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Updated 10/18/94
Latest Version/Patch Level: 1.5
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%general
Q) What is Realmz?
A) "The coolest share-ware game ever!" (just kiddding...=)
A) Realmz is a fantasy role playing game, where you can generate characters of
various classes (fighters, magic users, thieves...) and wander around
in this world trying to complete quests and kill monsters, while
accumulating wealth, experience, and various other items (weaponry,
armor...)
(Added:) It is a top down "Ultima" style RPG. Your party of up to six
characters take turns attacking when in combat, and you can control
what weapon or spell each character attacks with. Unlike Ultima, this
game as "zoom in's" from the landscape to battle map.
Q) Where do I get Realmz?
A) If you have membership at America Online or CompuServe you can be the first
in your neighboorhood get it. If not, wait patiently a few days while
some nice person uploads it to sumex-aim.stanford.edu and you can
anonymously FTP it from there or any good mirror thereof.
Q) What are the system requirement's for Realmz?
A) The author states: 2 Meg RAM, 13 in. Monitor capable of 256 colors and 6 Meg
of hard drive space. Let me add that it's not the 13 inches that's
important but the ability to display 640X480 pixels. I am able to
play quite well on a Powerbook Duo 270c, whose monitor is only 8.4
inches. And the more memory you have the happier the program will be.
I also think that a machine with a 68020 or better is also required.
Please note: Version 1.3.2 requires 1900K but performance is maximized
at 3000K.
Also IMPORTANT: Author also states there are problems running Realmz
on AV macs. Some players have found the game "runnable" with the
system extensions off. For AV mac owners, downloading Realmz may,
itself, be a game of chance.
~ Suggestions for players who own AV macs (not bad for everyone else too)
Try to turn off any extensions you don't need (all of them if you can),
disable screen savers, turn on "fast trade" option in preference menu
(this will avoid a commonly reported bug) or use the shift key to trade
items.
~Q) Why should I register? Do I have to pay for additional scenarios of I
register?
A) There are advantages to registering. Be aware that Realmz is a fully
functional package even if you don't register, _BUT_ here's what do
get when you register and what you don't get if you don't register:
You can create characters up to 12th level of experience.
When you save a game, the character files in the character folders are
also updated so that when you play an new scenario, you can create a
party of characters that retain all their material possessions from
previous adventures
You can install and play new scenarios.
You no longer have to see that annoying registration screen.
You will be supporting Tim Phillips and encouraging the continued
bug squashing and new scenario development and new feature development
that Realmz is known for.
~ You will no longer be riddled with guilt as you are enjoying yourself
playing this great game while knowing that the hard-working author is
continuing to squash bugs and work on new scenarios and features and
not getting a penny from you.
When new scenarios do come out, you will be expected to pay a nominal
fee ($5-$15) per scenario depending on the complexity of the scenario.
Q) Sometimes when I enter a building, I materialize _inside_ a wall or outside
of another building and there's no where to go after that. What can I
do?
A) There are a few minor bugs with the scenario files for versions before
1.2.2. The patch will fix this, but if you have a saved game, the
saved game will be corrupted by the bug. Register your game, save your
characters and send them back into the scenario.
Let me emphasize this point: the patch WILL NOT fix a saved game. You
will have to restart the game in order to fix the "appearing" in walls
or outside the crypt bug. Register your game if you want your party
to keep their hard earned experience points and equipment.
Q) The dark menus really bother me. Is there any way to fix this?
A) The new preferences window for version 1.3.x will allow you to turn off
black menus and the script font for menus. There is also a "reduced"
sounds option for mac users that are annoyed by the sounds or get a lot
of pops and crackles.
~Q) Sometimes when I play, the screen gets all messed up and I can't see the
character's attribtes. What can I do?
A) There's a new feature in the same menu as the preferences that will allow
you to force a refresh screen. This will clear up any funny blocks,
strange screens, etc... from the play screen.
Q) How can I consult the manual, tip sheet, or spell list while playing Reamlz?
A) You can send Realmz to the background by selecting the "Hide Reamlz" in the
Application menu. This will allow you to open another application.
Q) How can I print out the spells database without half of it getting cut off?
A) Try changing your Page Setup from Portrait to Landscape (thanks to Marc
Nimchuk @ Univ. of Alberta)
Q) Who is the author and what's his e-mail address?
A) The man responsible for this wonderful piece of programming is Tim P.
Phillips: Tim_P._Phillips@nrunner.mil.wi.us
~Q) Sometimes I get a negative encumbrance and then I'm no longer allowed to
buy or trade anything else and my movement is reduced to 1. What can
I do?
A) Some people have suggested that dropping that character and adding them back
to the party works. I tried this and it didn't work for me. One thing
that has worked for me is picking up something after a fight, ie from
the treasure screen, rather than the buy/trade screen. When your pack
weight falls into the negatives, go fight something that you know will
be carrying stuff and after you win the fight and collect the treasure,
have the character that is in the negative pick up something heavy.
Something that would just put him/her in the positive is preferred and
then have that charcter always carry this thing, even if that cahracter
can't use it. If you are ambitious and confident, you can hack the
save file (I1 -- details not included to protect the incompetent).
~Q) Is there a way to save more than 5 games?
A) Yes, but this isn't proven to be safe: You can save 5 games, after you
finish playing, you can copy the "save games" folder to another folder
or diskette and then save 5 more games over them. If you want to
restore one of the previous games, then you copy the current saved
game folder to yet another directory or diskette and then overwrite it
with a previous copy. The comments in the load/save dialog box will
not change when you do this, so it may cause some confusion.
%playing
Okay that's for people that haven't gotten it. The following is for people
who have been playing without reading the manual.
~Q) Sometimes when I play, all of a sudden, one or more of my characters
develop a mind of their own and start playing for themselves. What
gives? Is this a bug? How can I stop them?
A) You characters are "in retreat". This is not a bug. It's a condition that
can be brought on by certain monsters's attacks. It is similar to your
character getting charmed. To regain control, cast a dispel magic
spell on that(/those) character(s).
Q) How do I target spells (or missile weapons for that matter)? How do I
target stuff that's off the screen?
A) After you select the spell (or the weapon) you get a line that starts at
your character icon and ends in a little box. The number in the box
tells you how many targets you may select. Move the box onto the icon
of the monster and hit "T" for "T"arget! If you are allowed more than
one target, repeat this step. If your target is off the screen and yet
still within range, pull the target box to the edge of the screen and
click the mouse button. This will scroll the screen over in that
direction. (warning: some users have complained about crashing the
program by trying to hit targets off screen, though this has never
happened to me.) When you're done, hit the space bar.
Hit to rotate spells like Wall of Fog, Wall of Force, Wall of
Ice before targetting.
Q) How do I use a missile weapon?
A) Equip the character with it (most characters can be holding a melee weapon
and a missile weapon). When in combat mode, click on the little icon
next to the character's weapon. It is a small rectangular icon just
right of the character's weapon icon and it has a small scimitar and
a bow in it. Click on it, and you'll switch weapons. The weapon icon
of a missile weapon will be "raised" and you can click on it and you
target it like a spell.
Q) What's the difference between Guard, Delay, and Finish?
A) You can end a character's attack turn in one of the following ways:
attacking something, or one of the above. Guard will "save" your
attack for later when a poor unsuspecting monster wanders too close
to you. Delay should be done before you move. It's good when the
character is trapped behind other characters, you can "wait" to move
until after another character has moved. Finish simply ends the round
with no attack.
~Q) What is a thief's backstab? How do I use it?
A) For certain character classes, there is a percentage of the time that they
can inflict lots of damage. Take backstabbing for instance. You don't
need to do anything (like "getting behind" a monster) in order to back-
stab it. Simple attack as usual, and a certain percent of the time,
depending on what level you're on, your thief's skillful ability to
impale it's victim in a vulnerable and "physiologically" crucial spot,
your thief inflicts triple damage. Fighters, rangers, paladins, and
monks can inflict "critical hits" which implies some critical damage
(eg. crush skill, decapitate, maim, etc...) which causes double the
"normal" damage.
Q) How can I check to see what abilities and stamina a monster has [left]?
A) Use Command-Click and where normally you're player's combat info is
displayed, the monster's combat info will be displayed.
Q) How can I get information on items to see whether a certain character can
use it or what it's attributes are?
A) Use option-click to look at info on items before picking up or buying.
~Q) When I'm buying and/or trading, I want to sell something I'm wearing. Do I
have to go back to the items screen every time I want to unequip an
item?
A) You can put on/take off anything by clicking on it with the command key down
and you can "quick trade" it by clicking on it with the shift key down.
Q) The text during battles is too fast! I can't read everything! What can
I do?
A) You can slow the game to a crawl if you change the preferences setting.
What I find helpful when attacking with spells and missile weapons is
to look at the text box when hitting the space bar. Sure you miss out
on seeing your spell/weapon hit the monster, but you can see the text
if you're attention is on it. (I work in a vision lab, trust me, you
can see if if you try.)
Version 1.3.2 has "slowed" text during battle with a "speed up" option
in the preferences menu.
Q) Why do I have negative experience points? Why do I sometimes receive
negative experience points?
A) Because experience in this game is counted down not added up. You attain
the next level when the counter gets up to zero and then it resets to
a more negative number. In the 1.2.x versions, there is a bug that
when you receive too many experience points the value flips to a
negative value. It has to do with the way numbers are represented in
the computer: at some point a really large number looks like a
"complemented" or negative number to the computer. I think this bug
has been squashed.
Q) After I go to a shop all my money dissappears! What happened?
A) You have to remember to "share" your money before you leave (since you had
to pool your money to buy stuff when you came in). Turn the "Forget
money protection" ON in the preferences menu so that it will ask you if
you want to get the money before you leave.
Version 1.3 has a preference to automatically convert your gems to gold
if you don't have enough to buy something.
Q) How do I put scrolls in scroll cases?
A) You can't put the scrolls you find into scroll cases. You can USE them
whenever you want. Create your own scrolls, buy yourself some blank
parchment. Set up camp and the character with the scroll case and the
parchment will have a create scroll button. Then create the scroll and
it will give you the usual spell window and you cast the spell as you
would usually. A scroll will appear in your scroll case.
Q) Why can't I use scrolls? Can I use a scroll more than once?
A) Some characters can't use some scrolls. I think clerics can only use
cleric's scrolls (a clerical spell in scroll form). See above about
putting scrolls into scroll cases. To check whether a character can
use a scroll (or any item for that matter) go to trade and put that
character in the left side and start clicking on stuff. A red stop
sign will show up on the item and you'll get a little clunk sound. Try
giving the scroll to a character of a different class, or one with
more wisdom/intelligence (depending on whether cleric or magic user).
Scrolls are good because they can be created before a battle. During
the fight, when a spell-caster runs out of spell points, he/she can
then use scrolls, which already used spell points to create and now
can be used. Each scroll in a scroll case disappears after being used,
but picked up scrolls will have an Nx after it to tell you how many
times it can be used.
Opps... incomplete info: Paladins can use clerical scrolls and thieves
can eventually use magic user's scrolls. And you can also option click
on an item at anytime to see an information window that tells you all
about it and who can use it. (Thanks to Dave Wetzel - Editor: "Oh
yeah... totally forgot about that, but I often determine who gets what
after a fight when I'm dividing up the plunder.)
I've discovered that my 8th level paladin has a 100% chance of
successfully reading magic users' scrolls. Go figure.
Q) When I'm picking locks (bending bars, breaking down doors...), and I see
these yellow/green bars and the timer, what does it mean? Is there
something I am supposed do during this to increase my chances of
success?
A) Nothing and nothing. As far as I can tell, it's just a fancy way to tell
you your thief is working hard. Do consider finding your thief the
Gloves of Thievery and the Magic Thieves tools. They increase your
chance at success.
~ oops... Wrong wrong wrong... (After being informed by Benjamin Porter
that I should read the manual more carefully) The bars change color
based on the character's ability. There is a certain amount of time
the bars flash. If you hit return or click the mouse when they are all
yellow or green you will have successfully completed the task. Or for
those of us that do not have good hand-eye coordination, we just sit
and hope the percentiles are in our favor and all three will be green
at the end of the time allowed.
Q) Do monks and thieves increase their ability with levels?
A) Hmm... I know monks fight better. As far as I can tell, improvement depends
on your ability scores. Characters with good constitution tend to get
more stamina points at advancement time. And I also know that my thief
has improved from 9% to 14% success on backstabbing someone. I assume
all her other scores have improved too (note that I chose a female
thief because of the dexterity bonus).
Something else to keep in mind: more stamina gives more stamina at
promortion time, more wisdom for clerics/paladins for more spell
points; more intelligence for enchanters/magic users more spell points
_and_ more spells. Dexterity for thieves...
Q) Sometimes a magic-using character is not given the opportunity to cast
spells even when they are conscious and have plenty of spell points.
What gives?
A) Ah ha! I guess it's hard for a character who has been hit during a turn to
cast any spells. If you think of all the things that happen in one
"round" of a combat as simultaneous, then I suppose it would be hard to
concentrate on casting a spell while someone is beating you to a pulp.
But they can use a scroll instead of a spell if they've been hit.
Q) What the heck is an ion stone for?
A) Each color of ion stone is for a different class of character. You can
equipt it to increase that character's perfornace.
Q) Why am I a 3rd level cleric with only 2nd level spells?
A) Clerics get all the spells for a certain level all at once, but they only
get new spells something like every other level. Consult the appendix
in the manual for advancement.
Q) Why am I a 6th (7th, 8th...) level paladin with plenty of wisdom (and even
a few spell points) but am still without spells?
A) Because there was a bug in the 1.2.x versions. This is fixed in version 1.3
but you will have to attain another level before the program checks to
see if you deserve spells.
Q) I get a dialog box that asks if I want to do something, and I decide I
don't want to do it because my party is too wimpy. When I return the
monster or situation is gone! What gives?
A) You only get one shot at nearly all of the quests. If at any point you get
these types of dialogs, say "YES"! Risk it! You won't have a second
chance if you run away. Just save more often, and you can restore to
the previous state before you get killed be the quest. You can say no
to random encounters like giants, orcs, kobalds, goblins, shantiles...
But never pass up an opportunity to fight a demon, dragon, wizard...
Same thing holds true if you take the dagger from the old woman, her
shop stays closed for the rest of the game. High price to pay for
being greedy. How do you select the answer to the questions? Try to
choose the most noble, proud, brave, fool-hardy thing. Don't be afraid
to take risks, but don't be unkind.
"It's better to be dragon chow than to sit in the tavern at the city
of Bywater telling everybody that _you_ were the one that got away"
-Matt Hicks
There are a FEW exceptions to this rule. The beastmen corral will ask
if you want to do it later. You can do it later. There are many ways
to get into the spider tower. If you refuse to help the king's cleric,
you can still do a frontal assult through the front door or a sneak
attack through the secret passage. You can also decide to leave and
come back later to the town brothel.
If you've already blew it on some of them and want a second chance,
register your game and restart the adventure with your old characters
in a "new" party. You'll feel more confident with your entire arsenal
of weaponry and armor.
Q) What's the main difference between novice to veteran difficulty? Is the
veteran mode have harder monsters but less treasure and experience or
is it harder monsters with more experience and treasure?
A) It's the latter. You get more experience, more gold, the same "magic" items
but I noticed that the shops carry better stuff (especially Madam
Otik's Magic stuff shop). I found it much easier to attain higher
levels and hoard treasure near the beginning of the game. You will
attain levels faster if you have low level characters in a veteran's
game. Each scenario has a "recommended number of levels". For the
City of Bywater it is '6', which means best for 6 1st level characters
or one 6th level character. As you exceed the recommended levels, you
will not get as many XP.
Q) For one reason or another (encumbrance bug, missed quest...) I want to drop
a character and add another one and it says levels exceeded, or I want
to take my characters back through the same adventure and keep all
their possessions, what do I do?
A) Register your game! When you do; there will no longer be a restriction on
levels (although the number will still be there to indicated the
difficulty of the scenario) so you can put any level character back
into the party and they keep their possessions when saving the game.
That is, the "character" file is update as well as the save file.
~Q) How do I know when I finished/beaten the City of Bywater scenario?
A) You won't. Due to the non-linearity of the game (you can complete quests
in any order) there is no way of knowing if "you're done". EXCEPT for
the Bywater scenario, there is a "tip sheet" included with the game.
If you've done everything on the list, then you've done everything
there is to do. So now what? Start over with a different party.
Start over with a smaller party. Start over and do everything
differently than you did before (agree to fight the orcs instead of the
goblins; fight your way into the Spider Tower instead of finding the
Undead Army...). OR wait for the new scenario to come out
More playing tips and strategies:
%strategy
Q) What's the best combination of character classes for a party? How do I
stay alive at the beginning of the game? I've wandered all around the
City of Bywater and the surrounding woodlands, now what?
A) I've finally broken down and decided to answer these questions. Most RPG
players can skip this.
The best party is a well balanced with at least one thief, one strong
"fighter-type", and one spell caster. The remaining three are up to
your choosing: usually two more fighting characters and one spell
caster or vice versa. What I mean by fighter-type is fighter, paladin,
ranger or monk. I usually start with a paladin/fighter for their sheer
strength and fighting ability. They get all the best offensive weapons
and the most of the armor. I put them right in front to take hits and
protect spell casters and use them to carry most of the gold and junk
to be sold. A thief is good for the occasional lock pick, acrobatic
maneuver, or trap detection. Most are fairly weak but very dextrous so
I usually arm them with bows and arrows and hide the behind the others.
The first class of spell casters that I don't leave home without is a
cleric. They can wear any armor and cast healing spells. Both are big
plusses. The remaining members of a party is really up to taste. My
next choice in fighting characters is a ranger and then a monk. My
next choice for spell casters would be an enchanter because they can
wear a little more armor and carry short swords, unlike magic users,
who basically only fight with daggers. My current party of choice thus
consists of: Paladin, Ranger, Cleric, Enchanter, Magic User and Thief.
Monks just don't seem worth the effort for me, and fighters and rangers
are comparable, so why not go with the more exotic? Besides, I've had
really good results from rangers, better stamina, hit %, damage, and
missile weapon hit %.
When you enter the world of Realmz the first time you are poor and
naked. The first thing you should do is get into the castle by any
means you can. You probably should avoid brute force and bribes since
you will probably be weak, unarmed, and broke. Once in the castle, you
will be employed by the king to rid Bywater of the evil arachnids that
live in the spider tower. But he won't send you away empty handed, he
will let you go through the castle's armory before you go.
Once armed and a little more confident, wander around the buildings of
Bywater, visit with the orcs in the northeast, the goblins in the south
west and wander the entire visible map. Once you're done you can begin
wandering around in caves and looking for secret places to go to. If
you're still lost consult the City of Bywater tip sheet and try to
visit all those places.
Q) Is there a better way to kill monsters that are separated from you by a
wall or a mountain than to wander all over the screen to track it down?
A) Of course! If you are intent on hunting it down and killing it by hand,
there is a button called "shift". While the cursor is an arrow, you
normally click to make the character move in that direction. If you
press "S" you can scroll the window in that direction without moving
your character, so you don't have to wander aimlessly looking for a
break in the wall. Keep in mind that the battle map is just a zoom in
of the dungeon/surface map. If you remember the terrain before you
enter the combat, you'll find that it's pretty much the same after.
Another thing that helps is that sometimes the monsters aren't even on
the screen and you don't know which way to wander... try "R" for reveal
friends. You'll find that it also reveals your enemies too. If you
have a fairly strong spell caster, you could blink over to the bad guys
too.
~ If you just "F"inish each character's attack turn, and repeat for 4 our
5 rounds, the battle ends anyway. (Thanks to Richard Drysdall) I've
noticed that you get no (that's right ZERO) experience points if you
bag out of a fight this way.
But the best way to kill monsters from far away, that I've found is to
have an enchanter in the party able to cast Lightening Strike. This
spell's range is up to 20 units away and if you have enough spell
spell points can inflict up to 24 points of damage (if I recall
correctly). Very efficient. Cannot be blocked by walls, slagtites,
mountains...etc. Other good low level spells for range killing
include Flame Spikes and Cosmic Blast.
Q) What are some of the "hard" monsters?
~A) Orcus (and henchmen) in the temple at the sunken town of Waterford. Also
elsewhere in Waterford is the Wizard's tower. Two Red Dragons in the
Kobold Caverns. Lots of dinosaurs and 4 Green Dragons in a different
part of the same cave. You can also summon a demon at the pentagram
in the same cave. Also in the Kobold Caverns (Underdark) is some
wizard and a group of ogres. The Skeletal giant that's locked behind
the iron door. And you can find a good fight at the Spider Tower.
Newly discovered in Version 1.5: a Blue Dragon. Where are these places?
You can find them in the tip sheet included with the game.
Q) I've been hacking away at [monster x] for ages. It it possible to kill it?
A) Of course! Maybe you need stronger characters? (Come back when you are.)
Perhaps a different strategy? Better weapons?
In version 1.5 some monsters need magical weapons with a minimum plus
value to even score a hit.
Q) Can I retreat from a hopeless battle?
A) Yes, but you must run far enough away. If your characters has more
moves/turn than the monster, you might make it, otherwise, you're
better off standing your ground and take your shellacking like a
man (er.. apologies from un-PC-ness). If there is enough distance
between you and the monster, the game will ask: "Run away? Stay and
fight?" (The game crashes on me when the last character runs away,
so you might have to sacrifice one character to save the rest.)
Q) I've got wimpy 1st level characters. How can I get some gold to buy some
awesome weaponry and armor before venturing forth?
A) There are ways to "get" magical items without a fight. The King will give
you a lot of generic stuff for just agreeing to go on his quest. But
how do you get past the magistrate to get into the castle? Well,
don't ignore poor little beggars in the streets. If you scratch her
back (or her dog's back) she'll scratch yours (in a manner of saying).
And besides, you could bribe the magistrate? Or maybe show him a bad
forgery and then apologize for it? He might find it funny and let you
in anyway. There's a lame giant that has a stash of magic armor/
weapons that he'll let you in on if you help him. (He's near the lake
where all the other giants are. If you take the dagger from the old
woman being attacked in the town, you'll have one awesome weapon, but
you're better off letting her be, and buying the dagger from her later.
The arena is always good for 50 gold pieces (and whatever the monster
might be carrying) a shot. Also, pick up as many weapons and armor as
you can carry and sell it back to the shops (if your mac doesn't crash
when doing so). You can accumulate a lot of money this way.
Q) My characters often bleed to death and I hate to have to use up one turn of
one of my characters' attacks to bandage them. Besides, often monsters
are too close and pummel me after I finish bandaging. What can I do?
A) I keep a weakling thief around for tasks like picking locks, acrobatic
maneuvers, and launching arrows from a long distance. The character
can dish out much more than it can take. It often misses when in
melee, so I hide it behind everyone else. I use it to safely bandage
bleeding characters without feeling that I've wasted a valuable attack.
Q) My party has kicked butt, earned lots of gold. With that gold we have armed
ourselves to the teeth. But now my characters are so weighted down
that I only have one move per turn. What can I do without dropping
any of my precious armor or hard earned gold?
A) The weight is more likely due to the gold than anything else you may be
carrying around. Go to a shop or temple and have the gold changed to
gems (or jewelery... don't recall if that's possible). Gems are worth
more than gold so you will get fewer gems than gold, thus lightening
your load. There is a nominal fee for converting gold to gems but if
your gold is becoming a weight problem, it's likely that you will not
mind loosing a few gold pieces per gem. There is no fee for converting
back, though. To convert click on the bag with the jewels directly
under your party's amount of pooled gold.
Q) I can't find the orc king's daughter (the lame giant, ...). Where do I
look for them?
A) Most of these are random encounters. You have to be wandering in the
general vicinity to "find" these encounters. ie. The orc princess is
somewhere in the forest just east of the city of Bywater. Were exactly
depends, but turn on constant search and you'll be more likely to find
these, and also more likely to get attacked by random monsters.
With the exception of Orcus, which some people have trouble finding.
He's at the altar in the north eastern corner in the ornate temple in
the city of Waterford. When you find him, put the characters you most
want to keep alive in the circle, and do not smash the orb or be too
brash with him. You'll find he has a bit of an ego that is easily
bruised.
%tips
Q) What are some "neat" bugs, cheats, or "pro" strategies for this game?
A) WARNING!!! THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS. Granted that some of these
are just bugs that may be done away with soon, and others are just
little tricks that I've learned. But either way, they can really make
the game boring if you use some of these tricks or cheats.
1) Missile weapons NEVER miss (until patch 1.3 is out). (Patch is
out, but missile weapons still hit more often than hand held
weapons because (I think) missile weapons hitting is not based
on armor class but on the monster's ability to dodge the
missile attack.)
2) Try casting a minor attack deflector spell on yourself and sit
and watch the monster knock itself out. If you're character is
visible, you can step away and toward a monster during your
turn and it gets a free shot at you every time to step away or
step close. Little does it know... (In version 1.3 the spell
now only blocks a 1/3 of the attacks...)
3) Don't you hate it when a magic using monster charms one of your
party and you have to kill him/her? Just charm him/her back if
one or your spell casters has a charm spell.
4) Neat thing with "Wall of.." spells: Although you cannot cast
them if you are blocked by an obstacle (wall, tree, stalagmite)
the wall will still extend through the obstacle to the other
side. One fun thing to do is; blink yourself onto the other
side of a thin wall (works great at the arena and in the looted
graveyard) then cast a Wall of (Force/Ice/Thorns) and orient it
such that you are casting it on your side of the wall, but a
part of it is on the other side. Sit back and relax as dumb
monsters kill themselves trying to get to you. Great fun.
5) Helm of Kranak +1: put it on; take it off. You notice now you
have a -1 to hit undead and -1 to hit magic using. Repeat
until you have -128 for each and then do it one more time and
you will have +127 for both! (Thanks to Richard Drysdall)
I've inflicted as much as 143 points of damage on a poor little
zombie (the screen didn't flash unconscious or death, it
flashed destroyed!). (Bug fixed in version 1.3)
ONE WORD OF CAUTION! Okay, okay... quite a few words of
caution. If you attack a magic using monster that is protected
by the reflect attacks spell; then you can end up inflicting
all that damage ON YOURSELF (imagine my surprise when I swung
at the Guardian (Beholder) in the Wizard's tower and smacked
myself with 130 points of damage! Yes... it killed me.)
6) Characters wearing rings of regeneration don't need to be
bandaged: the lose a stamina point per round and they gain a
stamina point per round.
7) Good way to deal with archers and magic using characters: they
tend to deal with attackers that are near by before launching
arrows or spells. If you don't have a character with a missile
weapon, but have a 1st level Enchanter, you can Summon a
monster to do your bidding and place it near the archer/spell
caster. It will keep it busy for you. (Thanks to Dave Wetzel)
8) Okay, so you want better weapons and armor, but can't afford to
buy it? Get into the castle; agree to go on the quest for the
spider tower (this should be the first thing you do anyways).
The king let's you take what you want from the castle's armory,
right? Well, heck, clean 'em out! Take as much as you can
possibly carry. EVERYTHING if you can manage it. Go to the
store and sell everything you don't plan on keeping. You'll
have enough gold to buy the stuff you really want.
~ 9) Cool thing that I've found that I've yet to discover a use for:
You can blink yourself inside a wall! Very safe place to be to
hide yourself from conventional melee and missile attacks, but
you can't move or cast spells that require targetting except
for another blink spell.
~ 10) The save game files are really easy to hack if you have a hex
disk editor like fedit and a decimal/hex convertor on your
pocket calculator. I won't bother giving offsets, since it
varies depending on which character, and most things are easy
enough to spot. Just know that the characters experience is
stored in the eight hex characters directly preceeding the
character's name, and negative numbers are stored in the
complemented form: -1 is FFFF FFFF
~ Someone posted a character editor. Not real "stable" but lots
of fun nonetheless.
11) Tired of constantly getting jumped by random kobold attacks?
Can't get wink of rest because hill giants keep jumping you?
Cas yourself a Sentry spell (this is a fairly high level spell)
becuase it does away with all surprise attacks. On the down
side, I think it also prevents "good" random encounters.
~ 12) New beneficial bug discovered: the 6th level Wall of Fire
spell for Magic Users does not require any spell points! So
you can cast them at 7x power and not use up a single spell
point.
More stuff as I discover it.
More questions? Ask, and I'll try to answer.
Cheers,
Ivans
Latest Version/Patch Level: 1.5
===============================================================================
%general
Q) What is Realmz?
A) "The coolest share-ware game ever!" (just kiddding...=)
A) Realmz is a fantasy role playing game, where you can generate characters of
various classes (fighters, magic users, thieves...) and wander around
in this world trying to complete quests and kill monsters, while
accumulating wealth, experience, and various other items (weaponry,
armor...)
(Added:) It is a top down "Ultima" style RPG. Your party of up to six
characters take turns attacking when in combat, and you can control
what weapon or spell each character attacks with. Unlike Ultima, this
game as "zoom in's" from the landscape to battle map.
Q) Where do I get Realmz?
A) If you have membership at America Online or CompuServe you can be the first
in your neighboorhood get it. If not, wait patiently a few days while
some nice person uploads it to sumex-aim.stanford.edu and you can
anonymously FTP it from there or any good mirror thereof.
Q) What are the system requirement's for Realmz?
A) The author states: 2 Meg RAM, 13 in. Monitor capable of 256 colors and 6 Meg
of hard drive space. Let me add that it's not the 13 inches that's
important but the ability to display 640X480 pixels. I am able to
play quite well on a Powerbook Duo 270c, whose monitor is only 8.4
inches. And the more memory you have the happier the program will be.
I also think that a machine with a 68020 or better is also required.
Please note: Version 1.3.2 requires 1900K but performance is maximized
at 3000K.
Also IMPORTANT: Author also states there are problems running Realmz
on AV macs. Some players have found the game "runnable" with the
system extensions off. For AV mac owners, downloading Realmz may,
itself, be a game of chance.
~ Suggestions for players who own AV macs (not bad for everyone else too)
Try to turn off any extensions you don't need (all of them if you can),
disable screen savers, turn on "fast trade" option in preference menu
(this will avoid a commonly reported bug) or use the shift key to trade
items.
~Q) Why should I register? Do I have to pay for additional scenarios of I
register?
A) There are advantages to registering. Be aware that Realmz is a fully
functional package even if you don't register, _BUT_ here's what do
get when you register and what you don't get if you don't register:
You can create characters up to 12th level of experience.
When you save a game, the character files in the character folders are
also updated so that when you play an new scenario, you can create a
party of characters that retain all their material possessions from
previous adventures
You can install and play new scenarios.
You no longer have to see that annoying registration screen.
You will be supporting Tim Phillips and encouraging the continued
bug squashing and new scenario development and new feature development
that Realmz is known for.
~ You will no longer be riddled with guilt as you are enjoying yourself
playing this great game while knowing that the hard-working author is
continuing to squash bugs and work on new scenarios and features and
not getting a penny from you.
When new scenarios do come out, you will be expected to pay a nominal
fee ($5-$15) per scenario depending on the complexity of the scenario.
Q) Sometimes when I enter a building, I materialize _inside_ a wall or outside
of another building and there's no where to go after that. What can I
do?
A) There are a few minor bugs with the scenario files for versions before
1.2.2. The patch will fix this, but if you have a saved game, the
saved game will be corrupted by the bug. Register your game, save your
characters and send them back into the scenario.
Let me emphasize this point: the patch WILL NOT fix a saved game. You
will have to restart the game in order to fix the "appearing" in walls
or outside the crypt bug. Register your game if you want your party
to keep their hard earned experience points and equipment.
Q) The dark menus really bother me. Is there any way to fix this?
A) The new preferences window for version 1.3.x will allow you to turn off
black menus and the script font for menus. There is also a "reduced"
sounds option for mac users that are annoyed by the sounds or get a lot
of pops and crackles.
~Q) Sometimes when I play, the screen gets all messed up and I can't see the
character's attribtes. What can I do?
A) There's a new feature in the same menu as the preferences that will allow
you to force a refresh screen. This will clear up any funny blocks,
strange screens, etc... from the play screen.
Q) How can I consult the manual, tip sheet, or spell list while playing Reamlz?
A) You can send Realmz to the background by selecting the "Hide Reamlz" in the
Application menu. This will allow you to open another application.
Q) How can I print out the spells database without half of it getting cut off?
A) Try changing your Page Setup from Portrait to Landscape (thanks to Marc
Nimchuk @ Univ. of Alberta)
Q) Who is the author and what's his e-mail address?
A) The man responsible for this wonderful piece of programming is Tim P.
Phillips: Tim_P._Phillips@nrunner.mil.wi.us
~Q) Sometimes I get a negative encumbrance and then I'm no longer allowed to
buy or trade anything else and my movement is reduced to 1. What can
I do?
A) Some people have suggested that dropping that character and adding them back
to the party works. I tried this and it didn't work for me. One thing
that has worked for me is picking up something after a fight, ie from
the treasure screen, rather than the buy/trade screen. When your pack
weight falls into the negatives, go fight something that you know will
be carrying stuff and after you win the fight and collect the treasure,
have the character that is in the negative pick up something heavy.
Something that would just put him/her in the positive is preferred and
then have that charcter always carry this thing, even if that cahracter
can't use it. If you are ambitious and confident, you can hack the
save file (I1 -- details not included to protect the incompetent).
~Q) Is there a way to save more than 5 games?
A) Yes, but this isn't proven to be safe: You can save 5 games, after you
finish playing, you can copy the "save games" folder to another folder
or diskette and then save 5 more games over them. If you want to
restore one of the previous games, then you copy the current saved
game folder to yet another directory or diskette and then overwrite it
with a previous copy. The comments in the load/save dialog box will
not change when you do this, so it may cause some confusion.
%playing
Okay that's for people that haven't gotten it. The following is for people
who have been playing without reading the manual.
~Q) Sometimes when I play, all of a sudden, one or more of my characters
develop a mind of their own and start playing for themselves. What
gives? Is this a bug? How can I stop them?
A) You characters are "in retreat". This is not a bug. It's a condition that
can be brought on by certain monsters's attacks. It is similar to your
character getting charmed. To regain control, cast a dispel magic
spell on that(/those) character(s).
Q) How do I target spells (or missile weapons for that matter)? How do I
target stuff that's off the screen?
A) After you select the spell (or the weapon) you get a line that starts at
your character icon and ends in a little box. The number in the box
tells you how many targets you may select. Move the box onto the icon
of the monster and hit "T" for "T"arget! If you are allowed more than
one target, repeat this step. If your target is off the screen and yet
still within range, pull the target box to the edge of the screen and
click the mouse button. This will scroll the screen over in that
direction. (warning: some users have complained about crashing the
program by trying to hit targets off screen, though this has never
happened to me.) When you're done, hit the space bar.
Hit to rotate spells like Wall of Fog, Wall of Force, Wall of
Ice before targetting.
Q) How do I use a missile weapon?
A) Equip the character with it (most characters can be holding a melee weapon
and a missile weapon). When in combat mode, click on the little icon
next to the character's weapon. It is a small rectangular icon just
right of the character's weapon icon and it has a small scimitar and
a bow in it. Click on it, and you'll switch weapons. The weapon icon
of a missile weapon will be "raised" and you can click on it and you
target it like a spell.
Q) What's the difference between Guard, Delay, and Finish?
A) You can end a character's attack turn in one of the following ways:
attacking something, or one of the above. Guard will "save" your
attack for later when a poor unsuspecting monster wanders too close
to you. Delay should be done before you move. It's good when the
character is trapped behind other characters, you can "wait" to move
until after another character has moved. Finish simply ends the round
with no attack.
~Q) What is a thief's backstab? How do I use it?
A) For certain character classes, there is a percentage of the time that they
can inflict lots of damage. Take backstabbing for instance. You don't
need to do anything (like "getting behind" a monster) in order to back-
stab it. Simple attack as usual, and a certain percent of the time,
depending on what level you're on, your thief's skillful ability to
impale it's victim in a vulnerable and "physiologically" crucial spot,
your thief inflicts triple damage. Fighters, rangers, paladins, and
monks can inflict "critical hits" which implies some critical damage
(eg. crush skill, decapitate, maim, etc...) which causes double the
"normal" damage.
Q) How can I check to see what abilities and stamina a monster has [left]?
A) Use Command-Click and where normally you're player's combat info is
displayed, the monster's combat info will be displayed.
Q) How can I get information on items to see whether a certain character can
use it or what it's attributes are?
A) Use option-click to look at info on items before picking up or buying.
~Q) When I'm buying and/or trading, I want to sell something I'm wearing. Do I
have to go back to the items screen every time I want to unequip an
item?
A) You can put on/take off anything by clicking on it with the command key down
and you can "quick trade" it by clicking on it with the shift key down.
Q) The text during battles is too fast! I can't read everything! What can
I do?
A) You can slow the game to a crawl if you change the preferences setting.
What I find helpful when attacking with spells and missile weapons is
to look at the text box when hitting the space bar. Sure you miss out
on seeing your spell/weapon hit the monster, but you can see the text
if you're attention is on it. (I work in a vision lab, trust me, you
can see if if you try.)
Version 1.3.2 has "slowed" text during battle with a "speed up" option
in the preferences menu.
Q) Why do I have negative experience points? Why do I sometimes receive
negative experience points?
A) Because experience in this game is counted down not added up. You attain
the next level when the counter gets up to zero and then it resets to
a more negative number. In the 1.2.x versions, there is a bug that
when you receive too many experience points the value flips to a
negative value. It has to do with the way numbers are represented in
the computer: at some point a really large number looks like a
"complemented" or negative number to the computer. I think this bug
has been squashed.
Q) After I go to a shop all my money dissappears! What happened?
A) You have to remember to "share" your money before you leave (since you had
to pool your money to buy stuff when you came in). Turn the "Forget
money protection" ON in the preferences menu so that it will ask you if
you want to get the money before you leave.
Version 1.3 has a preference to automatically convert your gems to gold
if you don't have enough to buy something.
Q) How do I put scrolls in scroll cases?
A) You can't put the scrolls you find into scroll cases. You can USE them
whenever you want. Create your own scrolls, buy yourself some blank
parchment. Set up camp and the character with the scroll case and the
parchment will have a create scroll button. Then create the scroll and
it will give you the usual spell window and you cast the spell as you
would usually. A scroll will appear in your scroll case.
Q) Why can't I use scrolls? Can I use a scroll more than once?
A) Some characters can't use some scrolls. I think clerics can only use
cleric's scrolls (a clerical spell in scroll form). See above about
putting scrolls into scroll cases. To check whether a character can
use a scroll (or any item for that matter) go to trade and put that
character in the left side and start clicking on stuff. A red stop
sign will show up on the item and you'll get a little clunk sound. Try
giving the scroll to a character of a different class, or one with
more wisdom/intelligence (depending on whether cleric or magic user).
Scrolls are good because they can be created before a battle. During
the fight, when a spell-caster runs out of spell points, he/she can
then use scrolls, which already used spell points to create and now
can be used. Each scroll in a scroll case disappears after being used,
but picked up scrolls will have an Nx after it to tell you how many
times it can be used.
Opps... incomplete info: Paladins can use clerical scrolls and thieves
can eventually use magic user's scrolls. And you can also option click
on an item at anytime to see an information window that tells you all
about it and who can use it. (Thanks to Dave Wetzel - Editor: "Oh
yeah... totally forgot about that, but I often determine who gets what
after a fight when I'm dividing up the plunder.)
I've discovered that my 8th level paladin has a 100% chance of
successfully reading magic users' scrolls. Go figure.
Q) When I'm picking locks (bending bars, breaking down doors...), and I see
these yellow/green bars and the timer, what does it mean? Is there
something I am supposed do during this to increase my chances of
success?
A) Nothing and nothing. As far as I can tell, it's just a fancy way to tell
you your thief is working hard. Do consider finding your thief the
Gloves of Thievery and the Magic Thieves tools. They increase your
chance at success.
~ oops... Wrong wrong wrong... (After being informed by Benjamin Porter
that I should read the manual more carefully) The bars change color
based on the character's ability. There is a certain amount of time
the bars flash. If you hit return or click the mouse when they are all
yellow or green you will have successfully completed the task. Or for
those of us that do not have good hand-eye coordination, we just sit
and hope the percentiles are in our favor and all three will be green
at the end of the time allowed.
Q) Do monks and thieves increase their ability with levels?
A) Hmm... I know monks fight better. As far as I can tell, improvement depends
on your ability scores. Characters with good constitution tend to get
more stamina points at advancement time. And I also know that my thief
has improved from 9% to 14% success on backstabbing someone. I assume
all her other scores have improved too (note that I chose a female
thief because of the dexterity bonus).
Something else to keep in mind: more stamina gives more stamina at
promortion time, more wisdom for clerics/paladins for more spell
points; more intelligence for enchanters/magic users more spell points
_and_ more spells. Dexterity for thieves...
Q) Sometimes a magic-using character is not given the opportunity to cast
spells even when they are conscious and have plenty of spell points.
What gives?
A) Ah ha! I guess it's hard for a character who has been hit during a turn to
cast any spells. If you think of all the things that happen in one
"round" of a combat as simultaneous, then I suppose it would be hard to
concentrate on casting a spell while someone is beating you to a pulp.
But they can use a scroll instead of a spell if they've been hit.
Q) What the heck is an ion stone for?
A) Each color of ion stone is for a different class of character. You can
equipt it to increase that character's perfornace.
Q) Why am I a 3rd level cleric with only 2nd level spells?
A) Clerics get all the spells for a certain level all at once, but they only
get new spells something like every other level. Consult the appendix
in the manual for advancement.
Q) Why am I a 6th (7th, 8th...) level paladin with plenty of wisdom (and even
a few spell points) but am still without spells?
A) Because there was a bug in the 1.2.x versions. This is fixed in version 1.3
but you will have to attain another level before the program checks to
see if you deserve spells.
Q) I get a dialog box that asks if I want to do something, and I decide I
don't want to do it because my party is too wimpy. When I return the
monster or situation is gone! What gives?
A) You only get one shot at nearly all of the quests. If at any point you get
these types of dialogs, say "YES"! Risk it! You won't have a second
chance if you run away. Just save more often, and you can restore to
the previous state before you get killed be the quest. You can say no
to random encounters like giants, orcs, kobalds, goblins, shantiles...
But never pass up an opportunity to fight a demon, dragon, wizard...
Same thing holds true if you take the dagger from the old woman, her
shop stays closed for the rest of the game. High price to pay for
being greedy. How do you select the answer to the questions? Try to
choose the most noble, proud, brave, fool-hardy thing. Don't be afraid
to take risks, but don't be unkind.
"It's better to be dragon chow than to sit in the tavern at the city
of Bywater telling everybody that _you_ were the one that got away"
-Matt Hicks
There are a FEW exceptions to this rule. The beastmen corral will ask
if you want to do it later. You can do it later. There are many ways
to get into the spider tower. If you refuse to help the king's cleric,
you can still do a frontal assult through the front door or a sneak
attack through the secret passage. You can also decide to leave and
come back later to the town brothel.
If you've already blew it on some of them and want a second chance,
register your game and restart the adventure with your old characters
in a "new" party. You'll feel more confident with your entire arsenal
of weaponry and armor.
Q) What's the main difference between novice to veteran difficulty? Is the
veteran mode have harder monsters but less treasure and experience or
is it harder monsters with more experience and treasure?
A) It's the latter. You get more experience, more gold, the same "magic" items
but I noticed that the shops carry better stuff (especially Madam
Otik's Magic stuff shop). I found it much easier to attain higher
levels and hoard treasure near the beginning of the game. You will
attain levels faster if you have low level characters in a veteran's
game. Each scenario has a "recommended number of levels". For the
City of Bywater it is '6', which means best for 6 1st level characters
or one 6th level character. As you exceed the recommended levels, you
will not get as many XP.
Q) For one reason or another (encumbrance bug, missed quest...) I want to drop
a character and add another one and it says levels exceeded, or I want
to take my characters back through the same adventure and keep all
their possessions, what do I do?
A) Register your game! When you do; there will no longer be a restriction on
levels (although the number will still be there to indicated the
difficulty of the scenario) so you can put any level character back
into the party and they keep their possessions when saving the game.
That is, the "character" file is update as well as the save file.
~Q) How do I know when I finished/beaten the City of Bywater scenario?
A) You won't. Due to the non-linearity of the game (you can complete quests
in any order) there is no way of knowing if "you're done". EXCEPT for
the Bywater scenario, there is a "tip sheet" included with the game.
If you've done everything on the list, then you've done everything
there is to do. So now what? Start over with a different party.
Start over with a smaller party. Start over and do everything
differently than you did before (agree to fight the orcs instead of the
goblins; fight your way into the Spider Tower instead of finding the
Undead Army...). OR wait for the new scenario to come out
More playing tips and strategies:
%strategy
Q) What's the best combination of character classes for a party? How do I
stay alive at the beginning of the game? I've wandered all around the
City of Bywater and the surrounding woodlands, now what?
A) I've finally broken down and decided to answer these questions. Most RPG
players can skip this.
The best party is a well balanced with at least one thief, one strong
"fighter-type", and one spell caster. The remaining three are up to
your choosing: usually two more fighting characters and one spell
caster or vice versa. What I mean by fighter-type is fighter, paladin,
ranger or monk. I usually start with a paladin/fighter for their sheer
strength and fighting ability. They get all the best offensive weapons
and the most of the armor. I put them right in front to take hits and
protect spell casters and use them to carry most of the gold and junk
to be sold. A thief is good for the occasional lock pick, acrobatic
maneuver, or trap detection. Most are fairly weak but very dextrous so
I usually arm them with bows and arrows and hide the behind the others.
The first class of spell casters that I don't leave home without is a
cleric. They can wear any armor and cast healing spells. Both are big
plusses. The remaining members of a party is really up to taste. My
next choice in fighting characters is a ranger and then a monk. My
next choice for spell casters would be an enchanter because they can
wear a little more armor and carry short swords, unlike magic users,
who basically only fight with daggers. My current party of choice thus
consists of: Paladin, Ranger, Cleric, Enchanter, Magic User and Thief.
Monks just don't seem worth the effort for me, and fighters and rangers
are comparable, so why not go with the more exotic? Besides, I've had
really good results from rangers, better stamina, hit %, damage, and
missile weapon hit %.
When you enter the world of Realmz the first time you are poor and
naked. The first thing you should do is get into the castle by any
means you can. You probably should avoid brute force and bribes since
you will probably be weak, unarmed, and broke. Once in the castle, you
will be employed by the king to rid Bywater of the evil arachnids that
live in the spider tower. But he won't send you away empty handed, he
will let you go through the castle's armory before you go.
Once armed and a little more confident, wander around the buildings of
Bywater, visit with the orcs in the northeast, the goblins in the south
west and wander the entire visible map. Once you're done you can begin
wandering around in caves and looking for secret places to go to. If
you're still lost consult the City of Bywater tip sheet and try to
visit all those places.
Q) Is there a better way to kill monsters that are separated from you by a
wall or a mountain than to wander all over the screen to track it down?
A) Of course! If you are intent on hunting it down and killing it by hand,
there is a button called "shift". While the cursor is an arrow, you
normally click to make the character move in that direction. If you
press "S" you can scroll the window in that direction without moving
your character, so you don't have to wander aimlessly looking for a
break in the wall. Keep in mind that the battle map is just a zoom in
of the dungeon/surface map. If you remember the terrain before you
enter the combat, you'll find that it's pretty much the same after.
Another thing that helps is that sometimes the monsters aren't even on
the screen and you don't know which way to wander... try "R" for reveal
friends. You'll find that it also reveals your enemies too. If you
have a fairly strong spell caster, you could blink over to the bad guys
too.
~ If you just "F"inish each character's attack turn, and repeat for 4 our
5 rounds, the battle ends anyway. (Thanks to Richard Drysdall) I've
noticed that you get no (that's right ZERO) experience points if you
bag out of a fight this way.
But the best way to kill monsters from far away, that I've found is to
have an enchanter in the party able to cast Lightening Strike. This
spell's range is up to 20 units away and if you have enough spell
spell points can inflict up to 24 points of damage (if I recall
correctly). Very efficient. Cannot be blocked by walls, slagtites,
mountains...etc. Other good low level spells for range killing
include Flame Spikes and Cosmic Blast.
Q) What are some of the "hard" monsters?
~A) Orcus (and henchmen) in the temple at the sunken town of Waterford. Also
elsewhere in Waterford is the Wizard's tower. Two Red Dragons in the
Kobold Caverns. Lots of dinosaurs and 4 Green Dragons in a different
part of the same cave. You can also summon a demon at the pentagram
in the same cave. Also in the Kobold Caverns (Underdark) is some
wizard and a group of ogres. The Skeletal giant that's locked behind
the iron door. And you can find a good fight at the Spider Tower.
Newly discovered in Version 1.5: a Blue Dragon. Where are these places?
You can find them in the tip sheet included with the game.
Q) I've been hacking away at [monster x] for ages. It it possible to kill it?
A) Of course! Maybe you need stronger characters? (Come back when you are.)
Perhaps a different strategy? Better weapons?
In version 1.5 some monsters need magical weapons with a minimum plus
value to even score a hit.
Q) Can I retreat from a hopeless battle?
A) Yes, but you must run far enough away. If your characters has more
moves/turn than the monster, you might make it, otherwise, you're
better off standing your ground and take your shellacking like a
man (er.. apologies from un-PC-ness). If there is enough distance
between you and the monster, the game will ask: "Run away? Stay and
fight?" (The game crashes on me when the last character runs away,
so you might have to sacrifice one character to save the rest.)
Q) I've got wimpy 1st level characters. How can I get some gold to buy some
awesome weaponry and armor before venturing forth?
A) There are ways to "get" magical items without a fight. The King will give
you a lot of generic stuff for just agreeing to go on his quest. But
how do you get past the magistrate to get into the castle? Well,
don't ignore poor little beggars in the streets. If you scratch her
back (or her dog's back) she'll scratch yours (in a manner of saying).
And besides, you could bribe the magistrate? Or maybe show him a bad
forgery and then apologize for it? He might find it funny and let you
in anyway. There's a lame giant that has a stash of magic armor/
weapons that he'll let you in on if you help him. (He's near the lake
where all the other giants are. If you take the dagger from the old
woman being attacked in the town, you'll have one awesome weapon, but
you're better off letting her be, and buying the dagger from her later.
The arena is always good for 50 gold pieces (and whatever the monster
might be carrying) a shot. Also, pick up as many weapons and armor as
you can carry and sell it back to the shops (if your mac doesn't crash
when doing so). You can accumulate a lot of money this way.
Q) My characters often bleed to death and I hate to have to use up one turn of
one of my characters' attacks to bandage them. Besides, often monsters
are too close and pummel me after I finish bandaging. What can I do?
A) I keep a weakling thief around for tasks like picking locks, acrobatic
maneuvers, and launching arrows from a long distance. The character
can dish out much more than it can take. It often misses when in
melee, so I hide it behind everyone else. I use it to safely bandage
bleeding characters without feeling that I've wasted a valuable attack.
Q) My party has kicked butt, earned lots of gold. With that gold we have armed
ourselves to the teeth. But now my characters are so weighted down
that I only have one move per turn. What can I do without dropping
any of my precious armor or hard earned gold?
A) The weight is more likely due to the gold than anything else you may be
carrying around. Go to a shop or temple and have the gold changed to
gems (or jewelery... don't recall if that's possible). Gems are worth
more than gold so you will get fewer gems than gold, thus lightening
your load. There is a nominal fee for converting gold to gems but if
your gold is becoming a weight problem, it's likely that you will not
mind loosing a few gold pieces per gem. There is no fee for converting
back, though. To convert click on the bag with the jewels directly
under your party's amount of pooled gold.
Q) I can't find the orc king's daughter (the lame giant, ...). Where do I
look for them?
A) Most of these are random encounters. You have to be wandering in the
general vicinity to "find" these encounters. ie. The orc princess is
somewhere in the forest just east of the city of Bywater. Were exactly
depends, but turn on constant search and you'll be more likely to find
these, and also more likely to get attacked by random monsters.
With the exception of Orcus, which some people have trouble finding.
He's at the altar in the north eastern corner in the ornate temple in
the city of Waterford. When you find him, put the characters you most
want to keep alive in the circle, and do not smash the orb or be too
brash with him. You'll find he has a bit of an ego that is easily
bruised.
%tips
Q) What are some "neat" bugs, cheats, or "pro" strategies for this game?
A) WARNING!!! THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS. Granted that some of these
are just bugs that may be done away with soon, and others are just
little tricks that I've learned. But either way, they can really make
the game boring if you use some of these tricks or cheats.
1) Missile weapons NEVER miss (until patch 1.3 is out). (Patch is
out, but missile weapons still hit more often than hand held
weapons because (I think) missile weapons hitting is not based
on armor class but on the monster's ability to dodge the
missile attack.)
2) Try casting a minor attack deflector spell on yourself and sit
and watch the monster knock itself out. If you're character is
visible, you can step away and toward a monster during your
turn and it gets a free shot at you every time to step away or
step close. Little does it know... (In version 1.3 the spell
now only blocks a 1/3 of the attacks...)
3) Don't you hate it when a magic using monster charms one of your
party and you have to kill him/her? Just charm him/her back if
one or your spell casters has a charm spell.
4) Neat thing with "Wall of.." spells: Although you cannot cast
them if you are blocked by an obstacle (wall, tree, stalagmite)
the wall will still extend through the obstacle to the other
side. One fun thing to do is; blink yourself onto the other
side of a thin wall (works great at the arena and in the looted
graveyard) then cast a Wall of (Force/Ice/Thorns) and orient it
such that you are casting it on your side of the wall, but a
part of it is on the other side. Sit back and relax as dumb
monsters kill themselves trying to get to you. Great fun.
5) Helm of Kranak +1: put it on; take it off. You notice now you
have a -1 to hit undead and -1 to hit magic using. Repeat
until you have -128 for each and then do it one more time and
you will have +127 for both! (Thanks to Richard Drysdall)
I've inflicted as much as 143 points of damage on a poor little
zombie (the screen didn't flash unconscious or death, it
flashed destroyed!). (Bug fixed in version 1.3)
ONE WORD OF CAUTION! Okay, okay... quite a few words of
caution. If you attack a magic using monster that is protected
by the reflect attacks spell; then you can end up inflicting
all that damage ON YOURSELF (imagine my surprise when I swung
at the Guardian (Beholder) in the Wizard's tower and smacked
myself with 130 points of damage! Yes... it killed me.)
6) Characters wearing rings of regeneration don't need to be
bandaged: the lose a stamina point per round and they gain a
stamina point per round.
7) Good way to deal with archers and magic using characters: they
tend to deal with attackers that are near by before launching
arrows or spells. If you don't have a character with a missile
weapon, but have a 1st level Enchanter, you can Summon a
monster to do your bidding and place it near the archer/spell
caster. It will keep it busy for you. (Thanks to Dave Wetzel)
8) Okay, so you want better weapons and armor, but can't afford to
buy it? Get into the castle; agree to go on the quest for the
spider tower (this should be the first thing you do anyways).
The king let's you take what you want from the castle's armory,
right? Well, heck, clean 'em out! Take as much as you can
possibly carry. EVERYTHING if you can manage it. Go to the
store and sell everything you don't plan on keeping. You'll
have enough gold to buy the stuff you really want.
~ 9) Cool thing that I've found that I've yet to discover a use for:
You can blink yourself inside a wall! Very safe place to be to
hide yourself from conventional melee and missile attacks, but
you can't move or cast spells that require targetting except
for another blink spell.
~ 10) The save game files are really easy to hack if you have a hex
disk editor like fedit and a decimal/hex convertor on your
pocket calculator. I won't bother giving offsets, since it
varies depending on which character, and most things are easy
enough to spot. Just know that the characters experience is
stored in the eight hex characters directly preceeding the
character's name, and negative numbers are stored in the
complemented form: -1 is FFFF FFFF
~ Someone posted a character editor. Not real "stable" but lots
of fun nonetheless.
11) Tired of constantly getting jumped by random kobold attacks?
Can't get wink of rest because hill giants keep jumping you?
Cas yourself a Sentry spell (this is a fairly high level spell)
becuase it does away with all surprise attacks. On the down
side, I think it also prevents "good" random encounters.
~ 12) New beneficial bug discovered: the 6th level Wall of Fire
spell for Magic Users does not require any spell points! So
you can cast them at 7x power and not use up a single spell
point.
More stuff as I discover it.
More questions? Ask, and I'll try to answer.
Cheers,
Ivans