Games PC DARK SUN-SHATTERED LANDS User Manual

✹

TABLE OF CONTENTS ✹

INTRODUCTION ....................................1

World of Dark Sun.................................1

What Comes with This Game? Copy Protection Using the Mouse Using the Keyboard

..............................2

.............................2

........................2

.......2

Getting Started Quickly with a

Pregenerated Party

JARETH’S JOURNAL ...............................3

HOW TO PLAY SHATTERED LANDS.....5

Adventuring and Combat Character Interaction Camping Training

..........................................7

Spellcasting / Psionics

CREATING YOUR PARTY.......................8

Creating Characters

..................2

...............5

......................7

....................7

........................8

Adding Previously Created

Characters

Modifying Your Party

CHARACTER OPTIONS ........................11

View Character View Inventory Cast Spells / Use Psionics Current Spell / Effects

GAME MENU........................................16

View Character View Inventory Cast Spells / Use Psionics Current Spell / Effects Exit to DOS Load / Save Game Set Preferences Overhead Map Center on Leader Collapse Party Walk

..............................................18

Look

..............................................18

Attack

............................................18

Return to Game

ABILITY SCORES..................................18

..............................11

...................11

..............................12

..............................13

.............15

...................15

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...................16

...................................16

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..............................17

...........................17

...............................17

.............................18

CHARACTER RACES.............................19

Dwarves Elves Half-Elves Half-Giants Halflings Humans Muls Thri-kreen

CHARACTER CLASSES .........................21

Fighters Gladiators Rangers Preservers Clerics Druids Thieves Psionicists

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS.................26

Alignment Armor Class Hit Points Experience Points Level

........................................19

..............................................19

......................................19

...................................19

........................................20

..............................................20

......................................20

.........................................21

.....................................22

.........................................22

......................................23

............................................23

...........................................24

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.....................................25

......................................26

...................................27

......................................27

.........................27

..............................................28

THACØ.......................................28

BESTIARY..............................................29

Creatures of Shattered Lands

.......29

Detailed Descriptions of New

Monsters

MAGIC ..................................................55

Preserver Spells Cleric Spells

PSIONICS..............................................79

Psychokinesis Psychometabolism Telepathy

APPENDIX............................................87

Preserver/Cleric Spell Index Psionic Power Index Racial Ability Adjustments Table Level Advancement Tables

................................36

.............................55

...................................67

................................80

........................81

......................................84

..........87

.....................89

...89

...........90

Spell Progression and

Spell Bonus Tables

Hot Keys

........................................92

................91

✹ INTRODUCTION ✹

The World of Dark Sun

Athas, the world of Dark Sun, was once as pleasant as any other. But, after many thousands of years, powerful mages found ways to gain power through draining the planet’s vitality. At their zenith, these wizards caused the sun to transform from a pleasant yellow glow to a raging crimson fireball on the horizon. The seas evaporated and were replaced by huge basins of silt.

Mines played out, rendering metal extremely rare and valuable. Scarcer still were any sources of water. The creatures of Athas were twisted by the free use of magic. They constantly adapted to the harsh conditions. New monsters emerged from the deep desert to plague the remnants of man.

Now the only stable concentrations of humanity are in tightly controlled city-states. Without exception, these are ruled by vicious sorcerer -kings — the last remnants of the wizards who depleted Athas. These kings call themselves gods and rule through a religious organization known as the templars. Their rule is uniformly

harsh and capricious, and a large proportion of the populace is enslaved. Only the strongest can feel any measure of safety because the templars can condemn anyone without a trial.

The few places with any freedom are isolated villages founded by escaped slaves. Though free, life in the wastelands is precarious. Water supplies can fail, marauding monsters can devastate a village, and slavers are a constant threat. Until these tiny villages can look beyond day-to-day survival and ally with one another, they are unlikely to survive more than a few years.

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around the city-state of Draj, ruled by the sorcerer-king Tectuktitlay.

takes place in and

What Comes with This Game?

In addition to this rule book, your game box should contain the game disks and a data card. This rule book explains how to play, and gives you valuable reference information on characters, monsters, spells, and psionics. The disks contain the game. Install the disks by following the instructions listed on the data card.

Copy Protection

There is no physical copy protection on your S please make copies and put the originals away for safekeeping.

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disks, so

To assure that you have a legitimate copy, there are copy protection questions during the game. Find the indicated word in this rule book, type the correct answer, and press Enter. Do not count headings.

Using the Mouse

You need a mouse for this game. A note to novice users: throughout this book, the term “click” means move the cursor to the desired area and press either the left or right mouse button. “Right-click” means move the cursor to the desired area and press the right mouse button. “Left-click” means move the cursor to the desired area and press the left mouse button.

Note that you can hit Esc to exit any menu in the game.

Using the Keyboard

Operations in this game are designed for the mouse, but certain functions do have keyboard commands. See the “Hot Keys” section on page 92 or the data card for a complete list.

Getting Started Quickly with a Pregenerated Party

A saved game containing a pre-built party comes with your game. T o get right into the game without creating your own party , select ST AR T GAMEfrom the Start Window. The game automatically loads the pre-built party , and you immediately enter the game.

✹ JARETH’S JOURNAL ✹

His masters were shocked and condemned him to

the slave pens. I believe they hope to force him

to return to his gladiatorial skills to survive.

However, I am sure he will not do so until he

I am Jareth, an itinerant bard, lately of Draj. I

had the dubious honor of spending time

condemned to the arena — a noble whom I

poisoned regretfully survived. Thankfully, my

family was able to bribe a templar with some

magic fruit.

While locked in the slave pens, I was able to

learn about the other slaves’ lives. These

illuminate the great challenges of surviving in

Draj. The slave most philosophical about his

plight was a half-giant named Gareth. A

gladiator of some repute, he had won many

matches for the noble house of Tehuactl. He also

had a misguided loyalty to his master. Thus

when a templar came and suggested he lose his next match, Gareth broke the templar’s neck. In

return, his master declared this an escape

attempt and condemned him to die in the royal

slave pens. He is still not bitter, but now seeks

to escape to freedom.

One of the most bizarre prisoners is the thri-

kreen, Tarim. She had been hunting city troops

on the salt flats west of Draj, when she was

trapped by a powerful templar. Rather than kill

her outright, the templar sent her to the arena,

so that her death could entertain the masses.

While she doesn’t mind the fight, she misses the hunt and the freedom of the wasteland.

Selucus was a favorite of the sorcerer-king,

destined to become one of the great gladiators of

his time. He was pampered and allowed to spend

time unescorted in the city. Alas, his brilliance

led him to temptation. The Veiled Alliance

convinced him to learn the ways of the

preservers. Foolishly, he set aside his gladiator’s

weapons and took to the arcane path of magic.

has mastered the spells of the preserver.

The beautiful Saria is the offspring of a foolish

human slave girl and a roguish elven caravan

master. Her father left for other cities before she

was born. Saria spent her youth on the street,

stealing to survive. Before this life could wear

her down, she was caught picking a preserver’s

pocket. He took her out of the city and trained

her in the east, near the volcano. She discovered

peace amidst the harsh landscape. She learned to call on the spirits of earth, as well as how to master the preserver’s dangerous art. She might

have stayed forever, but a slaver band captured

her and killed her benefactor. At the auction

block, she used her spells to slay a templar. Now

she lives in the pens, seeking a way back to the

wasteland.

Those condemned to slavery without connections such as mine can only find freedom by fleeing into the wilderness. Travellers tell me of whole

villages of freed slaves, eking out an existence

near small watering holes. Individually, these

villages are so weak that a city patrol or band

of raiders could wipe them out with ease.

There are very few slaves that have any planning or leadership ability. I believe that a strong personality could unify them into a

dangerous force. I know that the Drajian

templars are beginning to share this view. I

have heard rumors of a punitive expedition to

clear the wastes of these villages all the way to

the Silt Sea.

HOW TO PLAY SHATTERED LANDS

To start the game from the main menu, select START GAME. You are supplied with a pregenerated party in case you wish to begin adventuring immediately. Otherwise, create a party by selecting CREATE CHARACTERS. See “Creating Your Party” on page 8.

By default, only the leader of your party appears on the map. The other three characters appear whenever combat is initiated. However, if you like, you may also toggle the Collapse Party icon from the Game Menu to have all four characters appear at all times. See “Game Menu” on page 16.

At the start of the game, your characters find themselves in an arena in Draj. To escape — and escape they must — they must battle their way to freedom. If you want them to survive past the first battle, here are some things you should know.

Adventuring and Combat

While your party adventures on Athas, use the mouse to direct their movements and actions.

The mouse has three modes:

• Walk • Attack • Look Right-click to change between these

modes. Notice that the cursor cycles through the icons each time you right-click. To make a selected action happen, left-click. For example, if you have the “Walk” mouse icon, left-click to make your characters walk from one location to another.

To scroll the screen, move the mouse cursor in the direction you wish to move the screen. The screen scrolls in the direction selected until you move the cursor away from the screen edge, or until you reach the edge of the map. NPCs do not move unless the mouse pointer is in Walk mode.

Note that the mouse pointer is temporarily replaced by an hourglass when the game is processing your commands.

Whenever you use an icon to target, aim with the upper-left corner of the icon.

Walk

Use the mouse pointer to find the area you want the party to walk to. Leftclick on that location with the W alk icon. If it is possible to get there, the party takes the most direct route to do so. If you ask them to do something impossible or suicidal, like walk into a lava pit, the icon changes to the Can’t Walk icon, and the party waits until you make a more sensible request.

You may also move your characters around using the arrow keys on the numeric keypad.

When combat is initiated by one of the two attack icons explained below, use the Walk icon to attack an oppo nent by clicking on the target. The character walks to the target and automatically attacks it.

Attack

There are two ways to attack enemies in S are Hand-to-Hand and Ranged.

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. They

There is no need to switch back and forth between Hand-to-Hand and Ranged attacks manually; simply ready both types of weapons — the computer will decide which icon/weapon can be used.

NPCs may flee, fight back, or even summon reinforcements if attacked! Keep in mind that indiscriminate killing may lead to a distinct lack of people to speak with. This in turn may cause the party to miss essential clues and items.

The Hand-to-Hand Attack icon only works when your

character is adjacent to an enemy. Click the icon on the enemy and the character will attack it with his or her readied weapon(s). A character can ready two one-handed weapons, one in each hand. Rangers and characters with high Dexterity do so at no penalty. Others use the second weapon at a disadvantage. If the character is not adjacent, the Invalid version of the icon appears.

The Ranged Attack icon only

works when the enemy is at

a distance and the character has a readied missile weapon and/or ammunition. If the enemy is out of range, the icon changes to the Invalid version. This means the target is not a valid target and cannot be attacked.

Look

You can examine objects by leftclicking on them when you are in Look mode. If you can use the item, talk to it, or pick it up, a box appears with a summary and with buttons showing what options you have. If only one of these options is available

(for example, you can only open doors, never talk to them or pick them up) it will happen automatically instead of displaying this box.

When you are in combat with a monster , you can use the Look icon to see basic information about your opponent. This information includes: the type of monster it is, its current state (casting, charmed, held, petrified, etc.), and a hit point bar indicating what proportion of its hit points remain.

You can also use the Look icon on a party member to bring up the View Character screen.

T alk

When you click the Look icon on someone or something you can talk to, you see the Talk button. Click on the Talk button to begin a conversation.

Use

T o use an object, click on the Use button. Some objects may be used on other objects. For example, to use a pickaxe, click on it, select the Use button, and then click the pickaxe on a pile of rock. The rock breaks apart to reveal other objects.

Pick Up

To take an object, click on the Pick Up button. The cursor becomes a graphic representation of the object. Clicking the object on a character icon places it into that character’s backpack; otherwise, the object may be carried around as the cursor. Clicking on an open area drops the object on the ground. You can only carry one item at a time on the mouse pointer.

Character Interaction

NPCs (non-player characters) are characters that your party interacts with in the course of the game. Some NPCs have their own agendas and initiate conversations with the party.

To speak to an NPC, click the Look icon over the character. To start a conversation, click on the Talk button when it appears in the options box. One or two windows appear. The upper window shows a portrait of the NPC and what that character is saying. The lower window lists the responses you may make. To select a response, you can either highlight the response you wish to make and leftclick or use the up and down arrows to highlight the desired response. Pressing Enter selects it.

Conversations occur between the NPC and the leader of the party. Even though the leader may say “I...,” he or she speaks for the party.

Characters That Join Your Party

Many NPCs inhabit Athas. As you adventure, these people provide information to help your party continue its journey. They do not enter your party, though they may follow it or lead it somewhere.

Camping

Camping allows you to rest. Rest is necessary to

recover from battles and to regain spells and psionic points. Safe places to rest are depicted by a fire ring. To camp, move the Look icon over the fire ring and left-click. As you rest, characters with cure spells automatically cast them on wounded characters. Psionic Strength Points are fully restored, as well as all the spells that spellcasters can cast.

Training

When your characters go up in levels, they may be eligible to learn a new spell or more psionic skills. If so, a box appears with all the icons depicting the spells or psionics you may learn. To toggle between different spell levels/psionic disciplines, click the icon on the lower -left corner of the box. To pick a new psionic or spell, click on its icon. Press DONE when you’re finished.

Spellcasting / Psionics

Spells and psionics are often the deciding factor between winning and losing a battle. Knowing how to cast spells and use psionics is a very important skill, and should be learned early on.

The first step in casting a spell or using a psionic is to select it in the Cast Spells/Use Psionics screen. After you select the spell or psionic power, the cursor becomes the icon

you selected. To abort, right-click once. Some spells or psionics (healing spells, for example) can be cast directly from this screen by clicking the spell icon on the target character. Other spells and psionics automatically return you to the regular game screen.

Refer to “Cast Spells/Use Psionics” on page 15 for detailed instructions.

Once spells have been cast, you may also right-click on the Dark Sun icon to bring up a box displaying the last five spell and psionics icons used. This provides quick access to the most frequently used spells.

CREATING YOUR PARTY

To play S create a party of one to four characters. We recommend you create a party of four. The races you can choose from are:

• human

• dwarf

• elf

• half-elf

• half-giant

• halfling

• mul (male character only)

• thri-kreen (female character only)

Depending on the race you choose for your character, he or she is eligible to belong to certain classes. (A class is like an occupation.)

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, you must

If you’re new to Athas, or just want to know more about various races and classes, refer to “Character Races” on page 19 and “Character Classes” on page 21.

Creating Characters

To create your own characters, select CREATE CHARACTERSfrom the main menu. The main menu is the screen that has the following options:

START GAME CREATE CHARACTERS LOAD SAVED GAME EXIT TO DOS

After selecting CREATE CHARACTERS, you see the View Character screen with four empty character slots. It has six icons along the bottom of the screen: View Character, View Inventory, Cast Spells/Use Psionics, Current Spell/Effects, the Game Menu button, and the Return to Game button. For now, leave these icons alone. You can come back to them after you create your party.

Right-click on an empty character slot. A short menu appears with these options:

NEW ADD CANCEL

NEW allows you to create an entirely

new character. ADD allows you to add a previously

created character. CANCEL closes this menu.

CHARACTER PORTRAIT

CHARACTER ICON CLASS LISTDIE

CHARACTER DATA

✹ Character Generation Screen ✹

Creating New Characters

Select NEW. You see a screen that looks like the one above.

Here you choose the race, sex, class(es), and abilities of your new character:

Character Portrait

This area displays a body portrait of your character. Left-clicking on the character portrait advances you through the entire selection of races and genders. Right-clicking returns you to the previous portrait.

Decide on the race and sex of your character by moving through the portraits until you find the character you want.

PSIONIC DISCIPLINES

AND/OR CLERICAL

SPHERES

Character Icon

This box displays what your character looks like from a distance as he or she explores the barren face of Athas.

Class List

This list shows the various classes that your character is eligible for, and allows you to choose a class (or classes) for your character.

As a default, the fighter class has been pre-selected for you. A diamond appears next to currently selected classes.

Left-clicking on the diamond deselects that class, and allows you to choose a new class. T ry deselecting “fighter” on a human character. Notice that all the class options are

now available. This is because humans can be any class. Other races, however, are limited in their class options. Halflings, for example, cannot be preservers.

While humans can only have one class, other races are eligible for more than one class. When a character has two or three classes, he or she is referred to as multi-classed. For example, dwarves can have one, two, or three classes.

Keep in mind that, when multiclassing, some classes are unavailable when others have been chosen. For example, a character cannot be a cleric and a druid at the same time.

In addition, when characters are multi-classed they advance in experience and hit points much more slowly than single-class characters. This is because multi-class characters divide their experience points evenly among the classes.

For reference information on classes, see “Character Classes” on page 21.

Psionic Disciplines and/or Clerical Spheres

This lists the various psionic disciplines or clerical spheres that your character is eligible for, and allows you to choose among them. Leftclicking on VIEW SPHERESor VIEW PSIONICS toggles you between the list of psionic disciplines and the list of clerical spheres.

Psionicists can specialize in all three psionic disciplines: psychokinesis, psychometabolism, and telepathy.

All other characters can only choose one of these disciplines. For more about these disciplines, refer to “Psionicists” on page 25.

Clerics can choose any one of the four clerical spheres: air, earth, fire, and water. For a description of the four spheres, refer to “Clerics” on page 23.

The Die

Clicking on the die generates a random set of values for the character’s statistics.

Character Data

To improve an ability, left-click on its adjacent box. The value increases by one. Right-click to decrease the value. This allows you to match a character’s statistics with those of a favorite role-playing character.

Similarly, you can alter the hit point value (HP) and the character’s alignment by clicking on the small gray boxes next to those options.

For a thorough description of these statistics, refer to “Other Characteristics” on page 26.

Your character has been given a random name. If you want to change it, left-click on the name. A cursor appears where you clicked. Delete the previous name and type in the name of your choosing.

When you are satisfied with the character you have created, click on DONE and continue creating characters until you have a complete party of four.

Adding Previously Created Characters

You can also add previously created characters to your party. When you are at the View Character screen, right-click on an empty character slot, and choose ADD. Click on the character name of a previously generated character to have him or her appear in your party.

Modifying Y our Party

Once you have created your party, you may decide that you want to make minor alterations. Go to the View Character screen and right-click on the character you want to alter. You’ll notice that the menu now reads:

EDIT DROP DUAL

EDIT returns to the character gen-

eration screen. You may make any changes you wish to the character, as during generation. This option is only valid before the character first goes adventuring on Athas. After that, the option changes to

EDIT NAME only .

DROP removes a character from the

party and puts him or her on disk. If you change your mind, you can pick up this character later with ADD.

DUAL is only available when viewing a human character, because only humans may become dual-classed. You must be at least thir d level in your current class before you can dual class. Selecting this option allows you to choose a new class. See the section on “Character Classes” on page 21 for more information on dual-class characters.

CHARACTER OPTIONS

The first time you left-click

on the Dark Sun icon the Cast Spells/Use Psionics character option screen appears. At the bottom left are the four character options icons. These are described in detail below. The most recently chosen character option remains selected until you choose another. Thus, if you selected View Inventory, the next time you click on the Dark Sun icon (or on a character with the Look icon) the Inventory screen appears.

Right-clicking on the Dark Sun icon displays the last five spells or psionics cast. Click on one of these spell icons to cast it.

View Character

The View Character screen shows your party. When you highlight a party member by left-clicking on his or her character box, the character’s stats and other vital information appear on the right side of the screen.

Alongside each character box are two small buttons, one for Computer Control and one for selecting the party Leader . Click on Computer Control to place the character’s actions under control of the computer during combat. Click on Leader to make that character the party’s leader when walking and interacting with Non-Player Characters (NPCs).

Character Boxes

If you right-click on a character box with a character in it, you get the following menu:

EDIT NAME DROP DUAL

EDIT NAME returns to the character

generation screen. Since the character has already begun to adventure, at this point in the game you may only change his or her name.

DROP removes a character from the party and puts him or her on disk. If you change your mind, you can pick up this character later with ADD.

DUAL is only available when viewing a human character, because only humans may become dual-classed. Selecting this option allows you to choose a new class. See the section on “Character Classes” on page 21 for more information on dual-class characters.

If you right-click on an empty charac- ter box, you see the following menu:

NEW ADD CANCEL

NEW allows you to generate a

new character. See the “Creating Your Party” section on page 8 for more information.

ADD allows you to add a previously created character.

CANCEL closes this menu.

CHOOSE

PARTY

LEADER

COMPUTER-

CONTROLLED

COMBAT

ON/OFF

HANDS/

ITEMS IN

HANDS

CHARACTER

BOXES

ACTIVE CHARACTER

PORTRAIT

AMMO

MISSILE

MONEYDESCRIPTION BOX

✹ Inventory Screen ✹

View Inventory

To use, ready , drop, or transfer

items, select the View Inventory icon. The inventory screen appears with a large portrait of the active character in the center. To see the inventory screen for a different character, click on one of the character boxes on the left edge of the screen.

Surrounding the active character portrait are fourteen slots. Each refers to a different part of the character’s body, such as legs, head, fingers, and arms. Left-click on an item to pick it up. To move an item to the character’s body, first pick up the item and look for outlines around the item slots. A yellow outline appears around all the valid slots for that

ITEM SLOTS CHARACTER‘S BACKPACK

CHARACTER OPTION

BUTTONS

GAME MENU

CHARACTER

DATA

RETURN TO

GAME

item. Center the item over any outlined slot; the outline flashes when the item is centered. Left-click again to drop it there. To ready weapons for combat, place them in your character’s hands. Missile weapons and their ammunition have special slots at the upper left.

To the upper-right are twelve more slots representing your character’s backpack. Store items here that you wish to keep. You may also find pouches and chests which can be used for more storage within the backpack. Pouches and chests hold six items, and both can be placed in your character’s backpack. A pouch can be placed in a chest, but not vice versa; pouches cannot hold other pouches, nor can chests hold other

chests. Open pouches and chests by right-clicking on them. Close them by left-clicking on the lid or flap.

To drop an item, select it and click DROP. The item disappears from your character’s inventory and falls to the ground. If you want it again, just pick it up off the ground.

To split a bundle of “grouped” items (such as arrows) in half, select it and click on SPLIT. This only works if you have an empty slot in your backpack to hold the other half.

To transfer an item to another character, select that item and click the character box of the character you wish to transfer to. That character’s inventory screen appears, and you can place the item appropriately.

The inventory screen also contains more data. Under the active character portrait, a description box provides information about objects, buttons, and available options. Along the right side of the screen, a panel displays character data. Along the bottom, a bar shows how much money , in ceramic pieces (CP), your character has.

Also at the bottom of the screen are the four character options buttons, the Game Menu button, and the Return to Game button.

Item Summary / Using Items

Right-click on any item in inventory (or in a container) to bring up its item summary. This is a box containing relevant information about the item. If the item is magical and can be used, a Cast Spell icon appears. Press the icon to cast the spell. You can’t use this function during combat if it is not the character’s turn, or if the spell

can’t be cast by the character holding the item. If you know what spell the item casts, the spell icon appears in the summary box. When you rightclick on a spell scroll, a window with a spell icon appears. Click on the icon to learn the spell.

Some items are inherently magical. A magical sword, for example, may cast spells against your opponent whenever you hit him with the sword. This happens automatically if you have the sword readied and fight with it. Other items cast magical effects on whoever wears them. If an item casts a haste spell on the wearer, for example, the spell is cast as soon as that item is readied.

Stores

In your adventures on Athas, you may encounter shopkeepers who want to sell you their wares. When you visit a store, the regular inventory screen is displayed alongside a store screen.

Stores have six item slots showing the items for sale. If there are more than six items for sale, a MORE button appears allowing you to display the rest. The prices of the items appear below their slots. When you point to an item, a flashing highlight indicates that you can afford it; a solid highlight means you do not have enough money . To buy the item, simply click on it. The money is deducted automatically. The cursor becomes the item, and you can place it in your inventory where appropriate.

To sell an item to the shopkeeper, select the item to be sold and click SELL.

To leave the store, select the Return to Game button.

Cast Spells / Use Psionics

T o select a spell or prepare a

psionic power , press the Cast Spells/Use Psionics icon. All your spells and psionics will be displayed for each level known. T o cycle between spell types and levels, click the appropriate buttons in the bottom row . Pointing with the cursor to a spell or psionic power displays its name at the bottom of the window . For a short description of a spell or power , rightclick on the icon. (T o close the window click anywhere within it.) Select a spell or psionic power by leftclicking on its icon. After you have chosen, the pointer becomes an icon representing your choice. Some spells (healing spells, for example) can be cast directly from this screen by clicking the spell icon on the target character . Other spells automatically return you to the regular game screen.

Quick Cast: Right-clicking on the Dark Sun icon displays a box showing the last spell icon cast. Up to five different spells are shown in the queue. If you have no spells in the queue the Cast Spells/Use Psionics screen appears. If you cannot cast any more spells at a particular level an orange “X” appears over the spell icon.

Dots around the icon show the area of effect. T arget the spell with the icon. Move it to your target and left-click. T o

abort, right-click once. This procedure is sufficient to cast most of the spells and psionics in S

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. The only exceptions are “wall” spells (i.e., a wall of “something”). To cast a wall spell, left-click where you want one end of the wall to appear . Then move the spell cursor to where you want the other end of the wall to appear and left-click again. Your wall appears, and you live to fight a little longer .

The maximum number of spells that the player character can cast before resting is determined by his or her level. Refer to page 91 for the number of spells each class has available per level.

If you move the pointer beyond the range of the spell or psionic power, the icon disappears and the Can’t Cast icon takes its place. A location is invalid when it is out of range or line of sight, or when it cannot be affected by magic.

All characters begin as first level psionicists in the S

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computer game.

Current Spell / Effects

To see if there are any good

or evil effects influencing a character, press the Current Spell/ Effects icon. Any effects your character is operating under appear in a row next to his or her icon. To eliminate a good effect, simply rightclick on it and it disappears.

Evil effects are harder to get rid of. If any member of the party has a counter-spell or psionic ability that can void the effect, cast it on the affected character(s).

VIEW CHARACTER VIEW INVENTORY CAST SPELLS/USE PSIONICS CURRENT SPELL/EFFECTS

SET PREFERENCES

LOAD/SAVE GAME

EXIT TO DOS

COLLAPSE PARTY

OVERHEAD MAP

CENTER ON LEADER

RETURN TO GAME

ATTACKLOOKWALK

✹ Game Menu ✹

GAME MENU

The Game Menu button

appears on the bottom row of the character options screens after your party has begun adventuring. When you select the Game Menu

SAVE allows you to save the game in progress before quitting.

QUIT exits the game immediately, without saving.

CANCEL returns you to the game

in progress. button, the Game Menu screen appears with the following options:

View Character

See “View Character” on page 12.

View Inventory

See “View Inventory” on page 13.

Load / Save Game

Selecting the Load/Save Game icon

brings up the following menu:

LOAD SAVE RESTART

LOAD brings you to the Load Game

Cast Spells / Use Psionics

See “Cast Spells/Use Psionics” on page 15.

Current Spell / Effects

See “Current Spell/Effects” on page 15.

Exit to DOS

screen. Click on the name of the

saved game you want to load.

SAVE brings you to the Save Game

screen. Click on any empty slot, then

type in a description of your saved

game. Note: you can’t save the game

during combat.

RESTART restarts the game from the If you want to quit playing, select the

Exit to DOS icon.

beginning. You do not lose the

characters you’ve created.

MUSIC ON/OFF

SOUND EFFECTS ON/OFF

ANIMATIONS ON/OFF

ABOUT DARK SUN

✹ Set Preferences Menu ✹

Set Preferences

This option brings up the Set Preferences screen, which allows you to control the way the game looks and sounds.

Music volume is a slide bar you can adjust to control music volume. Click on the buttons on either end of the bar to change the volume.

Music on/off allows you to turn the music completely off.

Sound effects volume is a slide bar you can adjust to control the volume of the sound effects. Click on the buttons on either end of the bar to change the volume.

Sound effects on/off allows you to turn the sound effects completely off.

Animations on/off allows you to toggle the game’s animations on and off. T urning the animations off helps speed up the game on slower systems.

Difficulty allows you to control the level of difficulty in combat. The settings are Easy, Balanced, Hard, and Hideous. Default is Balanced.

MUSIC VOLUME

SOUND EFFECTS VOLUME

DIFFICULTY

RETURN TO GAME

GAME MENU

About Dark Sun gives you version information and copyright information.

Overhead Map

The Overhead Map is a detailed overview of the region your party is currently exploring. The party’s location is indicated by a blue dot. Red dots indicate monsters and NPCs. Only areas you have explored are visible on the map, the rest is covered up until you travel to that area.

Center on Leader

The Center on Leader icon centers the screen on the leader of the party. This is useful in combat when you have scrolled the cursor off-screen to target on a monster.

Collapse Party

Choose whether your party is depicted walking about Athas as a single person or a full group. Selecting a single person speeds up the game. If you choose the single person option, only the currently selected Leader appears.

Walk

Selecting this icon changes your cursor to the Walk icon and returns you to the game. See page 5 for more information on the Walk icon.

Look

Selecting this icon changes your cursor to the Look icon and returns you to the game. See page 6 for more information on the Look icon.

Attack

Selecting this icon changes your cursor to the Attack icon and returns you to the game. See page 5 for more information on the Attack icon.

Return to Game

The Return to Game button returns you to the game in progress.

ABILITY SCORES

Each character has six randomlygenerated ability scores as described below. These scores fall within a range determined by the race and class of the character. The possible values range from 9 (low) to 24 (high). Higher values always offer greater advantages.

Strength measures physical power, muscle-mass, and stamina. High Strength increases a character’s combat ability with melee weapons such as swords or maces. Strength also determines how much a character can carry without becoming encumbered and slowed in combat.

Dexterity measures agility, hand-eye

coordination, and reflex speed.

Characters with high Dexterities

have bonuses to Armor Class, an

indication of how difficult they are to

hit. Thieves especially benefit from

high Dexterity. Good Dexterity also

gives bonuses when using missile

weapons such as bows or slings.

Constitution measures fitness,

health, and physical toughness.

High Constitution increases the

number of hit points a character

receives. A character’s Constitution

also determines the maximum

number of times that character can

be raised from the dead. Every time a

character is successfully resurrected,

1 point of Constitution is lost.

Intelligence measures memory,

reasoning, and learning ability.

Preservers especially rely on high

Intelligence scores; their skill and

very survival hinge on learning and

using their knowledge of magic.

Wisdom measures a composite of

judgment, enlightenment, willpower,

and intuition. Characters with low

Wisdom are more susceptible to

magical spells, while those with

higher Wisdom have greater resis-

tance. Clerics with Wisdom 15 or

greater receive extra spells (see the

“Cleric Wisdom Spell Bonus Table”

on page 91).

Charisma measures personal

magnetism, persuasiveness, and

ability to assume command. NPCs

may respond better to characters

with higher Charisma.

CHARACTER RACES

Your characters can be any of eight races: dwarf, elf, half-elf, half-giant, halfling, human, mul, and thri-kreen. Each race has its own unique features and abilities. Some races are naturally stronger or weaker, or more or less agile than others. These differences are reflected in modifications to their generated ability scores. See the “Racial Ability Adjustments Table” on page 89 for specific adjustments.

Dwarves

Dwarves are short but extremely powerful. Athasian dwarves average 4 1/2 to 5 feet in height and tend to have a very large muscle mass — a full-grown dwarf weighs in the neighborhood of 200 pounds. Dwarves can live up to 250 years.

By nature, dwarves are nonmagical and never use magical spells. This restriction does not apply to dwarven clerics.

Dwarves can be fighters, gladiators, clerics, thieves, psionicists, and multi-class characters.

Elves

Elves are a race of long-limbed sprinters given to theft, raiding, and warfare. An Athasian elf stands between 6 1/2 and 7 1/2 feet tall. They are slender, lean, and generally in terrific physical condition. An elf

warrior is conditioned to run quickly over sandy and rocky terrain, sometimes for days at a time — an elf warrior can cross better than 50 miles per day.

Elves use no beasts of burden for personal transportation. It is dishonorable among elves to ride on an animal unless wounded and near death.

Elves can be fighters, gladiators, rangers, preservers, clerics, thieves, psionicists, and multi-class characters.

Half-Elves

Half-elves are the result of the intermingling of human and elven societies in the great cities of Athas. Half-elves are generally tall, standing between 6 and 6 1/2 feet.

Due to their mixed heritage, halfelves are often unaccepted by both elves and humans. This intolerance leads them to be self-reliant, and able to survive without companionship.

Half-elves can be fighters, gladiators, rangers, preservers, clerics, druids, thieves, psionicists, and multi-class characters.

Half-Giants

Giants dominate many of the islands and coastal areas of the Sea of Silt. In some lost millennium, as a bizarre experiment or perhaps as some sort of curse, giants were magically crossbred with humans. Half-giants are now fairly common.

Half-giants stand between 10 and 12 feet tall, and weigh in the neighborhood of 1,600 pounds. Their features are human, but exaggerated.

Half-giants can be fighters, gladiators, rangers, clerics, psionicists, and multi-class characters.

Halflings

Halflings are very short humanoids, standing no more than 3 1/2 feet tall. They are muscled and proportioned like humans, but they have the faces of wise and beautiful children. Halflings weigh 50 to 60 pounds and are always in peak physical condition.

Halflings can be fighters, gladiators, rangers, clerics, druids, thieves, psionicists, and multi-class characters.

Humans

Humans are the predominant race on Athas. The average human male stands between 6 and 6 1/2 feet tall and weighs 180 to 200 pounds. The average human female is slightly smaller, averaging between 5 1/2 and 6 feet in height and weighing between 100 and 140 pounds.

Humans can be fighters, gladiators, rangers, preservers, clerics, druids, thieves, psionicists, and dual-class characters.

Muls

Muls are an incredibly tough cross-

breed of humans and dwarves. They

retain the height and cunning of their

human parent, with the durability and

raw strength of their dwarven parent.

Muls are usually the products of the

slave pits. They are always male.

Full-grown muls stand 6 to 6 1/2 feet

tall and weigh 240 to 300 pounds.

They have stern facial features, and

most muls have no hair or beard.

Muls can be fighters, gladiators,

clerics, thieves, psionicists, and

multi-class characters.

Thri-kreen

Thri-kreen are the least “human” in

appearance of all the races. Thri-kreen

are insectoids — six-limbed creatures

with tough, sandy-yellow exoskeletons.

They stand as tall as 7 feet at the

shoulder , have two large eyes, two

antennae, and a small powerful jaw .

They are always female.

Thri-kreen make and use the

chatkcha, a crystalline throwing

wedge. The chatkcha can be thrown

up to 90 yards and still return to

the thrower if it misses the target.

When it hits, the chatkcha inflicts 3

to 9 points of damage.

Thri-kreen cannot use armor, cloaks,

belts, boots, or rings due to their

non-human shape.

Thri-kreen can be fighters, gladiators,

rangers, clerics, psionicists, and

multi-class characters.

CHARACTER CLASSES

Character classes reflect the interests and occupations of your characters. A class is like a job; it’s what a character does on a daily basis. Each class has certain unique abilities and limitations. Characters may also become dual- or multi-class, specializing in more than one area at once.

A dual-class character is one who starts in a single class, advances to a moderate level, and then changes to a second class, starting all over again from level one. The benefits and abilities of the first class are lost until he exceeds the level of his first class in his second. The character can never again advance in that class. Only humans can be dual-class characters. A human character may do this process twice, potentially allowing a total of three classes.

A multi-class character improves in two or more classes simultaneously . All experience is divided equally between each class. This, of course, means that level advancement proceeds at a much slower rate than in those characters who remain singleclass. Only demihumans and thrikreen can be multi-class characters.

Special note: A prime requisite is the most important ability score for a particular class. A fighter’s prime requisite, for example, is Strength. Characters who have an ability score of 16 or greater as their prime requisite receive a 10 percent bonus to the experience points they earn. Characters with more than one prime requisite must have a score of 16 or greater in allof their prime requisites to receive the bonus.

Fighters

Ability Requirement Strength 9 Prime Requisite Strength Races Allowed All

Fighters on Athas are skilled warriors, soldiers trained in both individual combat and mass warfare. This training includes use and maintenance of all manner of weapons and armor. Fighters can use any type of armor or weapon without restriction. (Thri-kreen fighters, however, have certain restrictions.)

Fighters cannot cast magical spells; they rely solely on their strong sword-arms. They can, however, use any type of magical weapon or armor. They can also use magical items such as rings and gauntlets.

Fighters gain speed in addition to skill when they advance in levels. High-level fighters (as well as gladiators and rangers) are able to attack more often in melee than other types of characters.

Gladiators

Ability Requirements Dexterity 12

Strength 13

Constitution 15 Prime Requisite Strength Races Allowed All

Gladiators are the slave warriors of the city-states, specially trained for brutal physical contests. Disciplined in many diverse forms of hand-tohand combat, and skilled in the use of dozens of weapons, gladiators are the most dangerous warriors on Athas. Gladiators cannot cast spells, though they can use any type of magical weapons or armor.

Gladiators learn to optimize their armor when they reach fifth level. They condition themselves to use the armor to its best advantage, consequently gaining a -1 AC bonus. This bonus does nothing for gladiators who aren’t wearing armor.

Gladiators, like fighters, gain speed with experience, and consequently can attack more often in melee at higher levels than other types of characters.

Rangers

Ability Requirements Strength 13

Dexterity 13 Wisdom 14 Constitution 14

Prime Requisites Strength, Dexterity,

Wisdom

Races Allowed Elf, Half-elf,

Halfling, Human, Thri-kreen

Rangers are trained hunters, trackers, and survivalists. They are taught to live as much by their wits and skills as by their swords and bows. Like fighters, rangers can use any type of weapon or armor, though heavy armor interferes with their special abilities. They can, however, use two one-handed weapons (at the same time) with no penalty.

Rangers, like other fighter-types, gain the ability to attack more often in melee than other characters when they reach higher levels. In addition, rangers also gain some spellcasting ability . When you create a ranger, you must choose the elemental sphere that character will belong to. When a ranger reaches eighth-level, he or she gains the ability to cast cleric spells from his or her elemental sphere.

Preservers

Ability Requirement Intelligence 9 Prime Requisite Intelligence Races Allowed Elf, Half-elf, Human

Preservers are individuals trained in the arcane and mysterious secrets of magic. They cast their spells in harmony with nature, giving back the energy they take from the land. Preservers are usually poor fighters, preferring to rely on their intellect and magical abilities. They tend to hang back in battle, pummeling their foes with mystic attacks.

Preservers cannot wear any type of armor because armor is restrictive and interferes with spellcasting. Also, because they lack martial instruction, preservers are severely limited in the weapons they can use.

Clerics

Ability Requirement Wisdom 9 Prime Requisite Wisdom Races Allowed All

Clerics are priests who choose to worship one of the four elemental spheres (earth, air, fire, and water). This choice dictates what spells the cleric can call upon, and what types of weapons the character can use. Clerics have major access to the sphere of the element of their worship. They also have minor access to the Sphere of the Cosmos. This means that they can cast any spell within their own sphere, and can cast Cosmos spells of third level or less. However, clerics cannot cast any spells from spheres they do not belong to.

Clerics generally prefer to leave combat to the fighter-types, but, when necessary, they can fight in melee. All clerics are trained in combat. Clerics are not restricted with regard to the armor they wear .

Clerics can only use weapons that are associated with the sphere of the element of their worship. A cleric of the plane of fire can only use flaming weapons such as flaming arrows, burning oil, and weapons enchanted to burn or scald. Obsidian weapons are also acceptable because they were once fused under great heat and

Continues...

Clerics, cont.

pressure. Clerics of the earth must use weapons of stone (obsidian included), metal, or wood, as these elements originate in the earth. A cleric of the air is restricted to missile weapons, because they fly through the air . Water clerics can only use weapons of bone or wood, because these are organic materials through which water once flowed. Clerics who associate with the spheres of earth and fire have the most choices as to which weapons to use.

Clerics also have powers against undead monsters such as skeletons. The ability to turn undeadcauses undead creatures to flee in fright. Higher level clerics can destroy monsters by “turning” them. Clerics with Wisdom 15 or higher gain extra spells as they advance levels (see the “Cleric Wisdom Spell Bonus Table” on page 91).

Druids

Ability Requirements Wisdom 12

Charisma 15 Prime Requisites Wisdom, Charisma Races Allowed Half-elf, Halfling,

Human, Mul,

Thri-kreen

Druids, like clerics, are priests who worship the elements. Unlike clerics, they are responsible for guarding a section of land. Their power derives from the spirits of these lands. They have major access to the Sphere of the Cosmos, and the sphere of their chosen element.

Druids have no restrictions as to what weapons they may use. They are not allowed to wear armor, but may don items that give magical protection (such as bracers, cloaks, etc.). They can use any magical items. However, unlike their cleric brethren, druids cannot turn undead. Druids with Wisdom 15 or higher gain extra spells as they advance levels (see the “Cleric Wisdom Spell Bonus Table” on page 91).

Thieves

Ability Requirement Dexterity 9 Prime Requisite Dexterity Races Allowed All

Athasian thieves run the gamut of society. Some are malcontents, who prey on the unsuspecting. Others are in the employ of the nobility, plying their trade by contract in the name of a royal household or noble family. As thieves gain levels they become more proficient at picking locks, and avoiding any attached traps. Due to their high Dexterity, thieves are skilled at scaling vertical surfaces such as cliffs.

In combat, thieves do additional damage by “backstabbing.” A thief backstabs by attacking a target from the exact opposite direction it was first attacked. A backstab has a better chance of hitting the defender and does greater damage.

Because they need to move freely and quietly, thieves’ abilities are restricted when they wear anything other than leather-type armor. Thieves can use all weapons.

Psionicists

Ability Requirements Constitution 11

Intelligence 12 Wisdom 15

Prime Requisites Constitution,

Wisdom

Races Allowed All

All intelligent creatures on Athas have some measure of psionic ability . Psionics are the powers of the mind, powers like clairvoyance and telepathy . Psionicists are those who have devoted their lives to the study of these powers.

Psionicists can fight, if necessary, but they are restricted in both armor and weapons. Like thieves, psionicists can only wear leather-type armor. They are restricted to small weapons, though they can be of any sort: short swords, daggers, short bows, maces, etc.

The three psionic disciplines are psychokinesis, psychometabolism, and telepathy. Each gives access to different mental powers. As the psionicist advances in levels, he can improve in psionic power.

Psychokinesis concerns physical manipulation of objects, often for destructive purposes. Psychometabolism involves manipulating the character’s own body to enhance it. Telepathy deals with the defenses and attacks of mental warfare.

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS

In addition to ability scores, race, and class, characters have several other characteristics that affect game play: alignment, Armor Class, hit points, experience points, level, and THACØ.

Alignment

Alignment is the philosophy a character lives by and can affect how NPCs and some magic items react to a character. The possibilities range from believing strongly in society and altruism (Lawful Good) to being anarchistic and actively unpleasant (Chaotic Evil). Life-threatening situations put a character’s alignment to the test. Note: your party characters must be good or neutral; they cannot be of evil alignment.

Alignment is presented here with examples of how differently-aligned members of a party face a lifethreatening situation (in this case, a shortage of water).

Lawful Good

A character of this alignment insists that everyone get an even share of what water there is, even those in the party who seem beyond hope. He or she readily conceives of and accepts plans that call for unequal distribution of water for the greater good of the group, but will never let the weak or dying go without water.

Lawful Neutral

Such characters insist that everyone get an equal share of available water, but won’t care one way or the other about characters that may be beyond hope. They also accept plans that call for unequal distribution of water for the good of the group.

Lawful Evil

A character of this alignment insists that available water be evenly distributed among the able-bodied of the group, but won’t offer any to those that seem too far gone. He or she accepts plans that call for unequal distribution of water if that means more water for him or her.

Neutral Good

A neutral good character insists that everyone in the group get an even share of remaining water, even the seriously dehydrated. He or she considers plans calling for unequal water distribution, but has to be thoroughly convinced that the plan will ultimately benefit the party and not hurt him or her personally.

T rue Neutral

A character of this alignment wants a fair share for him or herself, but won’t necessarily come to anyone’s aid. He or she considers plans that call for unequal water distribution if he or she and the party benefit in the short term.

Neutral Evil

A character of this alignment insists on his or her fair share, and is against giving water to the very weak. He or she considers plans for unequal water distribution if he or she personally benefits.

Chaotic Good

A chaotic good character insists that everyone get an even share of the available water , even the very weak. He or she considers plans calling for unequal water distribution if he or she and those he or she likes personally get more water as part of the plan.

Chaotic Neutral

Such a character insists on his or her fair share, and won’t concern him or herself with the plight of those too weak to stand up for themselves. He or she considers plans calling for unequal water distribution if he or she personally gets more water as part of the plan.

Chaotic Evil

A chaotic evil character freely lies, cheats, or even kills to get all the water he or she can. He or she constantly suggests plans for unequal water distribution that grant him or her additional water immediately.

Armor Class

Armor Class (AC) measures how difficult someone is to hit and damage; the lower the Armor Class value, the harder they are to hit. Low Armor Class values can indicate different things. A character might be difficult to hit because he or she is outfitted with magical armor, while a monster might have the same AC because it is small and fast. Armor Class changes when characters find and use new armor or shields. High Dexterity improves a character’s AC.

Hit Points

Hit points measure how difficult a character or opponent is to incapacitate or kill; higher values are better. Every time an attack gets past armor and defenses, it does damage that is subtracted from the target’s hit points. If the hit points reach Ø, the character falls unconscious. If the hit points reach -10 or less, the character dies.

Experience Points

Experience points measure how much a character has accomplished. Your characters ear n experience points for killing monsters, finding treasure, and completing parts of the adventure. Having prime requisite scores of 16 or more increases experience earned by 10 percent.

Characters increase in level as they earn more experience points. All

characters start with some base amount of experience. These base experience points are distributed evenly among all of the classes for multi-class characters.

Level

Level measures how much a character has advanced in his or her class. Whenever characters earn enough experience points to advance in level, they gain hit points, combat ability, and resistance to the effects of poisons and magical attacks. Preservers, clerics, druids, and highlevel rangers gain the ability to memorize a greater number of spells and to cast new spells.

When your characters gain enough experience to advance a level, they advance automatically. Once trained, the benefits of the new level come into effect. Level advancement tables for all the classes begin on page 90.

THACØ

The ability to hit enemies in melee or with missile fire is represented by THACØ, which stands for “To Hit Armor Class Ø.” This is the number a character must “roll” equal to or greater than to do damage on a target with an AC of Ø. The lower the THACØ, the better the chance to hit the target.

Note: the generation of a random number is often referred to as a “roll.” In determining the success of an attack, the number generated is from 1 to 20.

An attack is successful if the random number is greater than or equal to the attacker’s THACØ minus the target’s AC. THACØ may be modified by things like range, attacking from the rear, magic weapons, and magic spells.

For example: a fighter with a THACØ of 5 attacking a monster with an AC of 3 would need to roll a 2 or greater: (THACØ 5) - (AC 3) = 2+. T o hit a monster with an AC of -2, however, he would need to roll a 7 or greater: (THACØ 5) - (AC -2) = 7+.

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