textfiles/apple/DOCUMENTATION/xyphus.1b

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First Screen:
HIT POINTS:
The amount of damage your character can take.
MAXIMUM HIT POINTS:
Your character's full potential if unwounded.
LEVEL:
This is the measure of your character's experience and expertise.
ENDURANCE LV:
This is the indicator of your character's level of fatigue.
WEAPON-IN-HAND:
Tells what weapon the character has ready to use.
ARMOR CLASS:
This tells you what type of armor the character is wearing.
GOLD OWNED:
The amount of gold the character possesses.
EXPERIENCE:
This figure shows how much experience the character has earned as a
result of victories in battles and gold found.
Second Screen:
SPELLS OWNED:
(if the character is a Spellcaster)
Third Screen:
WEAPONS OWNED:
SELECT ONE (This screen permits the character to change the
weapon-in-hand).
Permanent Status Display
During actual game play, there are always four lines of information
displayed at the bottom of the screen. The information shown is:
CHARACTER NAME/PROFESSION RACE/HIT POINTS: ENDURANCE (1-100)
WEAPON-IN-HAND
On occasion, such as during combat or when a spell has been cast,
special messages will be shown in this window. When you have finished
reading such a message, press the spacebar to continue.
Miscellaneous Commands
There are four other important commands to remember while playing
Xyphus. They are:
Q -
Quit and save. Pressing "Q" will save the current game status to your
Game Disk, allowing you to attend to frivolities such as eating,
sleeping, or being social.
W -
Weapon Selection. Pressing "W" will allow you to change the
weapon-in-hand, and costs the character one movement turn.
S -
Spell. This command allows you to cast spells, and will be discussed
in the file on Spellcasting.
Z -
Change text delay and movement delay. The text delay is the amount of
time that special messages are displayed on the screen. The movement
delay is the amount of time taken for response to a selected
directional move. Pressing "Z" will get the message: ENTER TEXT DELAY
(1-9) CURRENT VALUE IS X; followed by: ENTER MOVEMENT DELAY (1-9)
CURRENT VALUE IS X. Play with these values until you have found the
right ones for you.
Movement,Endurance, & Dexterity Factors
Each character and creature in Xyphus is rated for movement,
endurance, and dexterity. What this means is that each creature will
move better on certain types of terrain and worse on others, as is the
case for the different races of player characters.
Furthermore, depending on the weapon used, each character or creature
will strike more frequently during the length of a fight, or less
often. For example, a Dwarf wielding a two-handed longsword will not
strike nearly as frequently as an Elf using a hunting knife. (He will
do a lot more damage per blow, however). Different monster types will
strike at different rates as well.
Finally, each character and creature is rated for endurance. That
means that depending on the weapon being used and the spell being
cast, the player will tire out more quickly or at a slower pace. The
effects of fatigue on player cahracters is that there will be reduced
damage on blows struck or the character may cease to be able to fight
at all, and fatigued Spellcasters may not be able to cast some of the
more demanding spells.
Armor & Weapons
Metal is very scarce is Arroya - The Dwarves are the only true miners
and smiths in the whole land and there are only a few of them. A
warrior's wealth is often measured by the armor and weapons he or she
owns. There is no plundering of corpses for weapons. In fact, when
possible, the weapons and armor are buried with the corpse in
accordance with the dictates of Arroyan culture. However, weapons
which are lost and have no rightful owner may be claimed by any
Arroyan. Legends tell of many magical weapons which are scattered
about the Lost Continent.
The Arroyan warrior uses only one kind of armor, and only the most
powerful of warriors have full suits. The armor consists of a padded
jerkin of cloth, covered with a leather tunic that protects the waist
and hips. The tunic is in turn covered with a hauberk of chain mail
that covers the torso and protects the arms. Finally, a breastplate of
polished bronze is placed over the hauberk. Most Arroyans, however,
cannot afford this much armor and they must collect it piece by piece.
Fortunately, each component of the armor does provide an additional
degree of protection as it is accumulated. Custom (and practicality)
dictates that a warrior first purchase a shield, then begin building
his or her armor collection. No armorer will sell armor to a warrior
without a shield.
Should a warrior manage to purchase a full suit of armor, there is yet
another way of increasing his or her armor class. This is through the
purchase of an enchantment available through any armorer. The
enchantment is a two-part affair called the Veils of Szhaalin. The
first part is called the Inner Veil, and must be in place before the
second part - the Outer Veil - can be purchased.
Weapons
There are many types of weapons available in Arroya, some of which
cannot be purchased anywhere. The forts and trading posts in different
parts of the continent may offer weapons particular to that locale as
well as common weapons such as swords, maces, and morningstars. Mnay
of the special weapons are outlawed in other parts of the Lost
Continent and may be confiscated by garrison commanders there. (The
program will take care of these simply by eliminating them when you
move to a new scenario).
Many of the creatures found in Arroya are enchanted by nature, and may
only be wounded with magical or silver weapons. Most Lost Continent
veterans will tell you that if the creature seems unusual, it will
probably require the use of a special weapon to destroy it.
At some time your party may come across enchanted weapons useable
either by Fighters or Spellcasters. Be thankful and grab them! Some of
these weapons will last throughout the campaign, while others will
vanish when their enchantment is used up. Be warned that there are
cursed weapons around...
SPELLCASTING & MAGIC AND MONSTERS ARE IN FILE #2. THEY WILL BE
RELEASED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE...