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Text File | 1990-02-22 | 53KB | 1,504 lines

PALADIN Typed in by THE SOUTHERN STAR. Edited by PARASITE. NOTES When you are using the file selector box to enter the name of a file to save a paladin, quest, or saved game, click the mouse pointer on the file field (the rectangular box to the right of the word "file") and type the name you wish to give the file. (Ex.: GAME16) When running Omnitrend's Paladin with only 512K, some sound effects will not be heard. Whenever the manual refers to "the mouse button", and your mouse has more than one button, use the left-hand button. Omnitrend's Paladin only uses the left-hand button. "Clicking" means "press the mouse button". "Shift-click" means "hold down one of the shift keys and press the mouse button at the same time". The "current member" referred to thoughout the manual is the member who appears in the center of the Combat Window and whose statistics appear in the Member Statistics Window. STARTING A NEW GAME Select "New..." from the Quest menu. An item selector box will appear. All of the names that appear are 'quest files'. These quest files contain all the data for your party, the opponents, and maps of the combat area. What you are going to create is a 'game file'. This is a combination of a quest file and a 'paladin file'. More on the paladin file later. Once you have selected a quest file, the quest item selector box will be replaced by a paladin selector box. This is where you select the paladin for your game. A sample paladin "BRANDON" is included with your game. Later on, you'll probably want to create a paladin of your own. Now you have to name the game file in which your current game is going to be stored. Once you have done this, the program will save the new game to the disk and your game will start. Important - When a game file is created, it erases the paladin file you have selected and incorporates it into the game file. This ensures that the paladin file can be used only by one quest at a time. The only ways to recover the paladin file are to win the game in progress or delete the quest with the "Delete..." menu entry. Deleting a game file outside of the game will also erase the paladin file which has been incorporated into it. ORDER OF PLAY Game play in Omnitrend's Paladin alternates between moving your own party members and the computer moving its opponents. The enemy combat phase will not begin until you shift click the Next icon or all of your party members use up their movement points. Player Phase - Each round begins with the player having the option to move all, some , or none of his members. You can move a member until he runs out of movement points or you click the Next icon. To Start the Enemy Combat Phase - shift click the Next icon. If all of your members have used up their movement points for the round, the computer will automatically enter the Enemy Phase. Each Player Phase takes 30 seconds of game time. Enemy Phase - When the enemy attack phase begins, the member statistics window will change its title to "Attacks" and the legend "Enemy Movement..." will appear. Enemy troops appear in the combat window only when they are attacking your men. At the end of the enemy phase, the player phase begins again. MOVEMENT POINTS Each member is given a certain quantity of movement points (mp). All of the member activities except for changing the view scale (more on that later) take up a certain number of points. For example, moving onto a clear terrain square costs 2 mp, while swinging a sword takes 3 mp. The combat activiites such as taking an object, swinging, moving, and using an object can all be mixed at your discretion during the same turn. If you do not have sufficient mp for the activity you want to perform, the computer will inform you with an alert box. If all of the movement points for the current member have been exhausted, the program will automatically advance to the next member in the party. Movement points for each member are based on: the member's character class, the vitality of the member, and the member's current encumbrance. Deploying Your party The members in your party always enter the quest through the entry pentagram. The entry pentagram must be clear in order for your members to enter. If a member is unable to enter, the program will jump to the enemy combat phase. You can continue moving a member until he runs out of movement points, gets stunned, or you click the Next icon. Each time you click Next, the program will advance to the next member in the party who is in the combat zone, is not stunned, and has at least one movement point. In addition, you can make any member who is visible in the combat window the current member by holding down the Alternate key and clicking on the desired member. (Macintosh players should use the Option key instead of the Alternate key.) If wands of detection and rings of farsight are available, use them whenever possible. By saving time searching for your objects, you raise the odds of successfully completing your quest. ENCUMBRANCE There are thirteen different types of objects which may be found in a quest. Each of those objects has an encumbrance value. Encumbrance is a measure of the object's bulk. Obviously, the bulkier the type of object, the fewer of them the member may carry. Carrying a large number of encumbrance points has two disadvantages. One ,the weight reduces the number of available mp's per turn. Two, members carrying a large quantity of encumbrance points are more likely to be selected as a target by enemy forces. VICTORY CONDITIONS The victory conditions are: Rescue prisoners - You must rescue all of the prisoners in the quest if this is one of the victory conditions. Obtain Scrolls - This works the same way as rescue prisoners. Exit cobat zone - All of the members in your party must find and use the exit pentagram if this is one of the victory conditions. Kill n% opponents - At least n% of the opponents in the quest must be killed if this is one of the victory conditions. Quest time limit - All of the other victory conditions in the game must be satisfied before the time limit expires. All quests have a time limit. All of the victory conditions are non-exclusive, that is, more than one may be in effect for a given quest. Thus, in order to complete a quest you may have to rescue prisoners and move all of the party's members through the exit pentagram before the time limit expires. MAKING NEW PALADINS If your party meets a strong foe and your Paladin is killed, you will need to create a new one. To create a new paladin, run the Quest Builder program and select "New Paladin..." CHAINING BETWEEN QUESTS Some quests lead directly into others. That is, when all of the surviving members of your party have departed through the exit pentagram and you have successfully completed the quest, Paladin automatically brings you to the next quest and creates a game file for you under the same name as your previous quest. There are two different ways Paladin may chain between quests. If the next quest has members for your party already created, your current party will be replaced by the new one. If the next quest does not have any members for your party, then all of the surviving party members from your last quest are carried over into the new quest. Their health and vitality remain the same. None of the objects they are carrying will be transferred to the new quest. QUEST STATUS By using the Quest Status function, you can tell which victory conditions have been satisfied and which need more work. THE POSSIBLE STATUS DISPLAYS ARE: VICTORY CONDITION COMPLETE INCOMPLETE Rescue Prisoners All prisoners recovered Not all prisoners recovered. Obtain Scrolls All scrolls recovered Not all scrolls recovered. Kill n% Opponents Kill objective completed More casualties needed. FIGHTING THE ENEMY If the enemy is using orbs of fire or fireballs, avoid clustering your members. Try to keep at least one square between each one. This way, you avoid having three or four casualties from a single blast. Conversely, orbs of fire and fireballs are most effective against clusters of the enemy. Unless you have a large quantity of orbs of fire or fireballs, it is wisest not to "waste" these weapons against single targets. IMPROVING YOUR PALADIN Your overall objective is to improve your paladin. You do this by successfully completing quests. The more active a paladin is, the more likely he will see some kind of improvement at the end of a successful quest. Accuracy is very important but seeing and detecting skills should be honed as well. Paladins who have a fine hand with the sword and possess a superior knowledge of seeing and detecting will achieve knighthood. With knighthood, your paladin will receive a superior sword and armor. SAVING A GAME IN PROGRESS In order to save a game in progress, you must be at the beginning of the Player Movement phase. You may select menu entires, but clicking any of the icons or the combat window will prevent you from saving your game. This is the only point at which you can save the game before quitting. CLOSING A GAME WITHOUT SAVING Select "Close" from the Quest menu. When the program asks you if you want to save the game, click No. QUITTING PALADIN Use "Quit" from the Quest menu to exit the program. If you select this at the beginning of the Player Movement phase, you will be given the option of saving your progress before closing. At any other point, the program will quit without saving. THE COMBAT WINDOW The combat window is the largest window on the screen. During the player combat phase, the current player member will always appear in the center of the combat window. During the enemy combat phase, the current enemy member will appear in the center of the combat window. THE STATISTICS WINDOW The member statistics window has several functions. During the Enemy Combat phase, information on enemy attacks are shown in the Statistics Window. During the Player Combat phase, this window displays the battle statistics for the current party member. These statistics are: Moves - the number of moves left in the current member's turn. Vital - the vitality of the current member. If the vitality drops below 30%, it will be displayed in red as a warning (Macintosh version excluded). Health - the health of the current member. If this goes to 0%, the member is dead. When the current member's health falls below 50%, it will be displayed in red as a warning (Macintosh version excluded). Enc - the current encumbrance of the member (NOT the maximum encumbrance). This figure will be displayed in green if it is greater than 0. (Macintosh version excluded). Accur - the accuracy of the current member's swordmanship. If the member is ranger or a mage, this is a measure of his spell casting ability as well. Detec - the percentage chance the current member has of successfully using a wand of detection. Seeing - the percentage chance the current member has of successfully using a ring of farsight. COUNTDOWN TIMER The countdown timer displays the amount of time remaining in the quest. WIDEVIEW DISPLAY The wideview display is a 21 by 21 composite map of the terrain surrounding the current member. It can be displayed by clicking on the Change Scale icon. Information for this wideview is provided by other members moving through the area and rangers using wands of detection or rings of farsight. When rangers use the wideview, opponents appear as flashing green squares on the Atari ST and Amiga, nested boxes on the IBM, and as grey squares on the Macintosh. DROP OBJECT Click this icon to drop an object A dialog box will appear with a list of all the objects the current member is carrying. Note that the member's sword and armor will not appear on this list as they may not be removed. Click on the name of the object you want to drop and then click "OK". There are several reasons you might want to drop something. A very good reason is that you no longer want to carry something because of its encumbrance penalty. You might want to transfer an object from one member to another. In addition, the sphere of deflection works only if you drop it. A dropped object always lands directly underneath the current member. Only one object may be in a square at a time. It takes 1 movement point to drop an object. USE STAIRS Click this icon to ascend/descend a staircase. If the corresponding square above or below the staircase is blocked by another member, the mouse pointer will change into a stop sign. If the corresponding square is blocked by an opponent, the opponent will be killed and your level will be changed. It takes 5 movement points to use the stairs. TAKE OBJECT Click this icon to take an object. You can take any object directly adjacent to or in the same square as the current member. The object must be visible; you cannot take an object directly from another member. The mouse pointer will turn into a pointing hand. Click this on the object you wish to take. Some objects have special messages written on them. These messages appear whenever the object is taken. Whenever an object is taken, it increases the member's total encumbrance. Encumbrance affects the number of movement points your member will receive at the beginning of a turn. Therefore, heavily laden members will not move at their highest speed. It takes 1 movement point to take an object. USE OBJECT Click this icon to use an object. A dialog box will appear with a list of all the objects the current member is carrying. Click on the name of the object you want to use and then click "OK". All of the objects and their uses are detailed in the section "Objects and Their Uses." The objects require varying amounts of movement points to use. They are: OBJECT MOVEMENT POINTS Orb of Fire 5 Explosive Crystals 10 Potion of Vitality 3 Bag of Holding N/A Potion of Healing 9 Bolt 5 Crossbow N/A Ring of Farsight 9 Wand of Detection 15 Sphere of Deflection N/A 1 Amulet of Levitation 10 Prisoner N/A Scroll N/A 1 Sphere is activated by dropping it. OPEN DOOR Click this icon to open a door adjacent to the current member. The mouse pointer will turn into a small key. Place this key over the door you want to open and click the mouse. If you have enough movement points, the door will open. The doors require varying amounts of movement points to open. Pine doors require 3, Oak doors require 5, and Metal doors require 10. SWING SWORD Click this icon to swing the current member's sword. The sword will be wielded in the direction that the member is facing. If the swing does connect, a tiny skull wll appear on the target. This holds true for opponent-initiated attacks as well. If the swing hits an opponent, the amount of damage that the sword generates is subtracted from the opponent's health, minus the amount of protection his armor provides. ARMOR NON-MAGICAL ATTACK ARMOR NON-MAGICAL ATTACK PROTECTION DAMAGE PROTECTION DAMAGE Paladin 40% 80% Fighter 30% 65% Mage 15% 35% Dragon 15% 35% Ranger 15% 65% Troll 30% 45% Swordsman 30% 65% Zombie 40% 80% Thief 15% 45% Sorcerer 40% N/A 1 Spirit 65% 80% 1 Sorcerers only attack magically. For example, an enemy fighter (armor protection = 30%) is hit by a swing from your paladin (sword damage = 80%). The result is that the enemy fighter would lose 50% health (80% - 30% = 50% loss). The same holds true for your own members. Note that it is possible to shoot your own troops by mistake, so look before you swing. Swinging a sword requires 3 movement points. CAST A SPELL To case a spell, shift click the Swing Sword icon. This will cause a dialog box with radio-type buttons to appear. Within your party, both Rangers and Mages can cast spells. Mages have the full complement of spells, while reangers can cast only Detect Secret Doors, Confuse, Invisibility, and Speed spells. NEXT BUTTON Click this button to switch current members. This will advance you to the next member in your party or, if you have just moved the last member in the party, loop back to the paladin. Shift click the Next button to enter the Enemy Combat phase. CHANGE SCALE BUTTON Click this button to get a "wide angel" view of the surrounding terrain. Information for this wideview is provided by other members moving through the area and party members using rings of farsight or wands of detection. When rangers use the wideview, opponents will appear as flashing squares on the Atari ST and Amiga, as nested boxes on the IBM, and as grey squares on the Macintosh. ABOUT PALADIN... The "About Paladin..." entry displays a dialog box with information about the program version and release date. NEW... "New..." is used to start a new game. This is a three stage process. First, select the quest you wish to play. Next, select a paladin. If there aren't any paladin files on the disk, you will have to create a new one with the Quest Builder program. Finally, enter the name under which this current game is to be saved. When all this has been done, Paladin will create a game file, which means that you now have a game in progress on the disk. RESUME... Use "Resume..." to continue a game already in progress. DELETE.. Use "Delete..." to delete game files. An item selector will appear with the names of all the games in progress. Select any one of these. Note that using this function to delete a game file will restore the incorporated paladin file. SAVE "Save" will save your current progress to the disk and continue play. You may only save at the beginning of your Movement and Combat Phase. CLOSE Use "Close" to stop a game in progress. If you select this at the beginning of the Combat Phase, you will be given the option to save your progress before closing. At any other character's point, the program will stop the current game without saving. QUIT Use "Quit" to exit the program. If you select this at the beginning of the Combat Phase, you will be given the option to save your progress before closing. At any other point, the program will quit without saving. PREFACE The preface display contains background information for the quest and possibly clues as to the locations and strengths of your objectives. VICTORY CONDITIONS The victory conditions dialog box displays the objectives which must be completed in order to win the game. QUEST STATUS The quest status dialog box displays whether or not each of the quest's objectives have been met. BASIC CHARACTERISTICS MOVEMENT POINTS - Each member is given a certain amount of movement points at the beginning of his turn. Almost all of the activities a party member can perform use movement points (mp). For example, moving onto a clear terrain square costs 2 mp, while swinging a sword takes 3 mp. Combat activities such as taking an object, swinging a sword, moving, casting magic, and using an object can all be mixed at your discretion. If you do not have sufficient mp for the activity you want to perform, the computer will inform you with an alert box. If all of the movement points for the current member have been exhausted, the program will automatcally advance to the next or loop back to the paladin if you were on the last party member. Movement points allocated to each member are based on the member's class, the vitality of the member, and the his current encumbrance. VITALITY - Vitality is a measure of how well-rested a party member is. The higher the vitality, the more moves a party member has available in subsequent turns. If a member were at the 50% vitality level, he would have 50% of his maximum number of moves available. As a party member moves about, his vitality is reduced at the same rate as his movement points. So if aparty member with 100% vitality fired a sword (3 mp) his new vitality would be 97%. Vitality is replenished at the rate of heath% divided by 4, which means the maximum rate of replenishment is 25% per turn (100% health/4=25%). If a member's vitality is 0%, then the member is considered stunned, and he may not move until the next round. HEALTH - Health is a measurement of the amount of damage a party member can absorb before dying. When a member's health drops to 0%, he has died. Above 50% health, a party member cannot be killed while taking hits. Below 50%,however, a party member can die while being hit, even if the hit does not drop his health to 0%. As the party member's health falls closer to 0%, the likelihood of this occurring is much greater. ENCUMBRANCE-This is a measure of how many objects a member can carry Carrying a large number of encumbrance points has two disadvantages. One, the weight reduces the number of available mp's per turn. Two, the party member is more likely to be selected as a target by enemy forces. ACCURACY - is the measurement of a party member's accuracy with a sword. For party members with spell casting talent, this is also a measure of their success rate with spells. DETECTING - is the measurement of how well a party member uses a wand of detection. SEEING - is the measurement of how well a party member uses a ring of farsight. MOVEMENT As with any other function, moving your party member will consume some movement points. Each terrain type (grass, rocks, grating) consumes a different amount of mp when it is entered. In order to move your current party member into a new square, he must have at least as many mp as are required to enter the square. TERRAIN TYPE MP REQUIRED TERRAIN TYPE MP REQUIRED Clear 2 Bed 5 Dirt 2 Dresser 6 Grass 2 Table 5 Light Vegetation 4 Chair 4 Heavy Vegetation 6 Wench 4 Rocky Dirt 4 Entry Pentagram 3 Rubble 4 Exit Pentagram 3 Stun Field 8 Chest 4 Stepping Stones 4 Strong Man 6 Grating 3 Water/Dirt 4 Stairs 5 Water/Blank 4 Open Door 4 Boy 3 Shepherd 4 Spilled Oil 8 Farmer 4 Hangman 6 Bard 4 The current member will always occupy the center of the combat window. Party members can move in the four compass directions. To move the party member to a particular square on his current row or column, simply click the mouse on the square. The party member will march into the square or as far as is possible before running into a wall or running out of movement points. If the party member does not have enough mp to move into the square, the square is not of a type that the party member may occupy, the square is occupied by another player party member, or the square is already occupied by an opponent, the mouse pointer will turn into a stop sign, indicating movement is not allowed. To change a party member's facing without having to move the party member from his current square, hold either shift key down and click on the adjacent square you wish the party member to face. This takes 1 movement point (mp). In addition, you can make any party member who is visible in the combat window the current party member by holding down the Alternate key and clicking the desired party member. (Macintosh players should use the Option key instead of the Alternate key.) COMBAT SWORDS - All party members carry swords. These swords may not be transferred or exchanged. Swords cannot be destroyed by combat. SPECIALTY DAMAGE SWORD GENERATES Paladin 80% Ranger 65% Swordsman 65% Thief 45% Mage 35% It takes 3 mp to swing a sword. ORBS OF FIRE - Orbs of fire will explode around friendly troops and it is possible to detonate one in the same square as the current party member. Orbs of fire will also detonate oil casks, so caution must be exercised when using them! Orbs of fire explode in a 3 by 3 pattern, with the target in the center. Each square receives the equivalent of a hit from a90% sword. EXPLOSIVE CRYSTALS - When explosive crystals are activated, they drop into the current party member's square. The explosive crystals ignore any objects which may already be in the square. Explosive crystals will explode around friendly troops, and it is possible to detonate one in the same square as the current party member. Explosive crystals will also detonate fuel tanks in the same fashion as orbs of firs. Caution must be exercised when using explosive crystals! Explosive crystals explode in a 5 by 5 pattern, with the crystals in the center. Each square receives the equivalent of a hit from a 100% sword. Caution: Once an explosive crystal has been activated, it cannot be aborted, but will explode at the end of the current party member's turn. CROSSBOWS - A party member must have at least one bolt and one crossbow in order to fire. When a bolt is fired, it travels in a straight line until it hits a valid target (i.e., a wall, a party member, etc.) or leaves the edge of the combat zone. A target hit by a bolt from a crossbow receives a hit equivalent to a 90% sword. Caution: Shooting bolts at targets not readily visible may result in damage to other party members or destruction of necessary quest objectives. MAGIC DETECT DOOR - will reveal any secret doors on previously explored terrain until the next Enemy Combat Phase. All of your part members will be able to see the hidden doors. Casting a detect door spell takes 10 movement points. CONFUSE - makes approaching opponents think that they cannot cross particular patches of terrain. In some cases, this makes the enemy thnk that it cannot reach you at all. Casting a confuse spell takes 8 movement points. INVISIBILITY - renders the caster invisible for the next 2 rounds. The caster cannot be followed or attacked when invisible. The invisibility spell cannot be cast on other party members. Casting an invisibility spell takes 20 movement points. MIND STUN - brings the affected enemy's vitality down to 0%, leaving it without movement points for the next round. Vitality is returned to the affected at the normal rate (health/4% per round). Mind stuns will not travel through closed doors or walls. Casting a mind stun spell takes 10 movement points. FIREBALL - is a ball of fire (surprise!) that travels along until it hits something solid, like an enemy. Fireballs explode just like orbs of fire, doing 90% damage to the 3 x 3 area surrounding the target. Casting a fireball spell takes 10 movement points. SPEED - is a spell which allows the user to store up some extra movement points for the next round. The user casts the spell and in the next Player Phase, the user will have an extra 15 movement points added to his total. This cannot be cast on other party memebers. Casting a speed spell takes 20 movement point. TYPES OF PARTY MEMBERS PALADIN - The paladin is your main character. This is the only type of party member who is created independently of any quests. The long-range goal of Paladin is to improve this character, so it is very important that he (or she) does not get killed in combat. If this happens, the paladin's file will be erased. On the other hand, as the quest difficulty level rises, you will find it more and more necessary to use the paladin in dangerous situations. Paladins have a very sharp sword (80% damage) and heavy protective armor. SWORDSMEN - The swordsman is the basic parth member. They carry a heavy sword and they have a fairly high level of mobility. Swordsmen usually comprise the majority of any party. RANGER - Rangers have very light, fast armor, and carry the same swords as swordsmen. Rangers have spell casting ability, but they are limited to the Detect Secret Doors, Confuse, Invisibility, and Speed spells. THIEF - Thieves have the same armor as rangers but a slightly lighter sword. MAGE - Mages wear the same armor as rangers and thieves but they carry a very weak sword. Mages are the primary magic using character class. BASIC CHARACTERISTICS All of the enemies will guard quest objectives that are in their area. For example: if an enemy fighter is in the same area as a scroll, there aren't any player party members around, and capturing scrolls is an objective, then the enemy will guard the scroll until a party member enters the area. FIGHTERS Fighters are equivalent to your swordsmen. Fighters can use crossbows and orbs of fire against your party. In addition, certain special fighters can also cast mind stuns against your part. DRAGONS The dragons you will encounter on your quest are of the smaller, more common variety (Dracos Vulgaris). These stunted versions of the true beast have lost the power of flight and have a relatively weak fire-breathing ability. Dragons attack only adjacent squares. TROLLS Trolls are the dark rulers of the underground, although they often come to the surface to spread their evil ways. Trolls are adept fighters and can use orbs of fire and crossbows. ZOMBIES Zombies are the shambling undead created by demented mages to carry out their evil deeds. Zombies are some of the most powerful and durable fighters due to their non-living status. SORCERERS Sorcerers are mages who have fallen upon evil times. They are dangerous because they do not need to be adjacent to a party member in order to attack him. Sorcerers attack solely by magic, using fireballs and mind stuns. SPIRITS Spirits are all that remain of malevolent creatures that died long ago. Because they are not totally attachec to the material plane, they have the unique ability to pass through any object or terrain with no resistance whatsoever. The spirit attacks by scaring. A scare from a spirit is the equivalent of a blow from an 80% damage sword. ENCUMBRANCE POINTS There are thirteen different types of objects which may be found in a quest. Each of those objects has an encumbrance value. Encumbrance is a measure of the object's bulk. Obviously, the bulkier the type of object, the fewer of them the party member may carry. OBJECT ENCUMBRANCE POINTS OBJECT ENCUMBRANCE POINTS Orb of fire 1 Ring of Farsight 1 Explosive Crystals 5 Wand of Detection 3 Potion of Vitality 2 Sphere of Deflection 4 Bag of Holding 0 Amulet of Levitation 2 Potion of Healing 2 Prisoner 1 Bolt 3 Scroll 1 Crossbow 7 Members carrying a large number of encumbrance points are subject to movement point loss. WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO USE THEM ORB OF FIRE - A short-range magical grenade. When a orb of fire is selected, the mouse pointer turns into a crosshair. Place this crosshair over any pont on the same row or column as the current member and click. The member does not need to be facing the target. EXPLOSIVE CRYSTALS - are a very powerful "time delay" explosive device. When explosive crystals are used, they are dropped into the same square as the current party member, ignoring any other objects which may be in the square. When the current party member's turn is over (running out of mp's, selecting another member, or clicking the "Next" button) the explosive crystals will detonate. Explosive crystals explode in a 5 by 5 pattern, with the crystals in the center. Each square receives the equivalent of a hit from a 100% sword. POTION OF VITALITY - an elixir that restores vim and vigor to the character that uses it. Each time a potion is used it will add 50% to the character's vitality for a maximum of 100%. BAG OF HOLDING - is a magical bag that increases your maximum encumbrance by 10. The effects are cumulative; i.e., 5 bags will provide 50 extra encumbrance points. Each bag will automatically increase your maximum encumbrance if you are carrying it. You do not need to use this object. POTION OF HEALING - is a special blend of herbs and spices that restores a character's health. Each time a potion of healing is used it will add 50% to the character's health for a maximum of 100% health. BOLT - is an arrow that fits into a crossbow. In order to use a bolt, the character must also be carrying a crossbow. When a bolt is fired from a crossbow, it travel in a straight line on the current facing until it hits a valid target (i.e., an enemy, a wall, a party member, etc.) or leaves the edge of the combat zone. A target hit by a bolt from a crossbow receives a hit equivalent to a 90% damage sword. CROSSBOW - is a crank-powered rifle-type bow for firing bolts. A crossbow by itself may not be used but must be held in order to use a bolt. RING OF FARSIGHT - is a small ring which reveals all man-made structures on the same level as the user. In essence, this will give you the floor plans to any level the user is on. You must be standing adjacent to a source of water for this object to work. WAND OF DETECTION - is a magic device that reveals a large area of land around the user and any enemies that might be lurking about it. When a wand of detection is successfully used, it reveals a 17 x 17 area of the current level, centered around the user. If the user is not successful, it will show only the terrain which has already been covered. Successful detection will only show nearby enemies as flashing squares on the nested boxes. SPHERE OF DEFLECTION - will absorb any incoming non-magical attacks. A shield will also cause fireballs and orbs of fire to explode on contact, although the blast radius of these items will remain the same. When a sphere of deflection is hit, there is a 10% chance it will shatter and be destroyed. This device does not need to be selected from Use Object because it activates when dropped. AMULET OF LEVITATION - allows the user to float above the ground, ignoring terrain costs and movement restrictions. The only terrain types an amulet of levitation will not allow you to fly through are closed doors, solid rock, and walls. When the amulet is used, it remains active until; the member runs out of movement points, you click the Use Object icon again, select a different party member, or click the Next button. Each time a member uses the amulet, there is a 10% chance that he will crash at the end of his turn. Once an amulet has been activated, the user cannot take or drop objects, swing a sword, use shafts, open doors, use objects, or cast magic. If the party member ends his turn over either a blank (black) or full water square, he will be killed and removed from the quest. PRISONER - Prisoners are unlucky people being held hostage by the nasty powers-that-be. A prisoner is not a usable item. SCROLL - You know what a scroll is! A scroll is not a useable item. INTERIOR TERRAIN WALLS - The walls come in two types: wood and stone. Explosive crystalss will destroy any type of wall; orbs of fire will destroy wooden walls. Swords will not penetrate walls. Party members canot pass through or fly above walls squares using an amulet of levitation. DOORS - Party members cannot move through closed doors. Pine doors require 3 mp to open, Heavy Oak doors require 5 mp, and Metal doors require 10 mp. Party members cannot fly above doors squares using a amulet of levitation. EXTERIOR TERRAIN WATER - Party members cannot pass through water squares, although they can fly over them if they are using a amulet of levitation. If a party member using a amulet of levitation ends his turn over a water square, he is killed and removed from the quest. SOLID ROCK - Party members cannot fly over or through solid rock squares. SPECIAL TERRAIN STAIRCASES - Staircases require 5 mp to enter, and another 5 mp to use. THE ENTRY PENTAGRAM - In order for your party members to enter the quest, this square must be clear. THE EXIT PENTAGRAM - If the current party member is on this square at the end of his turn, he is removed from the quest and will no longer be allowed to fight. STUN FIELDS - When a party member passes through a stun field, there is a chance that he will be stunned and unable to move. This chance is inversely proportional to the party member's vitality. For example, if a party member with a vitality of 78% passes through a stun field, there is a 22% chance that he will be stunned. TELEPORT PENTAGRAMS - When a party member enters a teleport square, he is teleported to a new location. This can be anywhere, on any level. EMPTY (BLACK) SQUARES - Party members cannot pass through these squares, although they can fly over them is they are using a amulet of levitation. If a party member using a amulet of levitation ends his turn over a black square, he is killed. TERRAIN TABLE TYPE MP'S TO ENTER SPECIAL COMMENTS Walls (All Types) No Move Cannot be flown over. Half Dirt/Half Empty No Move Can be flown over with amulet. Half Blank/Half Empty No Move Cannot be flown over. Blank No Move Can be flown over with amulet. Solid Rock No Move Cannot be flown over. Empty Interior 2 Dirt 2 Grass 2 Light Vegetation 4 Heavy Vegetation 6 Rocky Dirt 4 Interior Rubble 4 Stun Field 8 Water No Move Can be flown over with amulet. Stepping Stones 4 Grating 3 Staircases 5 Teleport Square 5 Fence 6 Gallows No Move Cannot be flown over. Closed Doors No Move Cannot be flown over. Open Doors 4 Can be flown over with amulet. Shepherd 4 Bard 4 Bed 5 Dresser 6 Table 5 Chair 4 Wench 4 Entry Pentagram 3 Exit Pentagram 3 Chest 4 Strong Man 6 Water/Dirt 4 Water/Blank 4 Boy 3 Spilled Oil 8 Hangman 6 FILE MENU NEW - opens the mapping window and creates a new quest file. OPEN - opens an existing quest file and displays it in the mapping window. The Open function will automatically display all available quest files. CLOSE - closes the current mapping window and disposes of the quest file. If the quest file has been modified, the computer will ask you if you wish to save the quest file before closing it. SAVE - saves the current quest file currently in progress. If the current file is untitled, it acts in the same fashion as Save As. SAVE AS - saves the current quest file. QUIT - exits Quest Builder. If a file has been modified, the program will ask if you wish to save the changes. MAP MENU WHOLE VIEW - generates a compressed view of the entire current map level. Click the mouse to return to the normal mapping mode. If the click occurs on the whole view map, the window will jump to the equivalent position in the normal mapping mode. This serves as a shortcut for moving about the map. FILL SCREEN - fills the screen with the currently selected terrain type. Fill Screen will not overwrite objects or opponents. FILL LEVEL - fills the current level with the currently selected terrain type. Fill Level will not overwrite objects or opponents. COPY LEVEL - copies the contents of the current level to another level, excluding objectsand opponents. TOTALS - lists the total number of objects and opponents used in the quest. LEVEL MENU Use the Level menu to select the level of the quest map being shown in the mapping window. There are 5 levels in all. PALETTE MENU The Palette menu controls the parts and terrain palette. The blank squares found on the objects and opponents palettes will only erase objects and opponents, not the underlying terrain. If a part will not appear where you have clicked, then it cannot be placed on that type of terrain. A quest can have up to 40 objects and 50 opponents. INFO MENU PREFACE - is the area where you enter information for the player about the quest you have created. This might be part of a story, or just some hints. SET VICTORY - sets the victory conditions for the quest. RESCUE PRISONERS means the player must take all of the prisoners in the quest to win. OBTAIN SCROLLS works the same way. EXIT COMBAT ZONE means all of the members who are still living must go through the exit pentagram. KILL % OPPONENTS requires the player to kill at least the percentage of opponents entered in the box to win. The quest time limit must be set for every quest. The other victory conditions must be met before the amount of time entered in the box expires. Time is in an hours/minutes/seconds format. The victory conditions can be used in combination. This means that if you select kill 20% and rescue prisoners, you must kill at least 20% of the opponents and rescue all of the prisoners to win. CHAIN TO - displays a dialog box which allows you to enter the name of a quest that the current quest will chain to if the player wins. THREAD MENU THREAD OBJECT - jumps sequentially through the list of objects which have been placed on the map. When it jumps to the next object on the list, it moves the map so that the object is in the cneter of the screen. THREAD OPPONENT - jumps sequentially through the list of opponents which have been placed on the map. THREAD TEXT - jumps sequentially to the next terrain square that has text on it. PARTY MENU MODIFY PARTY MEMBER - is used to change the basic characteristics of the quest members. A list box will appear with the names of all the members currently in the party. Select a party member by clicking on his name. Delete will delete a member and Change button will jump to another screen, where the member's attributes can be modified. NEW MEMBER - generates a member for the player's party. Name the character and select the character's specialty using the radio-type buttons. The different specialties generate different basic characteristice. A party can have up to 9 members. NEW LEADER - is used to generata a Paladin. This character is independent of any quest. (You can generate a Paladin without opening the map window). After you have named the Paladin, Create Leader saves the Paladin file, after asking for a file name. This name can be the same as the character's name; i.e., "PIERRE". The attributes of the Paladin may not be modified directly: they only increase through actual combat experience. EXAMINE LEADER - shows a Paladin's statistice. After you select a file, the statistics are displayed. IMPORT PALADIN - allows you to convert a Squad Leader character into a paladin. First, a file selector box appears. This will list any Squad Leader files on the current parth. Select a file and click Import. Next, another file selector box will appear. This is to name and save your new paladin file. Enter a new file name. Click Save. You now have a new paladin. If your old Squad Leader character was STAR level, your new paladin will be a Knight. Note: You cannot convert paladins into squad leaders. OTHER FUNCTIONS SELECTING A TERRAIN SQUARE - Click any terrain square on the palette to select it. Clicking on the map window will place that square on the map. MODIFYING AN OPPONENT - Holding a Shift key and clicking on an enemy character will display the Modify Opponent dialog window. Use this to change opponent attributes. WRITING A MESSAGE ON AN OBJECT - Holding the Shift Key and clicking on an object allows you to write a short message which will appear whenever the player picks up that particular object. This can be used to hide clues within the game. WRITING A MESSAGE ON A TERRAIN SQUARE - Holding down the Alt (Alternate) key and clicking on a terrain square allows you to write a short message which appears the first time a character passes through the square. This can be used to name rooms or make terrain-type characters (such as the bard) "talk". SETTING A TELEPORT DESTINATION - Holding down a Shift key and clicking on a teleporter square will cause a Teleporter Destination dialog box to appear. Enter the destination coordinates and click OK when finished. The program does not check as whether the destination is a valid movement square or not. Check twice or you might end up sending somebody into solid rock or the black void! QUEST DESIGN NOTES AVOID FEUTURISM A quest could have 5 levels, 10 party members in the party, 50 opponents, and 40 objects. Resist the temptation! quests are generally more successful if they are quick to start and play. Having to move 10 party members through a maze for 40 Player phases is NOT fun. SUPERMEN NOT WANTED HERE Imagine a party of 10 party members, each with the maximum of everything against a band of normal enemies. Boring! Winning all the time is not the point of the game. Try and create quests in which the player must logically deploy his forces. Good quests should be a test of the player's decision-making ability, not the random number generator. USING THE ICONS If you do not have a mouse, the icons are selected using the keyboard, Keys 1 though 6 operate the rows of icons at the bottom of the screen. The "1" key operates the leftmost icon, Drop Object; "2" operates the next icon, Use Stairway; etc. The Next button is activated using the "N" key. To shift click the Next button, hold down the shift key while pressing the "N" key. Note: Be sure the caps lock is not set or else whenever you press "N", the program will assum shift "N". The Change Scale button is operated by pressing the "S" key. SELECTING MAP SQUARES If you do not have a mouse, use the keyboard to select squares. The map has a cursor that yo move using the keyboard. It appears as a crosshair. Use the arrow keys to move it. Remember, without the mouse you must use the F2 key in place of the mouse button. NOTES The Omnitrend's Paladin disk is not bootable. You must boot your computer from a DOS disk prior to running Paladin. To run Paladin, type "Paladin" at the DOS prompt. To run the Quest Builder, type "QUEST" at the DOS prompt. QUEST BUILDER THE FUNCTION KEYS KEY NORMAL SHIFT ALT F1 New Totals New Member F2 Click1 Shift-Click2 Alt-Click3 F3 Resume Copy Level Modify Member F4 Thread Oponent Fill Screen F5 Delete Import Paladin New Paladin F6 Thread Object Fill Level F7 Save Examine Paladin F8 Set Victory Whole View F9 Close Quit F10 Preface About Quest 1 This is the equivalent of pressing a mouse button. If you are playing without a mouse, use this key whenever the manual refers to clicking the mouse button. 2 This is the equivalent of holding down the Shift key and pressing the mouse button. 3 This is the equivalent of holding down the alt key and pressing the mouse button. CHANGING THE PALETTE To change the palette (the upper right-hand window that contains the map pieces), use the "[" and "]" keys. MOVING ABOUT THE MAP To change levels, use the "+" and "-" keys. The "+" key will move to a higher level, the "-" to a lower level. The map is moved by using the arrow keys. Each tme you hold down the shift key and press an arrow key, it will move the map one square in the direction of the arrow. Move the map horizontally 8 squares at a time by holding down the control key and pressing an arrow in the appropriate direction. To move the map vertically 8 squares at a time, hold down the control key and press the page up or the page down keys. SELECTING MAP OR PALETTE SQUARES If you do not have a mouse, the keyboard is used to select squares. Bot the map and the Palette windows have cursors that you move using the keyboard. These cursors appear as crosshairs. Use the arrow keys to move the map cursor. Use the keys listed below to move the palette cursor. Remember: the F2 key is used in place of the mouse button if you do not have a mouse. DIRECTION KEY Up I Left J Right K Down M THE QUESTS The following is a list of the quests included with Omnitrend's Paladin that you can play and modify. Each entry includes the author's name, a difficulty rating, a brief description of the quest, and a strategy tip. HOUSE by Thomas Carbone Difficulty Rating: Easy Synopsis: Recover a deed and a land grant from a haunted house and it's yours! Strategy: Explore every corner. Some of your men be overburdened. TROJAN HOAX by Bill Leslie Difficulty Rating: Easy/Medium Synopsis: Rescue the disguised Princess Anne from King Agoraphobius's Castle Recluse. Strategy:There are two routes into the tower, if you look carefully enough. FRIEND by Haywood Nichols Difficulty Rating: Easy/Medium Synopsis: Use supplies of medicine to heal your party and then rescue a friend from a midnight troll sacrifice. Strategy: Amulets of Levitation in combination with your rangers can prove to be very effective for scouting-out areas. Remember that mages possess an effective ranged weapon. Also, try not to overburdern your members unnecessarily. HANGING by Haywood Nichols Difficulty Rating: Medium Synopsis: Two ofyour village elders have been captured and sentenced to die by handing in a short while. You must fo in and save them from the hanging. Strategy: Your mages are mportant for long-distance firing. Exploding oil casks will save you a lot of time. RESCUE by Haywood Nichols Difficulty Rating: Medium Synopsis: Two of your men are being held by the evil trolls and a gang of assorted riff-raff. You only have ten minutes to go in and save them from a horrible death. Strategy: At first glance it appears to be an impossible assault, but if you look closely you will notice that the prisoners make the situation winnable. Remember to use the mage's ranged firepower wisely. ARCHERS1 by Haywood Nichols Difficulty Rating: Medium Synopsis: Damaga 80% of the great troll army on the opposite bank of a river. Strategy: Use some of your men as advanced scouts so that the mage and archers can attack from a distance without fear of being damaged. This is the first of two parts and only the members that survive this battle will be able to participate in the second half. At all costs, you should be preserving men for later on. ARCHERS2 by Haywood Nichols Difficulty Rating: Medium/Hard Synopsis: Steal a formula for a brightly burning oil mixture from a small village. Strategy: Much of the action takes place in tight quarters where the indiscriminate use of orbs or fire will destroy the mission objective. In the wider areas, many of the opponents are hiding just outside your view. Avoid the temptation to use every last movement point when exploring. PORTALS by Haywood Nichols Difficulty Rating: Very Hard - Knighthood Quest Synopsis: Travel through the four Kingdoms of the Portals and recover prisoners and scrolls. Strategy: There is an objective to be found in each of the four kingdoms. Conserve some of the more important tools, such as amulets or levitation and fireballs. Do not fire ranged weapons blindly. INLET by Haywood Nichols Difficulty Rating: Very Hard - Knighthood Quest Synopsis: Once again you are out to obtain someone else's documents, this time, the navigation charts to the prosperous port of HangSee. Strategy: Almost all of the opponents are hiding outside of your view. Move your men in such a fashion that they have adequate protection from all sides. Use your rangers in conjunction with amulets of levitation to cover extensive areas quickly. It is also very important that you locate the exit area quickly.