View source for Natasha's No-Nonsense Tourist Handbook to Kulthea (guide)

{{Player-guide
|date=2010-07-26
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<small>(<i>Note: The following is <b>the</b> guide from the early nineties.  Though not valid now, there are still nuggets of knowledge to be found within.  The aesthetics of this guide has been changed to better fit current formatting. </i>)</small>

::::::::<span style="font-size: 150%; align=center"> Natasha's No-Nonsense Tourist Handbook to Kulthea</span>            

    
:::::::::::::<span style="font-size: 125%; align:center"> The Second Edition!</span>




With special thanks to Saint, Tulkas, and Mendle, for all their help.

The Second Edition could not have been completed without the dedicated assistance of Reline and Lairaerrythrok.



Here is my crash course detailing the mysteries of rolling a character and surviving, with specific emphasis on spellcasters, perhaps subtitled,


:::::::::"Everything You Needed To Know and The Manual Didn't Tell You"


If you're reading this before playing GemStone III, note that the advice
given in the opening screen when you create a new character is to be taken
VERY seriously. The Quick Gen option, which produces a ready-to-go
character without any intervention on your part, sets up a character with
RANDOM stats, and in many cases unfathomable training skills. In other
words, Quick Gen is useful ONLY to get a feel for the game. Any character
so created is liable to be so badly put together as to be essentially
unplayable.

So the guide below is intended for use in the Full Gen character creation
mode, which is the only way you'll get a decent character. Once in Full
Gen, you'll be asked if you want the system to generate ten stat rolls one
at a time or randomly.  Kinda misleading; the numbers produced in either
case are the same, and are provided all at once. One at a time, you are
given the numbers and then must assign them. Randomly, you are given the
numbers and then they are assigned for you, when you are asked if you wish
to rearrange them.  I prefer this way, since if I don't like the numbers, I
can go that much quicker on.  :) So I go for the "random" generation of
stats, then reorganize them.  Much easier. If the system gives you low
rolls, just make your way through the whole program as quickly as possible
(selecting no training, etc.)  At the end of the process, you'll have the
option of "rerolling" the character you just created, which means scrapping
him/her and starting over.  Reroll again.  Don't disconnect, it doesn't
help anything, and in fact, it might actually give you the same old
numbers again.  Rerolling and following the prompts again will give you
new fresh 'rolls' and you can do that until you are happy with the
options.

Rerollling [sic] really is the only option available if you get rolls which just
cannot be made into an acceptable set of stats, or if your potentials
are not acceptable.

The rolls are not TRULY random, they are weighted.  The first three will
all be between 75-100, the next three 50-80 and the last three between
20 and 50.  The very last roll is the wild one, could be any value
between 20 and 100.

There are two kinds of 'stats' which you have.  Think of them as your
abilities.  There are those which help you to develop and those which
have a primary influence on direct play, but not in character development.

Development Stats:

Constitution:   Your general health, well being and sturdiness<br>
Agility:   manual dexterity and litheness, also your magical defense ability.<br>
Self Discipline:   Control over mind and body<br>
Eloquence:   Intelligence:  Your ability to learn and to remember. This is THE main characteristic which governs how much 'learning' or 'experience' you can hold.<br>
Reasoning:   Intelligence:  The ability to absorb, comprehend and draw conclusions.  The is THE main characteristic which governs how FAST what you have learned is absorbed.
                      

Primary Stats:

Strength:   Not just brute force: stamina, endurance, physique, etc<br>
Quickness:   Your reflexes, speed, reactions.  A primary DEFENSIVE ability.<br>
Presence:   Control of your own mind: Courage, Bearing, Charisma<br>
Intuition:   Wisdom, luck, perception.  This is THE main identifying characteristic of any channeling user, as they have a natural born favor of the gods.  Used to determine any channeling user's power points.<br>
Empathy:   This is the secret of magic, some people are born with the ability to see and learn to manipulate the very essence of all things.   This is THE main identifying characteristic to essence users and is used to determine any essence user's power points.

As a spellcaster, you need to be concerned with several basic things when you
initially roll up.  Your decision about what race you will be _may_ need
to be calculated in here, becase each race has its own strengths and
penalties which can seriously affect how well your character performs.

               Power                  Power
  Stat  Bonus  pt/lvl   Stat   Bonus  pt/lvl
  """""""""""""""""""   """"""""""""""""""""
  100    25     3.0       90    10     1.5
   99    23     2.8     87-89    9     1.4
   98    21     2.6     84-86    8     1.3
   97    19     2.4     81-83    7     1.2
   96    17     2.2     78-80    6     1.1
   95    15     2.0     75-77    5     1.0
   94    14     1.9     72-74    4      .8
   93    13     1.8     68-71    3      .6
   92    12     1.7     64-67    2      .4
   91    11     1.6     60-63    1      .2
                        41-59    0     0.0

Note:  RACE Bonuses and penalties are in ADDITION to your STAT bonuses.

The BONUS is not applied directly to the stat value itself, there is a
separate column for bonuses.  These bonuses will work in the following
ways:   [Likewise penalties, but to your detriment]

Constitution:  A bonus in Constitution gives you an additional % of hit points when you have a body development roll.  Note:  this is the BONUS now, not the VALUE of the stat.  You can get a bonus of 10 from a Race modifier and still have a number between 25 and 74.  Let's say you have a Base Hit-Point total of 30 points, and you just got your next level.  Your Body development skill roll gave you a die roll of 6.  That will raise your Base Hit point total to 36, THEN you get to add the % of  your bonus in Constitution and keep those additional points as extra concussion points.  If you had a +10, that would be 10%, or 3 points:  36 * 10% = 3.6, rounded down to whole number = 3 And you'd have 39 total concussion points.  [Every lil bit helps!] Hit points, of course, allow you to stay alive a little bit longer.  This is how how this stat bonus would aid you in each and every level, from level 0 on.

Agility:  Agility affects your ability to maneuver, hit with directed spells (either ones which are cast or used in  wands), defend yourself from magic attacks, and using missile and thrown weapons [which don't even exist yet]. What ELSE it may do is anyone's guess.;-)


Self Discipline: Helps you in stalking, hiding and picking pockets.

Eloquence:     This controls how much experience your mind can absorb before you must rest.  The higher the value, the more you can take.  But remember also, that experience absorbs in you faster the more there is, so always being fresh and clear is _not_ a very quick way to earn experience.  The more field exp you have stored, the faster it converts over to actual experience so it is beneficial to try and keep your mind at least muddled.  See the Tips section for a complete description of how the EXPerience command tells you the condition of your mind. It is one of the primary stats that a Healer or Cleric has and will be automatically raised to 90.  I have seen no advantage to any higher number at all.

Reasoning:     While this is one of the required stats which mages are automagically boosted up on, the only direct thing that I know of that it affects is the RATE at which experience is absorbed.  The higher your RE is, the faster your field experience is absorbed and converted into real experience.  These first five stats are your development stats, they determine how many skill points you will have to spend during the skill development phases and from future level gains...the following stat ranges give you the associated development points..

  Stat  Dev Points      Stat  Dev Points
  """"""""""""""""      """"""""""""""""""
  100    10               90     8.4
   99     9.8           87-89    8.2
   98     9.6           84-86    8.0
   97     9.4           81-83    7.7
   96     9.2           78-80    7.4                  
   95     9.0           75-77    7.0
   94     8.9           72-74    6.8
   93     8.8           68-71    6.6
   92     8.7           64-67    6.3
   91     8.6           60-63    6.0 
                        41-59    5.5   [and it gets progressively lower]


The more points you have to spend, the more skills your character will be
able to have, thus the more likely you are to survive and be functional.
As your potentials increase through the life of your character, so will
your development points, according to the above criteria.

Definitions:   

OB = Offensive Bonus <br>
DB = Defensive Bonus


Strength:  Any bonus here translates DIRECTLY into a +Bonus in your OB.  Again:  it's the BONUS, and not the value.  Race mods can give you a bonus here without modifying the value in your stat itself.  You could have a 57 in Strength and still have a +5 or +10 Strength.  Likewise, you could have a 100 in it and get that +10 added to your existing +25 bonus!  This same bonus will be available to you if you PARRY, and will add to your DB, or defensive bonus as you parry.

For the first few levels, you may find that a sword is more dependable than your magic.  How long you continue to use a sword is up to you.  Healers and clerics are generally more dependent upon weapons than mages.  Being able to add directly to your offensive capability will have a direct influence on how fast you get through the first few levels, at least.

Quickness:  Any bonus here translates DIRECTLY into a +Bonus in your DB, or your basic defensive abilities.  Like the previous ones, it is the BONUS that counts.  Penalties would apply, also, and could be deadly if they are not offset by natural bonuses.   Remember that race mods count, so a good bonus from the stat AND a good bonus from the race mods are added together for you.

A good QUickness bonus will always assure you the maximum amount of protection, even when you must be at parry 0 for wand attacks on things.  To mages, this QU bonus is probably the most important thing you can do to survive.  To healers, your total defensive capabilities will aid you in staying alive to be the most use to your party.

Presence:      Presence is rumored to affect trading.

Intuition:     Bonuses here apply to lockpicking, searching, perception, the disarming of traps and the main one, channeling.  This stat controls the number of power points a Healer or Cleric will get per level.  [Also a Ranger and provides half of the influence on a Sorcerer's spell points.]  See below for the actual values.  There will be some people who see an advantage to placing a very high number here, and others who will be content to keep the automatic 90 which the system will give the Healer/Cleric.

Empathy:       Magic.  Essence.  This stat [not the bonus] controls how much Essence you can manipulate.  This is represented by power points, and how many you get per level.  The EMpathy stat bonus is applied to Staves/Wands skill rolls for controlling wands.

Note about Intuition and Empathy stats and power points:

Each power point represents 1 basic spell.  With two per level, at level 3, you'd have 6 power points instead of just 3, for twice as many level 1 spells.  Each new spell you learn will require more and more power points to cast.   [A level 2 spell costs 2 power points, a level 10 spell will cost 10 power points.]

However, to get these extra power points per level, you have to sacrifice one of those automatic 90's the system is going to give you that you COULD have put that scrawny roll of 23 into.  So doing this makes you take a lower roll in something else which you wouldn't have.  It is a trade off only each person can decide, there are race mods and training and too many other things to say whether one way is better than another.

Partial power points are calculated for the IN/EM values which are not whole.  So you could have 2.5 points per level, which gives you an extra power point every other time you train and advance.  See the preceding chart which listed all the fractions out in detail.

Professions:   This will determine how much your training costs and what stats will be automagically raised to 90 _if_ they are below that.

You will get your 10 scores to place where ever you choose.  Depending upon your profession, up to 2 of these stats will be replaced with 90's if the score placed there is less than that.  The scores that will be raised to 90 for each profession are:

        Mage (REasoning/EMpathy)        Bard (EloQuence/EMpathy)
        Healer (EloQuence/INtuition)    Ranger (COnstitution/INtuition)
        Sorcerer (INtuition/EMpathy)    Fighter (COnstitution/STrength)
        Cleric (EloQuence/INtuition)    Thief (AGility/QUickness)

With the exception of Sorcerer, the 1st stat in each pair is a development
stat and this is a good way to get rid of your lowest stat roll and bring
them up to 90 (for 8 skill pts).  For the spell users, the second stat
governs how many Power Points you will receive.  While taking a 90 in that
stat will get rid of a low roll, it will probably limit your character to
1.5 Power Point per level for his career, a choice you must make yourself. 
The Sorcerer is a bit odd here in that his Power Points are determined by
averaging both of his INtuition and EMpathy, both of these are at least 90
so he is going to get 1 power point per level regardless, but in order for
him to get 2 PP per level he will have to average 95 between these two
stats, 100 in one and the free 90 in the other will do it and might be
considered if you plan on being a good Sorcerer.

Races:         Right now, Half Elves are under the least amount of penalties, and seem to give some of the best number of all around bonuses.  Self-Discipline is their only weakness in the bonus department,

Look carefully at the race tables BEFORE you assign your initial stats, which is a real trip, since they don't show them to you til AFTER you do it.  By careful planning in your stat assignments, you can offset racial penalties or use smaller stats to take advantage of racial advantages.

                  ST   QU   PR   IN   EM   CO   AG   SD   EQ   RE   hits
 Common Man       +5    -    -    -    -    -    -   +5    -    -  d8/120
 High Man        +10   -5  +10    -    -  +10   -5    -    -    - d10/150
 Half Elf         +5  +10  +10    -    -   +5   +5  -10    -    - d10/150
 Wood Elf          -   +5   +5    -   +5    -  +10  -20    -    -  d8/100
 High Elf          -  +10  +10    -   +5    -   +5  -20    -    -  d8/110
 Fair Elf          -  +15  +15    -   +5    -   +5  -20    -    - d10/120
 Dwarves          +5   -5  -10    -  -10  +15   -5   +5    -    - d10/120
 Halflings       -20  +10  -15    -   -5  +15  +15  -10    -    -  d8/80

Under improvement right now are the added regeneration and depart times for races.  The non-elf races will regenerate concussion points and life levels faster, as well as hang around when dead just a bit longer.  

Once this has been implemented, there may be good reasons for selecting specific races, especially to those who depend upon concussion points and life levels.


Now, we've gotten through getting the stats assigned.  ;-) <br>
:In summary, the things a mage should work at getting a bonus in:<br>
CO, AG, ST, QU, and a high value [bonus doesn't cut it for extra power] in EM<br>
:Be sure to assign a reasonable value to your EQ and SD<br>
And Healers/Clerics should be concerned about achieving a bonus in:<br>
:CO, ST, QU and a high value in IN if you want more than 1 power per level.<br>
:Be sure to assign a reasonable value to your SD and RE<br>
Fighters, Rangers, Bards should be primarily concerned with their<br>
:offensive and defensive abilities.<br>
Thieves will need to add in abilities which they value highest for<br>
:stalking, lockpick work, traps, etc.

Yes, I know, it looks like you need 4 or 5 super high rolls, doesn't it?<br>
Well, you kind of do!

About those skills....

There are only a couple you need to fret about for now.  You won't have
enough points to fret about them all.  Magic users are under some serious
handicaps in training, because we must train to stay alive as well as to
try to learn our craft.  In addition to spending large amounts of skill
points to train in weapons, learning just ONE spell will cost you many
points.  [I allot 8 or 9 points if I want to learn the spell at that
level.]  And each level has only one spell which comes with it, on each
list.

You will get the opportunity to train TWICE before you are level 1.
This represents what you learned as a teen and what you learned during
your apprenticeship.  These first two complete sessions thru the
skill/training screens are the ones which count for your first level.
After you have completed that training, you must select what you want to
study during level 1, and the skills you will want to be prepared with
when you advance to level 2.  _ALL_ skills/learning will always be done
like this, you do it before you accomplish the level, and then you reap
the rewards of it when you finish the tasks which allow you to advance.
This makes a lot of work at first, though, because you must go thru these
'training sessions' three times total.

Armor is at your option.  There is NO penalty for wearing heavy hide even
if you have zilcho training.  Which is exactly what I do.  See Taluk's Armor
Guide file for more specific information about future armor training for
higher levels.

Heavy hide (AT4=Armor Type 4) is the best thing for a starting player
to wear.  It is only when a player starts hunting the higher level
creatures like steel golems (lvl 20) that other armor types start to become
a viable option.  Close attention to the many ranks of training needed for
heavier and rigid armor types, as well as the tradeoffs of wearing them
are found in Taluk's Armor Guide, in the GemStone Library, File# 34.

For spellcasters, there is really only one option for weapon training. One
Handed Edged is the only affordable thing.  Each skill you train in here
will raise your OB by +5. Doesn't sound like much, but it IS.  As I said
earlier, I don't know how many levels Mages are going to be tied to their
swords, but each level of monsters you advance to will make fighting all
that much more difficult. For the first few levels, you're just going to
need this.  For all I know, we may need it for the first dozen levels.

Those who depend upon weapons will be able to train twice in some weapons.
Do it.  :)

General Skills:  Climbing _will_ be necessary for some rougher areas, but I
don't know how much climbing nor how rough the areas are.  But these are
things you can train in slowly as you need it later in your character's
life.  Swimming is supposed to be one of those things one needs, and Riding
will come in handy for the jousting area.

Perception will make you more steal-proof and probably let you pick up on
things like people hiding and hidden entrances faster.   Stalking/Hiding
and Ambushing seem to be things better left for when you have skill points
you don't need in basic training.

To use wands, you MUST have training in Staves/Wands, and from what I've
seen, wands are a GREAT way for a mage to advance a lot faster.  To hit
with Directed Spells with a wand, you ALSO need to train in the Directed
Spells skill; your skill here is like a fighter's skill with his sword.  You
need to make a roll using your Wand skill to successfully activate the spell
within the wand, then if the spell is a directed one (like ShockBolt or
Fire Bolt) you need to hit your target using your Directed Spells skill.
Some wands don't need Directed Spells skill.  The Sunwand, which grows
herbs is an example, once you activate the wand, the spell automatically
discharges, you don't need to aim it and hit it.

   Silver Wand = shockbolt         Iron Wand = shockbolt
   Golden Wand = firebolt          Metal Wand= ice ball
   Oaken Wand  = stun relief



Of course, ALL Directed spells, whether in wands or not, need training.
This should be considered a primary training skill for Mages and others
who cast offensive or directed spells.

Spells in wands vary now, and they are from open and closed lists in both
Essence and Channeling, as well as the base lists.  If your profession can
not learn spells from the realm which a wand spell uses (Mages and Bards
learn spells in the realm of Essence,  Clerics, Healers and Rangers in
Chaneling [sic], Sorcerers in both realms), you have an additional -30 modifier
to try and activate the wand.  This means you need at least 6 levels of
Staves/Wands to offset the penalty, and at least on more level to have any
chance at all to activate the wand.

You are given special bonuses if you know the spell in the wand already,
or if it is on a list you have already begun, but not gotten that spell
yet.  See the Version notes for the complete explanation of these new
changes to Wands.

Wand/rune modifiers:

      +30   You already know the spell.
      +10   The spell is in a list you can learn, EVEN if you haven't
            started that list yet
      -20   The spell is not in a list you can learn, but is in your realm.
            Ex: A cleric spell *is* in the healer's "realm."
      -30   The spell is in a different realm.

Channelers tend not to use wands as much as Essence users, so wand
training is not as important.

Runes:  this skill represents the ability to read magic scrolls and then
temporarily learn the spell that was contained on the scroll, gaining the
ability to cast the learnt [sic] spell at some future time,  sort of a spell-
on-call deal.   Many spells can be found on all sorts of runes.  Read the
rune to determine what spells are on it, then use the command INVOKE ####
to prep the spell.  Where ### is the spell number on the rune which you
have just read.  Then cast the spell normally.

Channeling is a skill which allows you to transfer power points from an
Essence user to another Essence user [not a Healer or a Cleric] or from a
Channeling user to another Channeling user [Not a mage].  This is a complex
formula which depends on both the skill of the sender and the receiver.  It
will be useful later on in your life, and the costs to a mage are much
higher than the costs to Healers.  I don't know that it's much help right
off, and it does cost valuable skills you may need in something else.  But
it is something which is a basic skill, and which you will need to devote
training to on a regular basis as it grows into a useful skill rank. You'll
need a bunch of power points to be able to transmit power anyways. Clerics
and Healers usually consider beefing up in channeling, if only to aid
Healers. But as you have advanced, when someone else needs that extra
power, this can be a very valuable and useful skill.  The cleric's
Well-Of-Life Spell is also determined by your channeling skill.
[Well-Of-Life enables a cleric to transfer life points to another cleric.]

Note that a sorcerer can channel to others who work in EITHER the realm of
channeling or the realm of Essence, because of their familiarity with
working in both realms.

Fighters and Thieves can train in channeling, and are allowed to channel
power points to any profession.

Now, spell lists.  You'll find spell lists in the Tomes at page 931 with
the current and correct lists.  Search under 'spells'.

As of the writing of this document, some spell lists are finished
and will not be changing.  Or at least changing radically.  You never know
about GMs...  :)  Some of them are not finished.

However, not all the lists that are finished are implemented, or
implemented the same way in the game.  Several Spell lists are under
revision as I write this.

Because of this ongoing development and change, you should use the Tomes
for an authoritative listing of what the spells WILL be and whether they
are currently functioning in that same manner.

   Open Channeling Spell List  [Done]
   Cleric Base Spell List      [Done]
   Healer Base Spell List      [Done]
   Mage Base Spell List        [Up to 25 implemented]
   Closed Essence Spell List   [1-15 and 19 are implemented]
   Sorcerer Base Spell List    [1-8 are implemented]
   Ranger Base Spell List      [1-3 the entire list is under revision]
   Open Essence Spell List     [Under Revision]
   Bard's Base Spell List      [1-2 Entire list is under revision]

Here's how the magic works.

First of all, decide what spells you want to learn.

1st Mage Spell  :  Shockbolt1    zaps monsters<br>
2nd Mage Spell  :  Magic Edge    Enchants a weapon, giving it a +15 bonus for the number of attacks equal to the level of the caster.<br>

1st Open Essence:  Guarding1     Allows you to resist magic a bit more<br>
2nd "     "     :  Presence      lets you know if anyone is hidden/invisible<br>

1st Clsd Essence:  Sleep         puts monsters to sleep and makes them fall over, lowering their DB a LOT<br>
2nd  "    "     :  SpellStore    lets you hold a spell prepared for a longer time than normal.<br>

1st Bard Spell  :ValueAssessment determines the silver piece value of an item<br>
2nd Bard Spell  : Holding Song   keeps a monster from attacking as hard for a short amount of time.<br>

Ranger Base List : [Being revised, please refer to the Spell Lists in the Tomes at page 931 for up to the minute details.]<br>

1st Sorcerer    :  Limb Pain     causes some damage  ( lvl 1 ) to a target's limb selected at random. ( target must fail resistance roll )<br>
2nd Sorcerer's  : Touch of Disruption --  Target takes an impact critical if fails Resistance roll

Both Healers and Clerics have access to the two channeling lists, as well as the lists applicable to their professions.

Mages have access to the two other Essence Spell lists, as well as the base Mage Spells.

Sorcerers get access to their base list, plus the Open spell list from Channeling and Essence, due to their ability to control forces in both realms.

Bards and Rangers, semi-spellcasters, get access to the the open list in Essence [for Bards] or Channeling [for Rangers.]

First Healers Spell:   Heal1     [see notes on healing; next few spells deal with curing specific wounds]<br>
Secnd Healers Spell:   Limrep1   [mends bruises/cuts on arms/legs]

First Cleric Spell:    Prayer of Holding [Works on unlife of up to level 5.<br>
HOLDING1          It drops their DB to 0]
Second     "      :    Repel Undead I    [If an undead of less than lvl 7<br>
REPLUND1          fails a resistance roll by 50, it vaporizes the critter.  On a lesser failure the critter runs.]

First Open Channeling: Protct1   [Allows you to resist magic a lil better]<br>
Second     "         : Airwall   [adds +50 to DB, but -50 from your OB, so pure defense.]

First Clsd Channeling: Calm1     [calms monsters so you can run away, but gives no advantage, as they are fully-powered as soon as you hit them.  It DOES prevent them from attacking as long as they are not attacked for the length of the spell.]  
Second     "         : Aura      [adds +10 to DB for a while]

HEAL1 is the preferred first spell to learn for Healers, by all means.

The preferred choice of first spells for a cleric are CALM1 and Prayer of Holding 1.<br>
The preferred choice of first spells for a mage are SLEEP and SHOCKBOLT.

Here are the things to remember.<br>

A: You can't cast a level 2 spell at level 1.  BUT, it will let you learn the spell.  So if you WANT two spells, select level 1 spells from two different lists.  Do not select two spells from the same list, or you'll wait an entire level before you can cast it. On the other hand, learning two from the same list protects you in case you FAIL a later spell roll; you'll manage to keep pace with your profession.  

B: Your success at learning the spell is a roll of a 100 sided die PLUS the amount of training you've put into it.  Each point of training which you invest counts for 10 when it is added to that die roll.  Your total must be more than 100 [101 or more] to make the roll.  Let's say you invested 7 skills in Spell lists, because you REALLY wanted to learn that Sleep spell [or whatever one is next on the list].  7 * 10 is 70.  Your die roll must be 31 or more for you to succeed in the spell roll.  If you fail, those 7 points are KEPT for next time, and you can add a couple more to it to help your chances, and roll again.   [8 * 10 = 80, making any roll above 21 a winner!]  

C: If you fail your spell roll, don't disconnect, the char manager will ALWAYS retain the roll for you.  You just have to live with it.  But do it smart.  Don't put any more into your next Spell list roll than you have to, because you have NOT lost all the previous points, they will just stay there as a 'research credit'.  Toss 1 or 2 or 3 or whatever you need in Spell lists and then use those extra points for something else (this is not necessarily bad; when else will you have development points to invest in skills like trading, runes, etc?).  If you don't put any more points into learning the next spell after failing a spell roll, you still get another roll at the next level at the same percentage.  10 points will guarantee the learning of a spell, there is no need to go over this limit at this time.

Other Stuff:

Body Devel: Concussion points.  Keep building your body til you are happy with it.  CONSTITUTION bonus applies to each and every roll you make here.  Unfortunately, it _is_ a roll, so you can invest whatever it costs and only get a 1.  But then again, you could get a high roll.  *Smile* Concussion points are one of the keys to being able to survive.  Do not overlook this training.  It is the ONLY way your character will gain hit points.  There are no hit points awarded for advancing or getting older or whatever you want to call it.  Your Constitution BONUS ise [sic] applied to your new BHPT [Basic Hit point total] every level up to the maximum for your race.

Note to Healers:  Concussion points will by far be the most common injury which needs healing.  Your personal concussion point total is important, because it will determine how limited you are, and how much weaker healing others makes you.  Because of this, Healers have the option to train twice in Body Devel. at each level.

First Aid:  Allows you to wrap up bleeding wounds until you can get them healed.  The more training you have, the worse the injury that you can affect, and the longer the bandages will hold.  The roundtimes are horrendous, tho.  Do this in a safe place.

Training in First Aid will also help you with being able to skin carcasses.

Trading: This will help you barter better with the merchants.  Especially since some of them can be racist and/or sexist, or some particularly friendly/unfriendly to specific professions.  If you find yourself getting particularly bad deals from a merchant you might want to invest in more trading.

Other Stuff:

Disarm Traps, Pick Locks...Fighters and, of course, Thieves can be very good at these skills, Bards and Rangers will be able to hold their own given time as they  can train fairly cheaply even if only once per level.  Other classes should probably ignore this skill unless you truly want the ability as it will cost them dearly to learn it.  Remember that your INTUITION bonus applies directly to your ability to pick locks.

Stalking & Hiding:  The monsters can still find you while you are hidden.  A Hidden player cannot be attacked by other players currently, however, so this can help out if this is important to you.

Ambush:  This skill only comes into play when you make an attack from hiding or if you are invisible against an opponent.  If your attack results in some sort of a critical hit, it is more likely to be nastier if you have some Ambush skill.

PickPockets:  a way to add some cash to your pockets, frowned upon however.

Brawling:  this skill is like a weapon skill except that it adds to your OB when you have no weapon in your right hand.  If you can afford it, it is a very useful skill when you have been disarmed or such.

These are the basics of training for spellcasters.

For a while, each opportunity you get, *do* train in one edged
weapons, body development and whatever spell and magic skills you have
room for.  Directed spells will help a mage HIT the target, whether it is
with a sleep spell or a wand.  I rolled up a mage the other night and
split up the spell points between the two beginning trainings so I could
get all the other stuff I needed and still have one spell and all the
skills I would need.  Sure, it left me with only one spell, but I felt
it was a good tradeoff for those additional skills.
{{top}}

<b>More Useful Things To Know</b>

There are some useful settings which you can customize once inside
GemStone.  The command:  SET  will list them for you.  You will see a list
of the SET command names and a brief explanation.  Some of these things
will have exclamation marks at the beginning of the line.  Some will not.

The exclamation marks mean that that option is turned OFF.  From what I
understand, an exclamation mark is a programmer's way of saying "NOT!"

My favorite options to turn on are MONSTERBOLD and [[Status prompt|STATUSPROMPT]].  To turn
these on use the syntax:

SET MONSTERBOLD

Now all monsters in a room will appear in BOLD letters if your terminal
program supports VT100//ANSI letter bolding.

To turn it off use that exclamation mark; remember that it means "NOT!"

SET !MONSTERBOLD

The other really useful SETting is the StatusPrompt.  This will give you a
keycoded letter in your GemStone prompt between messages, that indicates
your status.  J for joined, H for hidden, s for Sitting, R while you are
in any kind of a roundtime, S for stunned or ! for bleeding.  Typing in
PROMPT all by itself will remind you of what each letter stands for.  When
you have SET STATUSPROMPT, instead of just a bracket between commands and
messages, like this:

Normal   |The last line of the room description here.        |

Prompt   |Obvious exits: North, East                         |
:::::|>_                                                 |

You would see:

New      
Status   |The last line of the room description here.        |

Prompt   |Obvious exits: North, East                         |
:::::|!J>_                                               |

The exclamation mark means you are bleeding [ut oh!] and the 'J' tells you
you are joined in a group with someone else.  [Who should be rushing you to
a healer!!]

There are SET options which will change all the many battle messages, too.
These alternate options are shorter, but not necessarily better, unless
you know what you are doing.

About Battle Messages:   Unless you are feeling REALLY safe, or in a large
crowd or something, leaving battle settings alone is probably the most
useful thing to do.  I know, it looks weird, but it tells you EXACTLY what
you are up against, and you'll know when you just got a lucky roll on a
tough monster or when a tough monster just happened to get a rotten roll on
you.  This is the default message setting for combat, and in the SET
list of options, you will have it if there is an exclamation mark (!) next
to both BattleBrief and CombatBrief.

Here's my best shot at my understanding of what the messages and numbers
mean from the default combat setting:
[Forgive my inexactness here, I don't remember how the combat output
looks precisely, but this IS the information that is presented:]

1. You swing your rapier at a lesser orc!
2.  [OB:35  DB:30]  = +5
3.  THT 67: [D100 = 64] Modified Roll: 69
4.  You cut the poor sucker's cheek!
5.  ...1 point of concussion damage

Line 1 tells you who hit what target with what weapon.  If you ever see
it tell you you 'strike' at such and such, then you'd better check your
inventory, cuz you're hitting the monster with your bare hands!

Line 2 Tells that YOUR Offensive Bonus is 35 and ITS Defensive Bonus is
30.  The difference gives you a +5 edge.  His DB will go up as he begins
to parry if you wound him or corner him or whatever.

Line 3 tells you that you have a To Hit of 67 on the monster and that
your dice roll was 64.  Add 64 to your bonus [or penalty] from Line 2
and you have the actual damaging value.

Lines 4 & 5 are just the extra descriptive stuff & points.  Whenever you see
an extra line tossed in there that says you are awarded an additional #
of hits, THAT was a critical roll of one kind or another.  Those critical
injuries are generally pretty graphic and gruesome as a rule.  There is no
way to get rid of them without getting rid of the very important combat
information.


Having the BattleBrief message flag ON on abbreviates all combat messages,
and in doing so combines the modified results into a single line.  If you
already know how tough your opponent is, it will cut down on lots of the
messages.  But if you do not know your opponent or the combat system well
enough, all you would ever see is the modified results.  You could make a
fatal error in deciding you actually could face a monster.  IE:

 The creepy ugly thing swings at you!
 [OB 100:  DB 25] +75
 Thit 81  D100= 5  Mod Roll = 80
 A Clean Miss!

Without the specific information about how strong the monster is and
what your actual THit and the roll was, that could look like the silly
thing couldn't hurt you.  well, HA!  The silly thing could kill you with
anything above a 10 or a 12 on his dice.   In BattleBrief, you'd have
never known that.

Line 2 tells you he is using a +100 for his Offensive Bonus and that you
have only a Defensive Bonus of 25.  Net result there is +75, in the
monster's favor!

Line 3 Tells you just how lucky you are, he rolled a 5.  Add 5 to 75 and,
well, you get the picture...Run!

You may wish to use the "CombatBrief" as an alternative to the default
complete Combat messages, it gives you your full information, but only
brief information about any other people fighting there with you.

Change combat message flags with CAUTION, and use them only when you are
sure you understand what it means.

For those who wish more information about the combat system, GemStone uses
the Condensed Combat System from the Rolemaster Companion, Volume I.
Some information about this is in the Tomes, or if you have this reference
work from Rolemaster, see page 62.

The current combt criticals are drawn from the MERP (Middle Earth
Roleplaying) combat system (also by I.C.E.)
{{top}}

<b>Tasha's Best Tips for Survival:</b>


<b>1.</b> Make friends.  The other characters and players are your lifeline to information, assistance, understanding and more fun than you can EVER have alone!

<b>2.</b> Always carry a shield in your left hand, weapon in right hand. If you get it backwards, use SWAP command.

<b>3.</b> Always wear heavy hide to protect yourself.

<b>4.</b> You cannot parry with your full OB without a weapon in your hand.  Parrying without a weapon uses *only* your ST bonus and any brawling training which you have.

<b>5.</b> If you cast a directed spell, you will want to lower your parry as the spell uses your Directed Spell OB and if you are parrying, it lowers this while using your ST + Brawling to figure what goes into your DB.  This is true of both cast spells and wands that have directed spells in them.  If the spell isn't directed, then keep your parry up as it has no effect on the casting or results of the spell in this case.

<b>6.</b> Rapiers have a much lower ToHit on most creatures, but do less damage.  Since I have such a lousy OB anyways, I stuck to rapiers, I needed every advantage I could get to beat that ToHit number. But rapiers break easily and are kind of expensive.  They will not break if you go up against an opponent who is not using a weapon.  [claws/bites only] If/as/when you get stronger, you can switch to heavier weapons like broadswords and scimitars (higher ToHits, but more damage when they connect); you will need a few levels of weapon training to compensate for the higher ToHit.  Look around for those really interesting Drake Falchions, you'll be glad you did, they are good basic weapons, and every once in a while, they'll REALLY surprise you!  :)

<b>7.</b> When up against something which is heavily armored, note that it's harder for you to hit them and easier for them to hit you.  Beware, not all Lesser Orcs are alike. Adjust your parry accordingly. (Note: certain opponents are easier to hit if you use specific weapons.  Gnomes are vulnerable to handaxes and Greater Orcs are susceptible to scimitars. Remember, tho, that these are heavier weapons and harder to use against other beasts.)  This all depends on the armors and weapons involved, for details, see Taluk's armor guide or the Condensed Combat System ToHit charts.

<b>8.</b>When you can afford it, make a first aid kit to carry with you:  Akbutege Leaf for concussion damage and Edram Moss for Bleeding limbs.  Pasamar Grass for bleeding chest/back/abdomen and Arfandas Stem for bleeding head wounds.

<b>9.</b> Make use of the commands for new players, ADVICE and DIRECTIONS.  ADVICE will help you learn what to do and how to do it, and DIRECTIONS will help you locate where you need to go within the city to start.  These are TERRIFIC tools, and insure a good starting basis for new players.

The DIRECTIONS and ADVICE commands are available ONLY to level 1 players.  You'll want to make sure you learn your way around town - and grab a set of maps to make sure you know how to get somewhere.  Don't miss these valuable resources in the GemStone Library.

Zinderin's IFF Maps:  File # 17<br>
Zinderin's GIF Maps:  File # 28  [Compressed as a .LZH file]

<b>10.</b>Make friends.   And try to go out hunting in a group.  If there is anything that you can learn early, it is that there is safety in numbers!

<b>11.</b>Wearing Arm and Leg greaves gives no armor penalties, but will reduce blows to your limbs on critical injuries.  You could save your leg with these handy and inexpensive little additions to your outfit.  Helms and aventails (neckwear) also fall into this category.

<b>12.</b>First level characters are 'saved' a number of times by the gods if they should die.  This protection ends when you reach level 2.  If you should die then, chances are that you lose your character.  I repeat, DEATH IS PERMANENT.

However, there is a way to curry favor with Eissa, goddess of the underworld [or something like that].  You can buy her favor at the temple and have 'deeds' assigned to you.  It will cost you more and more each level, and more and more each deed you already have.  I just paid 200 silvers for my first deed at level 1. See the Black Arch at the temple and check out the tapestry.  Follow the bouncing ball for instructions from there on.  Rumor has it that the priestess has a real penchant for agates.  [wink]

Use the command:  DEPART to call in your favors with the Goddess.

<b>13.</b>Your stats are penalized by any deaths after level 1.  If you have a deed to save your hide, the goddess will raise you, and you will go back to the temple, without any of your inventory.  Each of these deaths will accumulate until you are ready to train again.  At that point, the death penalties will be calculated at 1 or 2 points per stat per death and taken from your stats.  You could recover any death losses even then because your potentials roll is taken AFTER these death penalties.  This could affect your bonuses.

Cleric resurrections do not count towards a death penalty, will save your inventory on you, but will still require a deed.   But the cleric must get to you in time.

<b>14.</b>Keep up with all the current events and news in each month's issue of Kelfour Edition, the player-written newsletter.  Back Issues are kept and are filled with invaluable information, charts, and news, as well as enchanting stories.  New issues are available at the GemStone menu.  Older ones are still at the MultiPlayer Games Library.

The GameMasters themselves have a NEWS command which you can check for upcoming events, changes and other news which the GMs want you to know about.

<b>15.</b>Use PARRY often to ensure 'smart' fighting.  If you are in a group of non-spell casters, parry high until the monster is no longer a danger to you, then lower your parry and attack.  PARRY essentially turns over a percentage of your Offensive Bonus into a defensive bonus, making you harder to hit.  A PARRY 0 would divert ALL your offensive skill into the attack of the moment.  PARRY 50 would divert 50% of it and PARRY 100 would divert 100%, or ALL of it, into your defenses.

A common maneuver might be to PARRY 0, then attack.  Then PARRY 100 and wait for the creature to attack you.  As soon as he's attacked then you PARRY 0 and attack him again.  As long as he attacks no faster than you are, this routine can work.

While it might seem like dancing to you, it is affectionately known as "Parry Tag" to the residents at Kelfour's.

<b>16.</b>Download and print out the maps at the GemStone Library, right on the GemStone Page.  There are maps in a set of GIF pictures and IFF pictures.

<b>17.</b>Keep up with the current discussions about GemStone in the MultiPlayer RoundTable Bulletin Board.  MOVE 1045;1 then: SET 17, SET 18, SET 19, SET 20.

A really simple way to read ALL the GemStone related messages is to use the Bulletin Board command:  CANCEL and remove yourself from all the other categories, one by one.  [CANCEL 2,  CANCEL 3, CANCEL 10, etc]  Then IGN PERM any topic numbers in category 1 which you don't want to participate in.  Don't worry, if you later want to rejoin anything you have cancelled, just look at the listings of the categories with the CATegory command, and rejoin them by entering SET <#>.

From that point on, all you have to do is use the one command:  BROWSE to keep up with all the new GemStone messages.  Because you have cancelled all the unrelated categories, you'll just see the GS ones, or any additional you wish.  But cancelled ones will not appear in your BROwse for new messages.

<b>18.</b>How Gold Rings work:   Gold rings teleport you around the game, and are thus very handy devices. When you get a new ring (from a monster corpse or a kindly player) it is not set. To set it, put it on (WEAR RING).  The ring is then set for that location. Any time later that you take it off (REMOVE RING) and put it on again, you will jump to the first location.  You can reset it to another location *when you are wearing it* by going to the new spot and using TURN RING; you'll feel a pulse when the ring is reset.

First complication: after using a ring to get somewhere by magic (like the healer's tent), be *sure* to reset it. If not, next time you use it, you will jump to the spot where you put it on, probably somewhere in the woods right into the arms of the beast that just bashed you.

Second complication: the rings have been stolen from Navigators, strange beings, who occasionally grab you when you use a ring and take both the ring and any coins you are carrying.  So gold rings are consumable items; wise to have a spare.

<b>19.</b>Amulets provide a crude form of telepathy. To use one, you must WEAR AMU then RUB AMU. Once you've done that, you will receive messages from players all around the game rather than just in the room with you. Send your own messages by typing THINK followed by the text of your message.  Note that thought transmissions are just like log-off and log-on messages, in that they clutter the screen for players receiving them. If you babble to the world, you could cause someone to die in combat. So be moderate. Every amulet has 40 charges before shattering. Each charge is good for 5-10 mins.

<b>20.</b>In order to get any treasure that monsters are carrying, you must be sure to SEARCH [monster-name] before it decays. You will then find out what it has. If it decays before you search it, the booty disappears.

If you have the skill [first aid] you may want to try your hand at skinning some of the creatures you find to earn a little bit of extra cash.  Jarlik, the furrier, pays for pelts.

<b>21.</b>Make friends.  The support and joy they bring you is invaluable to building your character and in making the time you have to spend in the world of GemStone most enjoyable!

<b>22.</b>Keep an eye on your EXPerience.  Use the EXPerience command to see the condition of your mind.  There will be messages which tell you just how 'full' your mind is.  When it tells you it is 'numbed' or that you 'must rest' then it is time to head to town and absorb all the field experience.  Once you are in a safe place, put your weapon away, and finish up whatever business you have in town until your mind is 'clear' again.  Your EQ stat will determine how many field experience points your mind can hold, and your RE stat determines how fast they absorb.  The Temple will let you absorb experience somewhat faster than other places and while in combat, you absorb very little experience.  Here are the messages, going from a completely absorbed mind to a completely full one:

'clear as a bell' <br>
'fresh and clear'<br>
'clear'<br>
'muddled'<br>
'becoming numbed'<br>
'numbed'<br>
'must rest!'

Once you get to the 'must rest!' spot, you will earn NO MORE EXPERIENCE until your mind has cleared some.  Keeping an eye on this will help you learn the best way to play your character.

<b>23.</b>The Temple is a favorite gathering place for adventurers who are resting, Healers who are available to heal and other folk who are looking for or passing on information.

Knowing how to get to the Temple while nearly unconscious is probably one of the best skills you could learn.  :)  This is where people congregate, and where there is more likely to be a Healer.  The Temple is not far from the gate.  Directions from Land's End, just as you have entered the city gates:

S,W,S,S,SE,E,E,E,S,S,E,GO TEMPLE

<b>24</b>.If you are wounded, and there is no healer at the Temple, or if you are bleeding too badly to think you can make it that far, there is a Healer who owns a tent right at North Ring Road, about 5 or 6 moves east of the Gate.  His name is Surtey, and he will charge to heal you.  You should locate the tent so you know how to get there in an emergency.

Lie down once you are IN the tent, and Surtey will tend your wounds.

<b>25.</b>Last Tuesday of each month, 7 PM Pacific Time, The House of Argent Aspis hosts a Newcomer's Night.  It is a good time to get to know where things are, get your questions answered and meet lots of people.

<b>26.</b>There are clerics in the game who can resurrect any dead character.  In performing this ritual, the cleric sacrifices a large number of life levels and will then have to rest for several minutes.  If you are level 2 or higher, the cleric will receive an experience reward for returning you to life.

However, if you are level 1, a cleric will get nothing for the effort but a bill from GEnie.  Add to this that level 1 characters are exempt from death penalties for 4 or 5 deaths anyways.  Therefore, do not be offended if a cleric asks you what level you are or if a cleric refuses to resurrect you because you are level 1.

<b>27.</b>If a cleric is going to perform a resurrection in the area where you are hunting, DO NOT HIT CALMED CREATURES.  Both the cleric and the newly resurrected character are at severe jeopardy of harm from creatures during and after the ritual.

<b>28.</b>Do not feel insulted or slighted if you try and interact with a player in the temple and you get no response.  Many times these people are AFK [Away From Keyboard].  Likewise, many players move around the game via macro and may not be able to respond to you as they move through a room which you are in.

<b>29.</b>Some creatures carry chests which contain any number of different kinds of treasures, from coins to gems to special objects.  All chests are locked and you will need to find someone to unlock a chest.  Some of your friends may open chests, some may know experienced lockpickers who do.  Some may charge, some may not.  Some you may wish you had thought about paying.  :)

But if you get stuck and really need one opened, Larton, the guy who runs the locksmith's shop, will open a chest for you.  

Go into his back room.  He's NEVER at the front of the shop.  :)  Put the chest on the counter and ring the bell.  He will quote you a price.  Probably something exorbitant.  If you wish for him to do it, type in PAY.  If not, get the chest back and go find someone who will open it.

<b>30</b>.A number of player-run organizations called Houses exist in town.  There are varying entrance requirements, dues and obligations.  Most all of them offer expanded storage in plush 40-item lockers.  You cannot join any House until you are at least level 5.

<b>31.</b>You will advance to level two with 20,000 points.  Level 3 is 30,000.  After level 5, it will require 20,000 points to advance each level, and after level 10, 30,000 points per level.  It keeps going up as you do.

To advance to your next level, go to an Inn inside the city walls, and CHECK IN at the desk.  This allows you to claim your new skills and select the things you will be studying for your next level.

In between levels, you can view your exact skills and character statistics with options from the menu which you get after you have issed [sic] a CHECK IN command.

This is also where you go to reroll.

<b>32.</b>  Something lots of people wonder about, just HOW do you pick a chest lock?  Get a lockpick and use the syntax:  PICK CHEST WITH LOCKPICK

<b>33.</b>  There is a command to call for help from a GameMaster:  ASSIST. When there is one available, they can help you if you need it.

<b>34.</b>  There is a graphic front end for GemStone which runs on MSDOS compatible computers.  It is not required to play, but is an optional enhancement for those who enjoy it.  You will find the most current version of this graphic interface in the GemStone Library.

Note that if you use another terminal program to log in to GEnie, you should run the front end BEFORE entering GemStone.  During your entry into the game, handshaking between the program and GemStone takes place.  Run the front end BEFORE using #3 on the GemStone menu, "Enter GemStone III"

<b>35.</b>  There are public lockers in Moot Hall, on the eastern side of the Town Square.  Go down the East Hall once inside the building and a few rooms down, you'll be able to see an opening into these public storage facilities.

GO OPENING<br>
OPEN LOCKER<br>
place whatever you wish into it.<br>
CLOSE LOCKER   <--- very important!<br>
GO OPENING to exit and return to the hallway.

<b>36.</b>  There are laws in town.  You WILL get arrested and fined if you break any of these.  You can check out the case in the Constabulary on Andraax Avenue) to see the current warrants.  It is unlawful to attack NPC's, or town residents.  These are the people you might see in town, a trader, a monk, an old man, or any number of others.

It is unlawful to murder players inside the town limits.

It is unlawful to cast dangerous spells in town, like stun clouds.

If you are arrested, you will be tossed in jail and then brought before a judge who will decide upon your fine.  If you do not have enough silver on you to pay the fine, your inventory will be sold off
(in random order) until the fine is paid off.  Any inventory remaining can be picked up in the constabulary, where it is stored in a sealed box on the constable's desk.  Only the owner of the inventory can open the box.  Unclaimed inventory (anything left after about an hour) will be donated to the poor.  ;)

<b>37.</b> Have I mentioned lately how important it is to Make Friends?  :)
{{top}}

<b>APPENDIX A</b>

Things you should know about the monsters:

<b>Level 1 Creatures:</b>

Giant Rat:They are fairly easy to hit, and good practice for new adventurers.  They carry the same warnings about disease and criticals as Torkaan.  But they die pretty fast.   You will find them in the tunnels under Kelfour's, there is a cul-de-sac with a hidden entrance North of the Temple.  Check a map or get a guide.  the ADVICE command will give hints on how to find the catacombs if you can make your way to the cul-de=sac.  Again, they carry no treasure nor have any belongings.  There seems to be an endless infestation of these things in the catacombs.  New adventurers are being recruited all the time to help battle these rodents.

Kobold:  They have a +20 OB, and are three of the most harmless things you can find.  They hide out in the forest just outside of Kelfour's, and carry short swords and light leather which you can pawn for cash.  Every once in a while, one will even have a chest!  Watch out for Wolverines in the area.

Torkaan: They have a +20 OB, but they *do* have a lower ToHit, and when they *do* connect, they can get criticals really easily.  They can transmit disease if they bite you, too.  You will find them in the surroundings of Kelfour's, in the Forest and in the Grasslands.  Being sheep-like things, they have no treasure, no possessions, and there is only a small market for their pelts.  But their teeth are SHARP!  Watch out for wolverines!

<b>Level 2 Creatures:</b>

Gnomes:  Known for living in some of the passageways in the old Mines, Gnomes are a fairly easy and relatively safe monster.  They carry armor and weapons which can be pawned, as well as treasure sometimes.  Use one of their own handaxes against them for a better THit than a rapier.  DO NOT go up to the mines without a guide the first time to learn which areas are safe for you to go to, and which passageways the gnomes live in.
  
NOTE:  The Old Mines can be a *dangerous* place, do not try this alone.

Goblins: Goblins wander about in Upper Kaldsfang.  [The Upper Kaldsfang which is over the river and up the bank, not the one which is beyond the grasslands and in the forestlands.]  They are fairly  good fighters, carry treasure, but no belongings.  The biggest problem with goblins is that they can travel the same areas as lesser orcs - which are very dangerous.  Troglodytes: These guys live in the mine caves, too, and hit harder than gnomes.

<b>Level 3 Creatures:</b>

Hobgoblins: Armed and able fighters, Hobgoblins roam the depths of the forested lands of Upper Kaldsfang.  [The Upper Kaldsfang which is beyond the grasslands, not the one over the river and up the bank.]  They wear armor and use weapons which can be pawned for a good profit, and they also carry treasure.  Beware of their hit, they have a very strong arm!

Other Monsters to Beware:

Lesser Orcs:  These are LEVEL 4 monsters, and have a high OB.  The ones over the bridge and up the bank are not armored, but the ones past the grasslands are.  They can all be deadly if you are not prepared.   [Heck, they can be deadly even if you HAVE taken precautions!]  You must worry about these to get to Goblins, hobgoblins or Gnomes.

Wolverines:   These are LEVEL 5 monsters, can kill in one bite, even at full parry and moving through a room.  As a young character, do not tarry anywhere near where a Wolverine is.  They *do* frequent the areas just around Kelfour's, so beware.  You must worry about passing these things to get to ANYTHING South.

Karnelins:    They aren't quite as rough as Wolverines, but they are fierce and will kill you if you are not careful!  They seem to share the same roaming places as the wolverines, out in the grasslands and forest immediately surrounding Kelfour's Landing.

Young characters should RUN at the first sight of a Wolverine or a
Karnelin.

There are also Greater Orcs and Trolls out in the forest, and a slug of
nasties out in the graveyard.  You really have to go LOOKING to find these
man-eaters, though.

Unfortunately, the areas you must pass through to get to where many level 1
and 2 monsters are have these orcs, karns and wolverines in them.  Just
always keep moving when in dangerous places.  Even then, the monsters can
still get a hit on ya.  :-(  Travel at PARRY 100.


<b>APPENDIX B</b>

A Word About Healing

Transferring wounds gives experience to the Healer, unless it is
transferred from another Healer.  As a rule, the worse the injury, the
more experience it is worth.

The command you use to transfer injuries from someone else is:
TRANSFER
It takes the format:
TRANSFER <who> <which> <what>
For instance:   TRANSFER QUICKENS RIGHT ARM
would heal Quickens' right arm damage and give the injury to you.
Basic Concussion damages require just the name of the person, and no
further areas:  TRANSFER QUICKENS

The injuries you can transfer depends on your level.  A level 1 player
can only transfer concussion damage from someone else.  HOWEVER!!!!!!!
If you transfer more damage than you have concussion points, you will
die.  And when you transfer bleeding wounds, you WILL BLEED, until you
have healed it.

At level 2, you can then transfer limb bruises, and it progresses
from there to minor nerve damage, minor cuts on the head and minor
cuts and bruises on the torso.  Each ability is tied to your level and
you learn the spell that will fix the problem with each level, too.
[Level 2 Healer spell is limb repair 1, for exactly those same minor
limb injuries you are able to transfer then.]

Note that two bruises/cuts on the same limb will compound into a much
more serious injury and you'll have a bleeding/fractured limb.  Remember
to heal yourself before transferring identical injuries.
When you have reached level 2 and can transfer limb bruises and cuts,
you will leave the patient scarless.  Once you use the spell upon yourself
to fix the injury, you _will_ have scars.

There is a roundtime involved in casting a healing spell.  Take this into
consideration if you are travelling in a party or in some place of
possible danger.  As you advance, the roundtime does decrease.  [I believe
you have to be 3 or 4 levels above the level of the spell to see the
quicker roundtime.  See online manual for details.]

Herbs are very useful in field healing and in scar removal.  I have a
Healer's Herb Reference Chart available to any Healer who would like it.
Just drop me a note in EMail.  We get a discount on herbs from the
alchemist, but they are still very expensive.  Someone thought the
discount is around 40%, but it looks more like 20% to me.  Herbs can
help you heal injuries in your party which you have not advanced far
enough to treat, and can save your life or someone else's when you are
stuck out in the wilderness somewhere.



<b>APPENDIX C</b>

 _____________________________    
 |         Map Legend          |  To
 |                             |  Sea
 | P = Pathway [Should Be Safe]|  Cliffs                      Natasha's Basic
 | O = Outside of City Walls   |    \  
 |     Torkaan, Wolverines     |     \    { The }               Hunting Map
 | G = Grasslands              |      P>>>{Arena}
 |     Torkaan, Wolverines     |       \  {Gates}
 | X = Nearest Part of Forest  |        P
 |     Kobolds, Wolverines     |       / \
 |     and Karnelins           |      /   P
 | {}= GO landmark name        |     /     \            P-P-P        ~
 |_____________________________| {Path}     {The }     /             ~
                                 {way }     {City}----P               ~
                                  /         {Gate}::::::::::::::::::::~:::::
                                 /          /:  :  Kelfour's Landing  ~   ::
                                /          /:: _:_____________________~   ::
                               O      {Path}: /|.      | : | | |      ~ \ ::
      NW     NE                |         / ::| |       |   | | |--    ~  |::
        \ N /           :::::-<=<- - - -O  ::| :::::---+---+-| | |::  ~|-|::
         \|/            ::X::  |        |  ::| :   :     |   |-|-<   :~| |::
       W--#--E          :::::--X>-Path>>O  ::| : . :   --+-| |   |   :~| |::
         /|\                | /         |  ::| : . :   |   --|---+-----+-|::
        / S \               |/          O  ::| :   :---|::: _    |    ~::|::
      SW     SE             X           |  ::| :   :   |:::| |   |    ~ :|::
                           /            O  ::|::::::   |-+-- |---+---|~  |::
                          X             |  ::|   . | .  _| .   ::|-:-|~   ::
                          |             O  :: \____|___|_|_______|___|~   ::
               X----X-----X             |  :::::::::::::::::::::::::::~:::::
                     \    |             O        ^^ City Walls ^^     ~
                      \   |            / \                            ~<--River
                       \  |           G   \                           ~
                        \ |           |    \                          ~
                         \|           G     \                         ~
                          X            \     \                        ~
                          |             G     O-----------O----------O~{Bridge}
                          |             |                             ~
                          X             G                             ~
                          |              \                             ~
                          |               G                            ~
                           |               |
                          |               G
                          X               |
                         /|               G    {To Iorak's}
                      /   |               |    |
                   /      |               G    I
                /         |              /    /
               X          |             G----G
               |          |             |
    STOP HERE  |          |             |
  ===========> X----------X             V
  Go No Further \        /           {Forest}
              {Trail} {Path}         { Path }
   Werebears       \  /                 ^
  ===========>       X>>>{Clearing}--<<-F
       &           /  \                  \
             {Foot}    {Hole}             \
     Other   {Path}                        {To Forest- See Other Maps}
   Dangers!



<b>Bibliography</b>

Rolemaster(tm) Books by Iron Crown Enterprises:

Rolemaster Companion, Volume 1<br>
Character Law & Campaign Law<br>
Arms Law & Claw Law<br>
Spell Law<br>
Quellbourne, Shadow World Module<br>
Shadow World Complete Boxed set  [Includes some of above books]

The Tomes of Kulthea<br>
Taluk's Armor Guide<br>
Zepath's Maps<br>
Kelfour Edition, Vol.2, No.12  "GemStone III Commands"<br>
Kelfour Edition, Vol.2, No.12  "Made Immortal by the Reroller"<br>
Kelfour Edition, Vol.2, No.12  "Learning All the Right Moves"<br>
Kelfour Edition, Vol.1, No.1   "No-Nonsense Hint for Survival: Armor"<br>
Kelfour Edition, Vol.1, No.1   "The Art of Roleplaying"<br>
Kelfour Edition, Vol.1, No.3   "More Bits on Roleplaying"

The Kelfour Edition, Index to Volume 1<br>
The Kelfour Edition, Index to Volume 2
{{top}}

[[Category:Guides]]