weapon: This is the type of weapon that your character is
currently using. A plus symbol ("+") followed by
number before the weapon type indicates that this is
a magical weapon, and this number is called the
weapon's bonus value. There are many different types
of weapons available to your character. Each weapon
has it's own set of statistics. If your weapon is
magical, the bonus rating is added as a bonus
adjustment to your ability to hit a monster. It is
also added as a bonus damage adjustment when you
successfully hit a monster. (For a complete
description of weapons, refer to the section on
Shops.)
Health: This indicates the health of your character. If you
have contracted some sort of disease it will be shown
here. If your character hasn't contracted any
diseases, this will say "Healthy." (For a complete
list of diseases and cures, refer to the section on
Shops. Specifically Alchemist Shops and Temples)
Inventory: This is a list of items that your character is
carrying. The only items that your character can
have in his/her inventory are potions and relics.
(For complete information on potions, refer to the
section on Diseases. For complete information on
relics, refer to the section on Relics.)
The Terrain Map
═══════════════
As explained earlier in this documentation, movement around
the terrain map is accomplished using the numeric keypad.
At the lower left portion of the map, you will see a legend
describing the terrain types and other important features.
Somewhere in the upper center of the map you will see a "Ω" (Omega
symbol). This symbol is your character. If you press one of the
movement keys this symbol will move on the map.
At the bottom of the screen, you will see a brief menu of
options available on the terrain map. A description of each one
is listed below:
[Q] Quit: This exits back to the game's main menu.
[V] View Character: View your character's statistics.
[U] Use Potion: This option allows you to use any potion that
you are carrying. (Refer to the section on
Diseases for a description of the uses for
potions.)
[S] Save Character: This will save your character's current
location and your character's current
statistics. If your character gets
killed, you can then re-load from the
saved position.
On the terrain map, there are several places that you may
enter. These are the towns, dungeons, and ruins. Each of these
is explained below in their own sections.
Each time you move on the terrain map there is a 20% chance of
encountering a monster. Terrain monsters are specific to certain
terrains. This ensures that you won't encounter a Treant in the
middle of the water. (For complete details on monster encounters,
refer to the section Monster Encounters and Combat.)
Dungeons
════════
As with the terrain maps, your character is an "Ω" (Omega
symbol.) You move around the dungeon map using the keys on your
numeric keyboard. Unlike the terrain map, in the dungeon map you
can only see those parts of the map that you have seen or
traversed before. Your range of vision is one square in every
direction. As you move around the map, the game updates the
display.
There are certain features in the dungeon maps that indicate
what occupies each square. There are no legends displayed on the
dungeon maps. It is up to you to discover what each symbol
represents.
Dungeon maps contain several invisible or hidden objects.
These are traps and secret doors.
Traps:
Traps are always displayed as a blank space, effectively
making them invisible. There are only two methods for finding
traps. The first and most painful is to accidentally set one
off. The second is handled by the game. It determines if you
have found and disarmed the trap based on your Disarm Trap
rating, and the trap's difficulty rating. Once you have set
off or disarmed a trap, it is no longer active and you can
freely traverse the square that it occupied.
Secret Doors:
Secret doors look just like walls. The only way to
discover them is by trying to move onto the square that they
are on. If it's a real wall, you will be informed. If it is
a secret door, you will be moved to that square.
At the bottom of your screen is a brief menu of options that
are available during dungeon play. Below is a full description of
these options:
[Q] Quit: This exits back to the game's main menu. Before
exiting to the main menu, you will be asked if you
wish to save your character's statistics and
position.
[V] View Character: View your character's statistics.
[U] Use Potion: This option allows you to use any potion that
you are carrying. (Refer to the section on
Diseases for a description of the uses for
potions.)
[S] Save Character: This will save your character's current
location and your character's current
statistics. If your character gets
killed, you can then re-load from the
saved position.
Each time you move on the dungeon map there is a 20% chance
that you will encounter a monster. (For complete details on
monster encounters, refer to the section titled Monster Encounter
and Combat.)
Ruins
═════
Ruins are a special part of The Dragon's Claw. Each one has a
different purpose. Basically ruins are magically or physically
protected places that can only be traversed by special means.
Physically protected ruins are those guarded by a monster.
To learn all the aspects of ruins and the monsters that guard
some of them, you must play the game.
Towns and Shops
═══════════════
Towns range in size from small farming communities to large
cities. When you first enter a town, you are shown a brief
description of the town. Each town has a variety of shops and
other interesting places to spend your money. A town menu
consists of some statistics about the town, a letter for each
shop, and the two commands available in all towns. The town
statistics and universal commands are described below. Each shop
will be discussed in detail later in this section.
Name: Name of the town you are in.
Population: Population of the town.
Elevation: The town's elevation above sea level.
Mayor: Name of the town's mayor.
Alignment: The town's general alignment.
[V] View Character: View your character's statistics.
[Q] Quit: This option exits the town and returns you to the
terrain map.
Shops are places where you can buy a variety of different
items. Included in the listing of shops are special places that
aren't exactly shops. These places do however offer special
services to your character.
There are certain characteristics that are common to all
shops. When you enter a shop you will be shown a brief
description of the shop and it's proprietor. Each shop has it's
own menu. At the top of each menu you will see the shop's name
and the proprietor's name.
Armory:
The armory is a shop where you can purchase armor for your
character. Every piece of armor has a protection rating
called an armor class. The armor class of your armor is used
to determine a monster's chance to hit your character during
combat. The higher your armor class rating, the more
difficult it is for the monster to hit you. Some types of
armor are magical. If your armor is magical, it will usually
have a magical bonus. This value is assessed as a penalty
against a monster's attempt to hit you during combat. Other
types of magical armor are just specially crafted armor.
Instead of having a bonus rating, they have a fairly high
armor class rating. Armor with a magical bonus rating, and
several of the specially crafted armor types, cannot be
purchased in a shop. It must be found as treasure. Below is
a complete list of armor types and their armor class rating.
Type: Armor Class:
Clothes 1
Leather 2
Padded Leather 3
Studded Leather 4
Ring Mail 5
Scale Mail 6
Chain Mail 7
Splint Mail 8
Banded Mail 9
Plate Mail 10
Samurai Armor 11
Mithril Scale Mail 13
Drow Scale Mail 15
Adamantine Plate Mail 18
The armory consists of a list of available armor types,
each preceded by a letter. To purchase a piece of armor,
choose the letter corresponding to the armor type that you
wish to purchase. You will be shown the cost and armor class
of this armor, and prompted as to whether you want to buy it.
In addition to the list of available armor types, there are
two other options. These are explained below.
[X] Sell Armor: This option allows you to sell your
current armor to the proprietor. You will
receive about 70% of the retail value of
the armor.
[Q] Quit: Exit to the town menu.
Weapons Shop:
The weapons shop is a shop where you can purchase weapons
for your character. There are two damage statistics for every
weapon. The first statistic is the weapon's base damage.
This is the minimum amount of damage caused by this weapon
when you successfully hit an opponent. The second statistic is
called "damage dice." Damage dice tells how many four sided
dice to roll to determine the additional damage caused. Some
types of weapons are magical. If your weapon is magical, it
will usually have a magical bonus. This value is assessed as
a damage bonus when you successfully hit an opponent during
combat. Other types of magical weapons are just specially
crafted weapons. Instead of having a bonus rating, they have
a fairly high base damage and damage dice ratings. Weapons
with a magical bonus rating, and several of the specially
crafted weapon types, cannot be purchased in a shop. It must
be found as treasure. Below is a complete list of all weapons
available in the game.
Weapon: Base Damage: Damage Dice:
Fist 0 1
Dagger 1 1
Staff 1 2
Short Sword 2 2
Axe 3 2
Mace 3 3
Bastard Sword 4 3
Battle Axe 4 4
Long Sword 5 4
Great Sword 5 5
Elven Long Bow 6 5
Dwarven Hammer 6 6
Drow Long Bow 10 5
Sword of Sharpness 10 6
Sword of Might 10 7
Vorpal Sword 15 8
Thor's Hammer 20 10
The Dragon's Claw 25 20
The weapons shop consists of a list of available weapons,
each preceded by a letter. To purchase a weapon, choose the
letter corresponding to the weapon that you wish to purchase.
You will be shown the cost and damage statistics of this
weapon, and prompted as to whether you want to buy it. In
addition to the list of available weapons, there are two other
options. These are explained below.
[X] Sell Weapon: This option allows you to sell your
current weapon to the proprietor. You
will receive about 70% of the retail
value of the weapon.
[Q] Quit: Exit to the town menu.
Transportation Shop:
There are several types of transportation shops in the
game. There are liveries and ship yards. Each sells
different modes of transportation. Each mode of
transportation allows your character to traverse different
types of terrain. Each transportation shop menu consists of a
list of available modes of transportation preceded by a
letter. To purchase a mode of transportation, choose the
letter corresponding to the mode of transportation that you
wish to purchase. You will be shown the cost of this mode of
transportation, and prompted as to whether you want to buy it.
The only other option available in the transportation shop
menu is "Q" to quit to the town menu. Below is a complete
list of transportation modes and the types of terrain
traversable with them.
Transportation: Terrain Types:
Walking Forest
Plains
Swamp
Galley Water
Horse Forest
Plains
Swamp
Desert
Alchemist:
The alchemist's shop is a place to purchase potions of
different types. Every alchemy shop will sell at least one
type of potion, the healing potion. Other potions are
specialized potions designed to cure some type of disease.
The alchemist's shop menu consists of a list of available
potions preceded by a letter. To purchase a potion, press the
letter key associated with that potion. You will be shown the
cost and disease cured by this potion, and prompted as to
whether you want to buy it. The only other option available in
the alchemist's shop menu is "Q" to quit to the town menu.
Below is a complete list of potions and the diseases that they
cure.
Potion: Disease Cured:
Eye of Fire Newt Rat Poison
Shrieker Ichor Dioxin
Treant Bark Small Pox
Quinine Malaria
Rakshasa Whiskers The Black Plague
Penicillin Herpes
Boiling Vinegar Syphallus
Aspirin The Flu
Smoked Unicorn Dung Rot Grubs
Temple:
Temples are holy places presided over by a priest or
priestess. At the top of the menu you will see the following
information about the temple.
Name: Temple name.
Priest/Priestess: Name of the temple's priest or
priestess.
Alignment: The alignment of the temple's God or goddess.
This is compared against your character's
alignment to decide if the priest or priestess
will cure your disease or curse.
The rest of the menu consists of a list of diseases and
curses curable by this priest/priestess. To perform a healing
ritual, press the letter key associated with that ritual. You
will be shown the cost and disease cured by this ritual , and
prompted as to whether you want to have it performed. At the
bottom of the menu is the option "Q" to exit back to the town
menu. Below is a complete list of rituals and the diseases or
curses that they cure.
Ritual: Disease/Curse:
Exorcism The Curse of Falling Parts
Faith Healing The Curse of Rotting Flesh
Banishing The Curse of Motzatokl
Laying On of Hands The Curse of Wasting
Inn:
Inn's are places for your character to rest overnight.
They provide a safe haven from the beasts that can attack your
character during the night. At the top of each inn's menu you
will see the following information.
Name: Name of this inn.
Proprietor: Name of this inn's proprietor.
Quality: This is the inn's quality rating. It is used to
determine your chance of contracting a disease
during your stay at the inn.
Cost: This is the cost of a night's stay at this inn.
There are only two options on an inn's menu are described
below.
[S] Stay for Night: Spend the night at this inn.
[Q] Quit: Exit to the town menu.
Relics
══════
Relics are special items found in dungeons that have some form
of special power. A relic's special power will not always be
obvious. It is up to you to determine a relic's use.
Monster Encounters and Combat
═════════════════════════════
Monsters can be encountered on both the terrain and dungeon
maps. For every move that you make on the map, there is a 20%
chance that you will encounter a monster.
When you encounter a monster, you will see a brief description
of the monster and prompted to press any key. After you press a
key to continue, the game will randomly decide if you were
surprised by the monster. If it is determined that the monster
has surprised you, the monster will immediately attack your
character. After the monster's surprise attack or your keypress
to clear the monster's description, you will be presented with the
battle menu. Below is a list and complete description of these
options.
[A] Attack: Attack the monster. This option will cause you to
attempt to hit the monster. If you succeed, you
will be shown a description of your hit and the
damage, in hit points, that you caused to the
monster. If you fail to hit the monster, you will
see the message "You missed the [Monster's Name]."
After your attack, the monster will attack you.
[F] Flee: Try to escape the battle. If you choose this option,
the game will determine if you were successful in
fleeing from the battle. Either way, you will be
informed by the game. If you failed to flee from
the battle, the monster will get it's turn to attack
you again.
[B] Berserk: This option will cause you to fight your opponent
to the death without stopping. It also has some
minor advantages and disadvantages. The main
advantage is that you gain a damage bonus of +2,
causing you to do more damage if you hit your
opponent. The major disadvantage is that you
receive a 'to hit' penalty of -1, making it
harder for you to hit your opponent.
[U] Use Potion: This option allows you to use one of your
potions during combat. In most cases, you'd
use this option to use a healing potion to
regain some of your lost hit points. Unlike
the other battle menu options, the monster
doesn't get it's turn to attack you after you
choose this option.
[V] View Opponent: This option displays your opponent's
information. It displays your opponent's
name and hit point information. The hit
point information is in the same format as
your character's.
Treasure
════════
Treasure items are found in dungeons or when you defeat a
monster in combat. Usually a treasure will contain only gold
pieces. On rare occasions, you will find a healing potion in the
treasure. On very rare occasions, you will find a weapon or
armor. And, on very rare occasions, you will find a magical
weapon or armor.
Credits
═══════
I would like to acknowledge and thank the following people
for their help in creating this game.
Micah Hall: Thanks for the help with the monsters, for all the
suggestions, and for testing everything as the
game progressed.
Tim Seufert: Thanks for proof reading all of the text files
and fixing my numerous spelling mistakes.
Triumph Software authors Chistopher Russo and Jeremy DuBois:
Thanks for providing a powerful and easy to use
communications library.
Closing Remarks
═══════════════
I think that this should be enough information for you to play
The Dragon's Claw. As with any game, certain aspects can only be
learned by playing it. There is nothing complicated or difficult
about playing this game. Nearly everything is obvious, or self
explanatory.
Enjoy the game!