Games PC DARK SUN-WAKE OF THE RAVAGER User Manual

✹ TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR REFERENCE ✹

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

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

Copy Protection .....................................2

Using the Mouse....................................2

Using the Keyboard ...............................2

Getting Started Quickly with

a Pregenerated Party..............................2

INTRODUCTORY JOURNAL..............3

HOW TO PLAY

AKE OF THERAVAGER

W

Mouse Modes.........................................4

Character Interaction.............................6

Camping................................................6

Training.................................................6

Spellcasting /Psionics.............................6

CREATING YOUR PARTY ..................7

Creating Characters...............................7

Adding Previously Created Characters.......9

Modifying Your Party ............................9

CHARACTER OPTIONS ....................10

View Character ....................................10

View Inventory.....................................11

Cast Spells /Use PSI ............................13

Current Spells /Effects..........................13

GAME MENU......................................14

View Character ....................................14

View Inventory.....................................14

Cast Spells /Use PSI ............................14

Current Spells /Effects..........................14

Exit to DOS .........................................14

Loads /Save Game...............................14

Set Preferences.....................................15

Overhead Map.....................................15

Center on Leader..................................15

Collapse Party .....................................15

Walk....................................................16

Look ....................................................16

Attack..................................................16

Return to Game....................................16

ABILITY SCORES...............................16

CHARACTER RACES .........................17

Humans...............................................17

Dwarves...............................................17

Elves....................................................17

Half-Elves............................................17

Half-Giants..........................................18

Halflings..............................................18

...........................4

Muls ....................................................18

Thri-kreen............................................18

CHARACTER CLASSES .....................19

Fighters................................................19

Gladiators............................................19

Rangers................................................20

Preservers.............................................20

Clerics..................................................20

Druids..................................................21

Thieves ................................................21

Psionicists............................................22

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS............22

Alignment............................................22

Armor Class.........................................23

Hit Points ............................................24

Experience Points.................................24

Level....................................................24

THACØ................................................24

BESTIARY............................................25

Creatures of W

AKE OF THERAVAGER

......25

Detailed Descriptions of

New Monsters......................................33

MAGIC..................................................37

Preserver Spell Summary .....................37

Preserver Spells....................................37

Cleric Spell Summary...........................52

Cleric Spells.........................................53

PSIONICS............................................69

Psionics Summary ...............................69

Psychokinesis.......................................70

Psychometabolism...............................71

Telepathy.............................................73

LEVEL ADVANCEMENT TABLES.......75

Fighter.................................................75

Gladiator .............................................75

Ranger.................................................75

Preserver..............................................75

Cleric ...................................................75

Druid...................................................75

Thief ....................................................76

Psionicist .............................................76

RACIAL ABILITY

ADJUSTMENTS TABLE.....................77

ARMOR AND WEAPONS

PERMITTED........................................77

HOT KEYS...........................................77

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✹ INTRODUCTION ✹

The World of Dark Sun

A world sucked dry by vampiric defilers, torn and scarred by power-hungry
mages, burnt and seared by a sun gone slightly nova; a world known simply
as Athas. Athas is bad — real bad. You’ve heard of Death Valley? Y ou’ve
heard of the Sahara? They’ve got nothing on Athas. You see, Death Valley
and the Sahara end. They stop, eventually. They run into jungles or forests
or even oceans. But not Athas. Athas never stops. It has no oceans. And
you’re stuck in the middle of it.

Athas, the world of Dark Sun, has a
dark and ominous history. Once a
world of lush vegetation, thriving
with life and prosperous with trade,
Athas fell to the whims of its mages.
In their lust for power, these mages
found ways to tap the planet’s vitality
to add to their own, unconcerned
that the effects on their environment
were devastating. As a result, Athas
now labors under the oppressive
heat of a crimson sun, with seabeds
full of silt instead of water. Almost all
mines have tapped out, so metal is
extremely rare — and very valuable.
Scarcer still are any sources of water.

Athas: an ecological nightmare.
On Athas, there are no rainforests.
On Athas, there is no ozone layer.

On Athas, even the monsters weep.
For Athas is a dead planet. This
once-vibrant ball of water and
greenery has been raped by mages
careless of their surroundings and
turned into a dry , desiccated husk,
groaning on toward its final demise.
Welcome, adventurers.

The creatures of Athas, twisted by the
free use of magic, were forced to
adapt to the harsh conditions. New
monsters continue to emerge from the
deep desert to plague those humans
who survived. And survive they have,
though under grim conditions. The
only stable communities are rigidly
controlled city-states. These are ruled
without exception by vicious, seldom­seen sorcerer-kings — the last

remnants of the mages who destroyed
Athas. These kings aspire to godhood,
ruling through religious organizations
headed by their templar minions.
Their rule is uniformly harsh and
capricious, and vast numbers of
people are enslaved. Only the
strongest, physically or magically,
can feel any measure of safety.

T o make matters worse, incredibly
powerful mages slowly transform into
dragons as they increase their
strength. These creatures are often
solitary, venturing into inhabited areas
only rarely . Yet when they do they
often have a reason, for advances
through the stages of transformation
are often accompanied by mass
destruction. One such transformation
was recently attempted in T yr by the
former king, Kalak.

W

AKE OF THERAVAGER

and around the city-state of T yr, ruled
by Kalak’s successor, the mysteriously
absent King Tithian.

takes place in

What Comes with This Game?

In addition to this rule book, your
game box should contain the game
disks (or a CD-ROM) and a data
card. This rule book explains how to
play the game 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.

Floppy Disk Copy Protection

There is no physical copy protection
on your W
disks, so please make copies and put
the originals away for safekeeping.

AKE OF THERAVAGER

floppy

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/
Return. Do not count headings.

There are no copy protection
questions on the CD-ROM version.

Using the Mouse

A mouse is required to play 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 even when using the mouse
you can hit Esc to exit any menu.

Using the Keyboard

Operations in this game are designed
for the mouse, but certain functions
do have keyboard commands. See
page 77 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 STAR T GAMEfrom
the Start Window. The game automat­ically loads the pre-built party , and
you immediately enter the game.

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✹ INTRODUCTORY JOURNAL ✹

Tyr, eh? Sure, I know a bit about Tyr. Lived here all my life, I

have. I’ve had my ups and downs, too — more downs than ups,

though, lately. Used to be a high-ranking templar, in fact,

before Korman, that backstabbing kank, robbed me of my

powers and position. And my wealth.

I’ll tell you about Tyr, sure — for 50 ceramic pieces.

Ah, thank you, friends. Times are hard, as I’m sure you know.

Now sit, and let me explain a few things.

Tyr, I’m afraid, had a reputation when Kalak still ruled. A city

of death, some called it. Now it’s a city of chaos, political and

social. What with the war on Urik and Tithian’s strange

disappearance, Tyr’s freedom, even its very existence is teetering

on a fine line of destruction and death.

So who’s in charge? Who rules the cowardly council members

hiding in their chambers, the disorganized templars scrambling to

find administrative positions in the new hierarchy? Nay, no one

rules Tyr but the strong and quick of mind. Profit can be gained

here as quickly by the greedy as can death be by the weak.

Imagine the city guard reluctant to enter the warrens for fear of

those lurking in the gloom. Imagine the economy brought to its

knees by rumors of disappearances and deaths in the iron

mines. Soon enough you will smell the scent of death and decay

rising from Under Tyr, driving even the locals to cower in fear

in their homes.

Many are leaving to take their chances in the desert, for the fear

of impending doom is strong. Yet still more arrive every day,

foolish others seeking glory, profit, and power. Others such as

yourselves.

Why are you here? Do you wish to right that which is wrong,

to destroy the evil that hangs like a shroud over the city? Good

luck to you, my foolish friends. Seek out the Veiled Alliance if

you wish to survive your first night in Tyr.

HOW TO PLAY

AKE OF THE RAVAGER

W

T o start the game with a pregenerated
party from the main menu, select START
GAME. Otherwise, create a party by
selecting CREA TE CHARACTERS . See
“Creating Your Party” on page 7 for
more information.

By default, only the leader of your
party appears on the map. The other
three characters appear whenever
combat is initiated. However , you can
select the Collapse Party icon from the
Game Menu to have all four charac­ters appear at all times. See “Game
Menu” on page 14 for more details.

At the start of the game, your charac­ters find themselves entering Tyr.
Rumors abound, including some that
say the king is dead and the council
rules the city.

Mouse Modes

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 the
screen to move. 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
something, 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.
Left-click on that location with the
Walk icon. If it is possible to get
there, the party takes the most direct
route to do so. If you try to walk
somewhere that is impossible to get
to or would cause certain death, the
icon changes to the Can’t Walk icon,
and the party waits until you make a
different 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

AKE OF THERAVAGER

in W

. They are
Hand-to-Hand and Ranged. There
is no need to switch back and forth
between Hand-to-Hand and Ranged

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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 attacks 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 happens 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, and its
current state (casting, charmed, held,
petrified, etc.).

You can also use the Look icon on a
party member to bring up whichever
option screen was last up.

T alk

When you click the Look icon on
someone or something you can talk
to, the Talk button appears. Left-click
on it to begin a conversation.

Use

To use an object, click on the Use
button. Some objects may be used
on other objects. For example,
clicking on a pickax and then “using”
it on a pile of rock may break the
rock apart and 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 on 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 the NPC’s
portrait and what that character is
saying. The lower window lists the
responses you may make. To select
a response, choose the response you
wish to make and left-click.

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 join
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. T o
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 the
spellcasters can cast.

Training

When your characters go up in levels,
they may be eligible to learn a new
spell, more psionic skills, or increase
already known psi-skills. If so, a box
appears with all the icons depicting the
spells or psionics you may learn. T o
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.
Select 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 discipline is to select it in the
Cast Spells/Use PSI screen. After you
select, the cursor becomes the icon
you selected. T o 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 PSI” on
page 13 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 spells or psionics icons used.
This provides quick access to the
most frequently used spells.

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CREATING YOUR P AR TY

T o play the game, you must 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.) If you’re new
to Athas, or just want to know more
about various races and classes, refer
to “Character Races” on page 17 and
“Character Classes” on page 19.

Creating Characters

T o create your own characters, select
CREATE CHARACTERSfrom the main
menu. The main menu 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 PSI,
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.

Creating New Characters

Select NEW. You see a screen like
the one on the following page.

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 what you want.

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.

CHARACTER PORTRAIT CHARACTER ICON CLASS LISTTHE DIE

CHARACTER DATA

✹ Character Generation Screen ✹

Left-clicking on the diamond deselects
“fighter”, 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, some 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.

When multi-classing, keep in mind
that some classes are unavailable
when others have been chosen. For
example, a character cannot be a
cleric and a druid at the same time.

PSIONIC DISCIPLINES AND/OR CLERICAL SPHERES

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 19.

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 between the list of
psionic disciplines and the list of
clerical spheres.

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

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All other characters can only choose
one of these disciplines. For more
about these disciplines, refer to
“Psionicists” on page 22. The default
for non-psionicists is psychokinesis.

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 20. The default sphere is air.

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 22.

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 generation

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 third level in your
current class before you can dual class.
Selecting this option allows you to
choose a new class. See the “Character
Classes” section on page 19 for more
information on dual-class characters.

CHARACTER OPTIONS

The first time you select this

Dark Sun icon, the Cast
Spells/Use PSI character option
screen appears. At the bottom left are
the four character option 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 cast or
psionics used. Click on one of these
spell icons to cast the spell or use the
psionic power.

View Character

The View Character screen

shows your party. When you
highlight a party member by left­clicking 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 selecting
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 edits the character’s name

in the name box on the View Cha­racter 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
“Character Classes” section on
page 19 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 7 for more
information.

ADD allows you to add a previously
created character.

CANCEL closes this menu.

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CHOOSE

PARTY

LEADER

COMPUTER-

CONTROLLED

COMBAT

ON/OFF

CHARACTER

BOXES

ACTIVE CHARACTER

PORTRAIT

AMMO

MISSILE

MONEYDESCRIPTION BOX

ITEM SLOTS CHARACTER‘S BACKPACK

✹ Inventory Screen ✹

View Inventory

T o 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. Center the item over any

CHARACTER

DATA

RETURN TO

GAME

CHARACTER OPTION

BUTTONS

GAME MENU

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 as more storage within the
backpack. Pouches and chests hold
six items, and both can be placed in
your character’s backpack. Pouches
and chests can only hold items. They
cannot hold other pouches or chests.
Open pouches and chests by right­clicking on them. Close them by left­clicking on the lid or flap.

To drop an item, select it (the mouse
pointer changes to the item selected)
and click DROP. The item is then
dropped to the ground and the mouse
pointer reappears. 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.

T o 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 . If you simply wish
to transfer items to another character ,
go to the inventory screen, pick an
item, and right-click over the character
box of the character you wish to
transfer the item to. If you left-click
instead, the inventory screen of the
character chosen appears.

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 of
the screen, a bar shows how much
money your whole party has. T o the
left of the character boxes are buttons
that allow you to toggle computer­controlled combat on or off, and to
select which character is the leader .

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 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 at the top right of the box.
Select 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 right-click on a spell scroll, a
window with a spell icon appears.
Click on the icon to learn the spell.
You can also bring up a spell summa­ry by right-clicking on the spell icon.

Some items are inherently magical.
A magical sword, for example, may
cast spells against your opponent
whenever you hit him or her 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

13

14

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 and click on SELL.

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

Cast Spells/Use PSI

T o select a spell or prepare a

psionic, select the Cast Spells/
Use PSI icon. 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
displays its name at the bottom of the
window . Select a spell or psionic by
left-clicking 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.
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 Spell/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 W

AKE OF THERAVAGER

.
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. The wall
now appears in the indicated area.

The maximum number of spells the
player character can cast before resting
is determined by his or her level. Refer
to page 76 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.

Current Spell/Effects

T o see if any good or evil effects

are influencing a character ,
select the Current Spell/Effects icon.
Any effects your character is operating
under appear in a row next to his or
her icon. T o eliminate a good effect,
right-click on it and it disappears.

Evil effects are harder to get rid of. If a
member of the party has a counter­spell or psionic power that can void the
effect, it appears in a row at the bottom
of the window . Click on the spell icon,
then on the effect you want to delete.

VIEW CHARACTER VIEW INVENTORY CAST SPELLS/USE PSI 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
button, the Game Menu screen
appears with the following options:

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.

Load/Save Game

Selecting the Load/Save Game icon

View Character

See “View Character” on page 10.

View Inventory

brings up the following menu:

LOAD
SAVE

LOAD brings you to the Load Game

See “View Inventory” on page 11.

Cast Spells/Use PSI

See “Cast Spells/Use PSI” on page 13.

Current Spell/Effects

See “Current Spell/Effects” on page 13.

Exit to DOS

If you want to quit playing, select the

screen. Click on the name of the
saved game you want to load, then
select the OKAY button.

SAVE brings you to the Save Game
screen. Click on any save game slot
that says “<available>”, then type in
a description of your saved game.
Select the OKAY button when you’re
ready to save.

Exit to DOS icon. You’ll see the
following menu:

SAVE
QUIT
CANCEL

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MUSIC ON/OFF

SOUND EFFECTS ON/OFF

ANIMATIONS ON/OFF

ABOUT

VOICE EFFECTS ON/OFF

✹ Set Preferences Menu ✹

Set Preferences

This 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 toggle
the music on or 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
toggle the sound effects on or off.

Voice effects on/off allows you to
toggle the voice effects on or off if you
have the CD version.

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. The default is Average.

MUSIC VOLUME

SOUND EFFECTS VOLUME

DIFFICULTY

About gives you version information,
copyright information, the technical
support phone number, the hint line
phone number, and SSI’s address.

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.

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 around 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 4 for more
information on the Walk icon.

Attack

Selecting this icon changes your
cursor to the Attack icon and returns
you to the game. See page 4 for more
information on the Attack icon.

Look

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

Return to Game

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

ABILITY SCORES

Each character has six randomly
generated 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 resis­tance. Clerics with Wisdom 13 or
greater receive extra spells (see the
“Cleric Wisdom Spell Bonus Table”
on page 76).

Charisma measures personal mag­netism, persuasiveness, and the
ability to assume command. NPCs
may respond better to characters
with higher Charisma.

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CHARACTER RACES

Your characters can be any of eight
races: human, dwarf, elf, half-elf,
half-giant, halfling, mul, and thri­kreen. 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 77 for
specific adjustments.

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.

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

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 cast 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 — such a
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-classed.

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-classed.

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-classed.

Muls

Muls are an incredibly tough cross­breed 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.

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 (male and female) 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 — six­limbed creatures with tough, sandy­yellow exoskeletons. They stand as
tall as 7 feet at the shoulder, have
two large eyes, two antennae, and a
small, powerful jaw.

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 multi­class characters.

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20

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 or she exceeds the level of the first
class in the 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 all of 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.

Armor is restrictive and interferes with
spellcasting so preservers cannot
where any type. Preservers also lack
martial instruction, so they 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 have minor access
to the Sphere of the Cosmos. They can
cast any spell within their own sphere,
and Cosmos spells of third level or less.
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.

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Clerics can only use weapons that are
associated with the sphere of the
element of their worship (see page 77).
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 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 13 or higher gain extra
spells as they advance levels (see the
“Cleric Wisdom Spell Bonus Table”
on page 76).

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 13 or higher
gain extra spells as they advance
levels (see the “Cleric Wisdom Spell
Bonus Table” on page 76).

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. A psionicist
begins with all three disciplines.

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 might 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

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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 cast 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 75.

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 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 or she would need to roll a 7 or
greater: (THACØ 5) - (AC -2) = 7+.