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Latest revision as of 11:59, 31 December 2014
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/ \ \
| | Happy New Year! ----====* |
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| XX XX XXXX XX |
| xXX XX xX XX The Kronicles |
| XXX XXX xXX of Kulthea: Vol.1, No. 8 |
| XXX X January 1991 |
| XXXXXXXXXXXXX XX XXX XX XXX """""""""""" |
|XX XX XX XX XXX XXXX XXX |
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|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
/ |
| Local News ............................................... 1 |
| Editorial .................................... Usul Lu'Nak 2 |
| The Warlock's Revenge (Quest report) ....... Lythe L'Green 3 |
| Gladitorial Games Update ................... Vlad Drakulya 6 |
| My Troll ........................................ Calliope 6 |
| Seven Artifacts ................................ Anonymous 7 |
| Letter.................................. Lord Yuri Hanbidt 8 |
| Everything About Weapons & Armor .. Yashantre Spleenbender 9 |
| Castle Cladesbrim Maps................ Wisraith Winterwind 11 |
| School of Life, Guest Editorial ... Synyster DIAMOND-NINJA 15 |
| Battlefield Blues ......................... Rhys Corwinson 16 |
| Shadow over Kulthea ........................ Lythe L'Green 19 |
| Art of Macros, Part II .................... Nastorm Trevin 21 |
| Hall of Fame ............................................. 22 |
| How Synyster Was Lost ..............Synyster DIAMOND-NINJA 23 |
| Kalagay Comes to Kelfour's ............... Kalagay Halatil 25 |
| To Fly ................................... Damiano Faustas 28 |
| The Poisoned Quill ................ Miss Louvella Parsnips 29 |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| The Kelfour Edition of the Kronicles of Kulthea is devoted to the game |
| GemStone III on the GEnie Information Network. Submissions are welcome |
| and may be edited for space, accuracy and readability. Contact Usul |
| Lu'Nak, Editor-In-Chief, Landreth deLorde, Technical Editor, Phaedra |
| Bleu, Publisher, or send GEnie Email to P.HERRINGTON. Banner by Dagger |
| ______________________________________________________________________|__
\_/________________________________________________________________________/
______________________________________
Local News *==--- *==-- *=--- *- * * -* ---=* *
"""""""""" *==----- *===--- *=-- *-*- * * * *-* -==* -=*
*==------ *==--- *==-- *- *- 1991 -* -* ----===*
*-- * / / \ \ * ----=*
Happy New Year! *=-- * * * * * \ \ \
*======---------- / * / I I \ * \ *
As promised last month, read Lythe's / * / * * * \ \ *
report on Mad Melgorehn's Quest on / / * \
page 3. And Kelfour's Landing's / Three New Shops Open \
First Gladitorial Games are / ""/"""""""""""""""""" \
scheduled for Saturday January 12th. Need/ a pick-me-up? Drop by the\new
See Vlad's update on page 6. Bak/ery /for a donut and a mug\of
st/rong/ Kulthean coffee. Or order\a
Real Estate b/irth/day cake for your next party\
""""""""""" /Don't miss the sparkling assortment*
Now you can own a home inside the /of rings and fine jewelry (including
walls of Kelfour's Landing. In * a l/ovely diamond bracelet priced at
fact, two such Houses of Kulthea on/ly 94,500 silvers) available from
(established to promote the social, K/elfour's Gemcutter. And the next
professional and political goals of /time a loved one bites the dust, be
its membership) are about to go into /sure to order him or her a fresh
place: The House of the Rising / Lily Wreath from the new florist on
Phoenix established by Wisraith/ Moonstone Lane; only 13,800 silvers.
Winterwind, and the House of Paupers All shops offer special backroom
established by Kirc Bloodguard. merchandise to preferred clientele.
Rules and guidelines for setting up
YOUR House are available in /the Wedding Bells
Tomes. Tours of these Houses /will """""""""""""
undoubtedly be popular. / In a small, private ceremony Taarna
/ Wayfinder and Ilstar Dark\edge were
/ married on New Year's morn.\ And in
Both Sides of the Fence a lavish production which featured a
""""""""""""""""""""""" party of nine members (each w\ith an
"You look like you nee/d cheering elaborate new Special Descrip\tion)
up," whispered the Shaa/ljin monk. KE Publisher Phaedra Blue mar\ried
"Perhaps this quotatio/n from the Landreth deLorde on Winter Solstice.
holy books will he/lp ease your KE wishes both couples the best. \
troubled spirit." / /\ \
/ / \ \
"If your soul has a/dark, dark stain / _\ --------------===========*
and from evil you/would refrain, / + | |
Go to the pla/ce, /+ |We have QUESTS! A permanent|
of your secr/et disgrace, / +|kind of quest rose up in the|
and kneel when/ you pull the chain!" /\_/\ |plains last month as a grand|
/ ( | |mountain complete with maze,|
Sto/rage lockers / \|puzzles and magic item|
""/""""""""""""" = \|recharge features. Details|
If your backpack pokes uncomfortably / / /|in the next Edition. |
consider dropping by Moot Hall where /__/ / | |
you can n/ow store up to 10 items in * |Watch for information in|
a perso/nal locker. Guarded by the A |GemStone about a Quest for|
town mi/litia, these squeaky-doored r T|which you can Register in|
contai/ners cost only 25 silvers per t w|advance with your friends.|
visit, plus 10 silvers for each item i|Perhaps you'll need to use|
stor/ed therein. b e|the new SING, LEAN and DUCK|
/ y |game commands for it. |
* ---------===============*
-1-
__________ Starting in the Middle
/\ _____ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
\@| ~|_|~ | by Usul Lu'Nak
| |~| | Editor In Chief
| |~| |
_| |~| |
/@| _|~|_ | now know GemStone's The first thing to understand about
\_/ ~~~~~ / secret name. It is the middle bits is where they begin.
~~~~~~~~~ Endurance. Not as an The transition can come at any time,
ultimate goal (though that ambition after your first Tork or your five
runs strong in most of us) but as a hundredth Crystal Golem. This pointof
constant condition of the game. We transition is subjective and wholly
players, like marathon runners and internal. For make no mistake about
political hostages, must know how to it: For the record, this transition
endure, or else nothing we have so cannot be avoided. You can only avoid
arduously earned can be made real. the middle bits by quitting, letting
Beginnings come easily, as easily go, a price which is too high. Much
as the stroke of midnite summons New higher than the cost of carrying on.
Year's Day. To begin GSIII you only If you feel the same way, you can use
need an idea for a character and a that feeling to carry you forward
basic knowledge of the skill-based past the bleak times. For that matter
character manager. A few battles, the evolving and multiplayer nature
trial deaths, and possibly rerolls of this game offers a ray of hope.
later, you're on your way. Most Speed helps, too. Every player
players gladly help beginners along. carries his own kind of inertia. A
So much for beginnings. good launch and a steady hand on the
Endings are also no biggie. I mean aft thrusters can Zip you past all
level 100 is kinda high up there, if manner of obstacles. I once saw an
you get my meaning. So (stripping out airline pilot with a button that read
all the poetic mumbo-jumbo) the truth MAINTAIN THY FLIGHT SPEED, LEST THE
of the matter is that The End will be GROUND RISE UP TO SMITE THEE! They
even easier, albeit more emotional struck me as good words, as I think
than the start. When you begin you the the middle bits in GemStone yield
are confronted with the challenge of better to steady pressure than to
making one choice out of hundreds, irregular headbanging. I like them
but by the time you are ready for the even more after experimenting with
final trip to The Inn, your options a measured pace instead of alternate
are few and possibly even welcome! lulls and frenzies.
Any athlete will tell you the first Routines DON'T help. Avoid them!
and last laps are the easy ones. They may get you from level to level
The real challenge isn't beginnings more rapidly, but they do horrible
or endings, it's the middle bits. things to feed the doldrums. So mount
For that's where endurance raises its challenges for yourself. Double back
wary/weary head. The middle bits are on your path or strike out for unfam-
hell. Yep, starting is fun. Finishing iliar places and creatures. Throw
is release. But in the middle, when wrenches into the works. Experiment!
you're trying to maintain your worn Fact is, you WANT to be there, so do
and flagging interest and all you can your damnest to enjoy the scenery and
do is hang in there (and I do mean ROLEPLAY, 'cause to the best of my
hang), then playing becomes binary. knowledge, there are no magic spells,
Endure and play on, or fail. Any nostrums, or special items that can
RPGer knows this. The middle bits are protect you against the middle bits!
the graveyard of too many aborted There is _only_ endurance, fueled by
computer RPG's. But the multiplayer determination and buttressed by ROLE-
nature of GemStone III gives us a PLAY and camaraderie. That is the
new perspective on this beast which unique solution of GemStone: Endure
quagmires us with its slow assault. we must, but we need not do it alone.
-2-
____________ The Warlock's Revenge
/ \ __ \ """""""""""""""""""""
\@| / ~| | Quest Report by Lythe L'Green
| //|~| |
_| //=|~| |ll night, we had been We walked down the dragon machine's
/@| // |~| | waiting expectantly. throat and found a bubbling cauldron
\_/ ~~ ~~~ /If the whispers around hooked to an elaborate system of
~~~~~~~~~~~ Kelfour's Landing were pipes. Suddenly, Valeria and Rune
true, a great and dark power had appeared beside us; obviously
returned: Melgorehn the mad warlock anything as big as this dragon was
was upon the land once again. going to attract a lot of attention.
Sooner or later, something had to We then split up and began exploring
happen. I and a few others left the inards of this dragon. Before
town to explore the wilds, to see if long, Valeria and I had discovered a
anything extraordinary had happened. control room which featured a series
of levers, a communications system,
I journeyed into the southern areas and a log. The levers didn't seem
of the Upper Kaldsfang, beyond a to do anything but make gurgling
familiar sign which warned of sounds deep within the dragon.
"Danjir." It was then that I heard a However, the log appeared to have a
deafening crash up a small path that checklist of items, the last few of
led into the forest. Quickly, I which had not been completed. We
went to investigate. didn't know quite what to make of
it; it made references to a place
I found a truly amazing sight: A called Terror's Stump and mentioned
mammoth peacock-colored dragon lay other arcane terms I'd never heard
on the ground, apparently sleeping. of in all my training as a mage.
Knowing this beast was probably one However, we finally concluded that
of the most powerful living things, this dragon was some sort of flying
I decided to remain motionless for a machine, and this room somehow
while; dragons are said to be able controlled it.
smell enemies from a mile away.
However, it did not move, and I We left this room to explore the
began to wonder if it was still remainder of the dragon, and found
alive. Perhaps that crash was the that there were now no less than
sound of it being felled from the thirty people inside. It was
sky by a more powerful brute. I becoming a popular place! A number
rejected this idea after failing to of machines had been discovered
notice any sign of injury on it. within the dragon. One could grind
agates into a fine, powdery sub-
Another minute passed. Finally, I stance and another produced a
gathered my courage and touched it. strange yellow gook. Yet another
Its side was cold, like metal! This heated the various substances into
was no living creature, I thought. others. Someone even found interest
It must be some gigantic machine! in the bluish waste products of an
At last free of all fear, I kicked aggressive furry animal.
it. The sound reverberated across
the whole structure. Yes, this was In any case, someone finally came up
a machine. with the bright idea of tossing
these substances into the cauldron.
I raced to find Riverwind, who had To our surprise, some of them
been exploring other areas nearby. flashed violently when put there.
He stared at it in awe for a moment, As more were added, the sound of
and we cast wisdom aside and walked groaning machinery could be heard in
directly into the dragon's mouth, the next room, and a hiss of steam
which was hanging wide open. rushed through the pipes.
-3- More...
Nearby, what could only be the Upstairs, people began to push and
dragon's bladder had become pull the levers in the control room
inflated. Somehow, those substances randomly. And this time, a lot more
which could be found throughout the than gurgling happened -- the dragon
dragon acted as some sort of fuel lurched upwards and began to fly!
when placed in the cauldron; this
would then cause steam to fill up Everyone inside the dragon rushed
the bladder, allowing its massive into the control room to see what
machinery to become operable! was happening. It was true! Below
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[Dragon, Head]
You are in what is obviously the Dragon's head. This cramped room is
moulded into the shape of a large seat facing forward. In front of the
seat is a metallic panel displaying several levers organized in groups.
Two giant, round windows (the Dragon's eye when seen from the outside)
provide a compelling view. Two large pipes lead down through the floor
directly alongside a small hatch. You also see a flared opening, what
appears to be some kind of log attached by a wire to the panel and an
airlock.
Read log:
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| / |
| \/ Load cargo at Melgorehn's Tower |
| / |
| \/ Load supplies |
| / |
| \/ Secure Master in Chamber (orders to be awakened only on delivery)|
| / |
| \/ Pre-flight check |
| / |
| \/ Prime mixture, bring to lifting ready |
| / |
| \/ Lift off at midnight |
| / |
| \/ Landfall, Quellbourne; 3 day, 4 night journey |
| / |
| \/ Land and Resupply (careful, indigenous ingredients more volatile)|
| / |
| \/ Ground expedition: locate Terror's Stump |
| / |
| \/ Pre-flight check |
| / |
| \/ Lift off at midnight |
| |
| Effect pressure releases |
| / |
| \/ Final rituals for Seed implantation |
| |
| Land at Terror's Stump |
| |
| Awaken Master, await further orders |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
More...
-4-
us could be seen the forest! time, there was no crash landing.
At the hands of our skilled pilot,
I don't know who was at the controls Airioch, we flew through canyons,
then, but they did something that over the forests of the Upper
caused the fuel to be instantly Kaldsfang and over vast grasslands.
consumed. Without warning, the It was an amazing sight to behold.
dragon began to hurdle downward. It
was starting to look like boarding The dragon was set down finally
this beast was a bad idea. somewhere in the Upper Kaldsfang,
and Wisraith, Beolost and I went to
As we crashed into the ground, I explore where it was we had landed.
remember being knocked about, and The wilderness was familiar; most of
then a great darkness came over me. us had traversed the area on many
A few minutes later, I was revived; occassions. However, we found a
someone tried to tell me I had been place nobody had every noticed
dead for a few moments, but I will before. An ancient tree stump lay
never know. All I will say is that on the ground, its age far too old
Erebor, High Priest of Eissa, worked to calculate. Perhaps irrationally,
a great miracle to save me that day. I felt a fear of the thing. Some
terrible aura seemed to surround it;
Licking our wounds, we prepared to an imperceivable evil seemed to
fly the dragon again. This time, we permeate the very air nearby.
would be organized. Riverwind took
charge as captain, and assembled a Was this the Terror Stump men-
flight staff while I took charge of tioned on the log? If so, we would
operations below to create new fuel. have to contact the crew of the
dragon, for this was the proper
Before long, we had a massive pile destination! If we could only bring
of the substances required to fly it here, perhaps we would learn
the dragon. We readied ourselves, more.
and attempted lift off once again.
From above, Riverwind's voice echoed After another brief flight under the
to us to prepare for takeoff. Those navigation of Beolost, we were able
of us in engineering started to pile to find the stump easily enough.
fuel into the cauldron on his But when we landed, we learned that
command. For a moment, we all felt we had unwittingly unleashed the
the floor drop out from under us. might of Melgorehn upon the land.
We were in the air again. The voice of the evil warlock
resounded throughout the ship,
This was not a good day for flying. thanking us for performing what his
Once again, an error had been made, inept servants could not. Some evil
and we went into another uncon- seed had been planted beneath the
trolled dive. Most of us survived stump.
the crash landing; we can only thank
the builders of the dragon for We quickly gathered our strength for
making it so incredibly strong. we then knew that for the second
time in memory, Melgorehn would have
A dead silence fell over the dragon to be defeated. We rushed through
for the next fifteen minutes, as the ship, until we found a pre-
those in the control room tried to viously impassible portal. Beyond
understand what had gone wrong. lay a metal hatch, and from within
Luckily, we had plenty of fuel left could hear thumping and scratching.
for more attempts. Surely, this was to be our conflict.
Eventually, Riverwind informed us And then the battle was upon us.
they had finally come to understand Melgorehn summoned his minion lords
how the dragon worked. Without to confront us, but these were foul
warning, it took off again! This manifestations of the Unlife and
-5- More...
were dispatched cunningly by Erebor. _____________ Gladitorial Games
The warlock became our sole enemy. / \ _________ \ Update
\@| ||-|-|-|| | ~~~~~~
We used guerrilla tactics to assault | ~~ |~| ~~ | by Vlad Drakulya
the mad warlock, but found that our _| |~| |
weapons were all but useless against /@| |~| |he Gladitorial Games
his mighty power. Fire rolled off \_/ ~~~~~ /are a go! They will
his back like water. Swords bounced ~~~~~~~~~~~~ be held on Saturday,
from his wizard shield like toys. January 12, starting about noon PST.
Since details of the rules have not
Finally, we decided to channel all been worked out at press time, I
our powers into one person: Lord direct all those interested in
Dagmar, the greatest wizard in the competing, watching, or betting on
land. He drew out his metal wand and the games to Scorpia's RoundTable.
prepared to hurl balls of pure cold From most prompts, type M805;1 and
at Melgorehn. The Ranger Lord Fxg change to Category 20. The Games
weaved a spell of guidance upon him, are being discussed in Topic 22.
granting a spiritual force which
would direct Dagmar's hand to make You will find some interesting
the deadliest blows. I cast spells reading there as people have made
upon him to grant him the strength some great suggestions. When I have
of giants and the speed of the wind. finalized all the rules, I will post
a final message there describing
Our plan worked! Slowly, the war- everything that will be going on.
lock's power began to wane. In one The town "Nobility" will post a
final blast, Dagmar's cold ball message on the opening banner in
ripped through Melgorehn's mid- GemStone once I have posted that
section, cutting him in half. A final message on the Bulletin Board.
cold wind suddenly swept through the
room, and his body disappeared. As Look for the creation of a new ARENA
the wind shot out through the door, for the games also! If you have any
we heard a cackling voice behind us. questions, check out either the
Melgorehn had been defeated for now, December Kelfour Edition, the Games
but he still lived: We would con- RoundTable Bulletin Board, or ask
front the evil warlock once again. Vlad Drakulya. See you all there!
His seed had been planted at
Terror's Stump, and only evil was =========\\=======
sure to grow from there. What is to
follow we do not know, for many
mysteries were left unanswered after
this bizarre adventure. My Troll
""""""""
Breathing a sigh of relief, we set
to the warlock's great treasures. This troll is my kill
Riverwind pulled out an odd looking It sure ain't your kill
tool, and after a few moments If you don't back off
Melgorehn's huge trunk was opened. I'll hack your face off
Inside were a startling array of Don't even think it
treasures: no less than a hundred I'm twice your level
thousand silver coins, talismans and This troll was genned
amulets, gleaming gems and orbs, for me alone...
bracers, sapphire rings, and a
myriad other beautiful items. Those
of us that had survived to defeat Dedicated to every ambitious
Melgorehn divided the spoils and young adventurer.
returned to town, weary but thrilled
with the day's events and anxious to Calliope
ponder the experience we had gained.
-6-
_________ Seven Artifacts
/ \ _____ \ """""""""""""""
\@| ~|_|~ | Anonymous
| |~| |
_| |~| |
/@| _|~|_ |n days of yore, magic was into hiding from the Society and has
\_/ ~~~~~ / rare and few were the not been seen since.
~~~~~~~~ artifacts invested with
magical power. Yet, by their very The Ring of Riverwind Entreri
rarity, each enchanted treasure was """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
correspondingly more powerful. A magical diamond ring belonging to
the thief, Riverwind. Invoking its
Herein are described seven of the powers would produce a wizardly
most legendary such artifacts of shield to protect the ring bearer
Kulthea, each of which is now lost from all harm. But upon being used
beyond our knowledge. Where these four times, the ring lost its powers
magical devices are now, what and was destroyed.
prince's vault or dragon's hoard
they lie in, is unknown to us. To Adamantine Falchion
each of them I have ascribed the """""""""""""""""""
name of the bold adventurer who bore This deadly weapon was the prized
it; some artifacts reside in these possession of the rogue, Sly Thayer,
lands, while others remain shrouded who is said to have cheated the very
in ancient myth. Here then, follows gods to acquire it. Though forged
my catalogue of ancient devices. point-heavy for vigorous hacking and
cleaving, the magic of the adamant
of which the falchion was composed
The Shield of Lelldorin Silverhair allowed it to be wielded as though
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" it were light as a feather. Sly
A finely-crafted, seamless shield intentionally provoked many duels
taken by the young elfin warrior with hapless citizens, which he
Lelldorin from the warlock's tower. invariably won due to his skill with
Blows struck at the bearer were weapons and the magic of this
drawn to this shield, there to falchion, until he was struck down
glance off harmlessly. Lelldorin with wands by the priestess Maya,
battled hundreds of spiders in who subsequently went into hiding.
Tralog's Mines using this shield as Her fate, and that of the adamantine
protection. After a brief career, falchion, are unknown.
he retired young from these lands,
taking the seamless shield with him. The Robes of Ronin Invictus
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The Blade of Tulkas These magical robes were possessed
""""""""""""""""""" by Ronin Invictus, the most powerful
Tulkas, greatest of the early of the ancient wizards. They were
adventurers, took this mithril made of material soft as felt, yet
rapier from the treasure trove of strong as mail. The robes were said
Melgorehn. The magicks laid upon to confer near-invulnerability to
the rapier caused it to dance and the wearer. Ronin used these robes
deceive any parry, seemingly to to become the first to battle barrow
effortlessly glide past any defense. wights and survive, hunting them
Tulkas used this blade to great alone, deep beneath the Tomb of
effect against countless trolls. An Kestrel Etrevion. Ronin also is
early member of the Society of said to have possessed a number of
Light, Tulkas subsequently turned strange and unusual wands, which he
against the Society and was hunted acquired from the warlock Melgorehn.
by a dark assassin, which he slew The robes and wands went with Ronin
with the blade. Tulkas then fled when he passed into the Lands of
Eternal Winter.
-7- More...
Seven Artifacts (continued)
___________ A Letter
Sword of Josh de Sacro / \ ______ \ """"""""
"""""""""""""""""""""" \@| ~|_|~\\ |
The thief Josh took this mithril | |~| |||
short sword from the halls of the _| |~| |||
warlock Melgorehn. The enchantment /@| |~|_// |ear Editor,
of the blade would allow even a \_/ ~~~~~~ /
novice wielding it to fight like a ~~~~~~~~~~
master swordsman. The sword struck I am one of many who has enjoyed
truer than a weapon of even eog or reading the spirited gossip of Miss
shaalk, and the edge was sharp Louvella Parsnips, but as for the
enough to cut stone. Josh used the latest issue [December 1990] I'm
sword to battle cave trolls and afraid she crossed the boundary of
wights at an early age, and to good fun. I found it offensive. By
effect. Made overconfident by his explicitly revealing the names of
possession of the sword, though, people who were either her targets
Josh ventured into Danjirland alone, or those involved in the story,
and was slain by a party of war somehow I felt as if I was reading
trolls. The sword was lost. one of those cheap magazines you see
in a supermarket checkout lines.
Cloak of Dagmar Istarii Furthermore, most of the people who
""""""""""""""""""""""" were the targets of this gossip have
The powerful wizard Dagmar purchased been undergoing upheavals of their
this magical cloak from a wandering own. As a friend to some of people
gypsy for the princely sum of a listed in the column, I have talked
hundred thousand pieces of silver. with them regarding the issues
Its cloth shimmered with opalescent mentioned. Some of them are still
color that shifted and flowed so as recovering from emotional wounds and
to confuse the eye. The cloak I'm sure Miss Parsnips' column must
itself could turn steel and shed have been more than just a casual
magical spells like water. After reminder of things that have
Dagmar attacked the priest Erebor, happened in the past.
the thief Valeria slew Dagmar and
stripped the cloak from him. Considering the fact that KE is the
Valeria then used it to protect official gazette of Kelfour's and
herself during the ensuing feud that it has CONSIDERABLE INFLUENCE
between her, Dagmar and his kin. A on actual Roleplaying in GemStone, I
tribunal called by the gods to bring really wonder whether it was
the feud to a halt forced Valeria to necessary to add the touch of
return the cloak to Dagmar, but not National Enquirer to this popular
before naming a terrible curse upon column. At the same time, I would
any who would bear it thereafter. like to know if these tales by Miss
The cloak then passed into the Parsnips have been reviewed and
possession of Dagmar's kinsman, the confirmed by a reliable source.
priest Bashir, after which all trace
of it was lost. After all, who is this Miss Louvella
Parsnips who seems to be hiding
+------------------------+ behind the walls of every town inn?
|+----------------------+| Has she found some way to put a bug
|| || behind every door? If this isn't
|| ]__________ || true, is she one of those who has
|| ZZZZZZZ|__________> || won the favor of an omniscient GM by
|| ] || such means which appear in her own
|| || column most frequently?
|+----------------------+|
+------------------------+ Lord Yuri Hanbidt
-8-
___________ Everything About Weapons and Armor
/ \ ______ \ """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
\@| ~|_|~\\ | by Yashantre Spleenbender
| |~| |||
_| |~| |||
/@| |~|_// |o you get more experience taking damage than dishing it out?
\_/ ~~~~~~ / Does your health description fill the entire screen? Do people
~~~~~~~~~~ look at your multilated limbs and exclaim, "Is that really an
arm?" If so, then this is an article for you! An in depth look at weapon
THTs, critical thresholds, and weapon damage against all kinds of armor
types. That's right; toss that heavy hide and broad sword aside. Now it's
time to find the right weapon/armor combination for you!
Before I continue, I want to thank Dec for helping test out my formulated
numbers in actual combat. I'd also like to thank Salvius for the
resurrection when Dec killed me during the trials. (He'll pay for that when
I test my directed spell numbers.)
One more thing: getting all of these weapon values took a good deal of
number crunching. Therefore, there are probably a few errors that I
overlooked. If you find a number that doesn't correspond to what you
actually see in combat, leave a message to my address, D.HANSON4, so I can
post a correction. Now let's get down to business.
What the numbers mean: That on the left side of each column is the THT.
The numbers in () on top of the armors are the critical hit thresholds.
Add the first number to the THT to determine the minimum roll needed to
score a critical. Add the second number to the THT to determine the minimum
roll needed to score a critical on the most severe table.
The number in [] beside the THT number is the damage caused (excluding
crits) by a roll of 120.
+---------+------+---+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| | | |(10/50)|(10/50)|(10/50)|(20/74)|(49/93)|(20/74)|
|Weapon |Str/BF|Fum|None |L.hide |H.Hide |Ring |C.Hau |L.brea |
|---------+------+---+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|Dagger |18/195| 1 |86 [07]|90 [06]|94 [06]|90 [04]|81 [04]|77 [05]|
|Falchion |75/160| 5 |72 [19]|76 [18]|84 [16]|66 [16]|57 [14]|53 [20]|
|Hand Axe |70/160| 4 |81 [13]|85 [11]|89 [10]|67 [13]|56 [12]|54 [16]|
|Scimitar |60/150| 4 |81 [16]|85 [14]|89 [12]|75 [07]|66 [07]|62 [15]|
|Rapier |30/100| 3 |66 [10]|70 [09]|74 [09]|74 [05]|61 [06]|61 [06]|
|Br.Sword |75/150| 3 |76 [16]|80 [14]|84 [13]|70 [11]|61 [10]|57 [14]|
|Sh.Sword |75/185| 2 |71 [13]|75 [12]|79 [11]|75 [07]|71 [06]|62 [09]|
|Fist | | 1 |101[02]|105[01]|109[01]|105[01]|96 [01]|92 [01]|
|Cudgel | 8/130| 3 |91 [07]|95 [06]|99 [05]|80 [08]|71 [09]|67 [11]|
|W.Hammer |60/155| 4 |81 [12]|82 [12]|86 [10]|70 [12]|51 [14]|57 [15]|
|Mace |65/250| 2 |81 [11]|85 [10]|89 [09]|70 [10]|56 [12]|57 [13]|
|M.Star |60/145| 8 |76 [18]|80 [16]|84 [14]|65 [16]|51 [15]|52 [17]|
|Bat.Axe |70/155| 5 |76 [29]|80 [27]|84 [24]|70 [25]|48 [28]|57 [32]|
|Flail |60/150| 8 |72 [27]|76 [24]|80 [22]|60 [23]|48 [22]|47 [28]|
|W.Mattock|60/145| 6 |76 [26]|80 [24]|84 [21]|64 [25]|46 [27]|51 [31]|
|Staff |20/140| 3 |91 [10]|95 [09]|99 [08]|82 [08]|73 [08]|68 [12]|
|2-h Sword|75/200| 5 |71 [31]|75 [28]|79 [26]|62 [29]|51 [25]|49 [36]|
|---------+------+---+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|Armor Averages |80 [16]|83 [14]|87 [13]|73 [13]|61 [13]|60 [17]|
+--------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
-9- More...
+---------+------+---+----------+----------+----------+-------+--------+
| | | | (70/104) |(70/104) |(70/104) |(49/93)|Weapon |
|Weapon |STR/BF|Fum| Met.Brea |Half Plate|Full Plate|C.Shirt|Averages|
|---------+------+---+----------+----------+----------+-------+--------+
|Dagger |18/185| 1 | 51 [03] |70 [02] |75 [02] |61 [06]|78 [05] |
|Falchion |75/160| 5 | 27 [15] |46 [12] |51 [11] |37 [19]|58 [16] |
|Hand Axe |70/160| 4 | 26 [11] |45 [09] |50 [08] |36 [15]|59 [12] |
|Scimitar |60/150| 4 | 31 [07] |50 [05] |55 [05] |46 [10]|64 [10] |
|Rapier |30/100| 4 | 49 [03] |68 [02] |73 [02] |41 [08]|64 [06] |
|Br.Sword |75/160| 3 | 31 [09] |50 [07] |55 [06] |41 [13]|61 [11] |
|Sh.Sword |75/185| 2 | 41 [05] |60 [04] |65 [04] |51 [08]|65 [08] |
|Fist | | 1 | 62 [02] |81 [01] |86 [01] |76 [02]|91 [01] |
|Cudgel | 8/130| 4 | 33 [08] |55 [06] |60 [06] |51 [09]|70 [08] |
|W.Hammer |60/155| 4 | 21 [13] |40 [10] |45 [10] |31 [18]|56 [13] |
|Mace |65/250| 2 | 26 [12] |45 [09] |50 [09] |36 [16]|61 [11] |
|M.Star |60/145| 8 | 21 [15] |40 [12] |45 [11] |31 [19]|55 [15] |
|Bat.Axe |70/155| 5 | 18 [22] |37 [18] |42 [17] |28 [35]|54 [26] |
|Flail |60/150| 8 | 18 [23] |37 [18] |42 [17] |28 [28]|51 [23] |
|W.Mattock|60/145| 6 | 13 [30] |32 [24] |38 [23] |26 [35]|51 [27] |
|Staff |20/140| 3 | 46 [08] |65 [06] |70 [05] |53 [07]|74 [08] |
|2-h Sword|75/200| 5 | 21 [21] |40 [17] |45 [16] |31 [32]|52 [26] |
|---------+------+---+----------+----------+----------+-------+--------+
|Armor Averages | 31 [12] |51 [10] |56 [09] |41 [17]|
+--------------------+----------+----------+----------+-------+
Some observations:
1) Our old friend heavy hide (AT 4), is the hardest armor to hit but takes
criticals rather easily if contact is made. Therefore, it's a good idea not
to allow a monster's 100 roll to exceed the THT by much more than 10 or 15.
Nevertheless, heavy hide's high THT makes it slightly more effective than
ring mail (AT 11) in stopping crits. That's pretty good considering heavy
hide gives no penalties and requires no skill to wear.
2) Leather breastplate (AT 9) and chain shirt (AT 13) are deathtraps. You
are better off wearing nothing.
3) The difference between half-plate (AT 19) and full-plate (AT 20) is
negligible. Choosing AT 19 over AT 20 will save you money and skill levels.
4) Heavy Hide is better than or can nearly match armor types up to chain.
Don't fool with armors less than AT 14, just get heavy hide.
5) The rapier is the easiest weapon to hit and do crits against AT 1-4 only.
After that, it is a flimsy toothpick.
6) The falchion is the best one-handed weapon, overall. The morning star is
very close behind.
7) Bludgeon weapons generally have lower THTs and do more damage against
metal armor than slashing weapons.
8) The 2-handed sword is the best 2-handed weapon against lightly armored
targets. The war mattock is the best 2-handed weapon against metal armor.
So rush to the armory, for the whole range of weapons and armors to cover
you in any situation. The next time you are in combat with that nasty,
knowing your THTs and damage ratings may keep your insides slobber-free.
-10-
Castle Cladesbrim Maps
""""""""""""""""""""""
by Wisraith Winterwind
Possibly the most splendid (and perhaps dangerous) site in all of Kulthea
are the dungeons of the mighty Castle Cladesbrim...
_______________________________________________________________________
/ \ \
\@| Map 1: Terrain around Claedesbrim |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| |
| N [wooded hill ] |
| W-|-E ( )---( )---( )---( )---( )-p- [by karnelins] |
| S | |
| | ( )---( ) |
| | / | |
| {Forest} | / g |
| {Trolls} | / | |
| | ( ) ( )---( ) |
| | / / |
| | ( ) ( ) |
| | / / | |
| ( ) ( ) { Brown Bears } |
| / / {Forest Trolls} |
| ( ) ( ) | |
| / | | |
| ( )-p-( ) ( ) | |
| | | | |
| ( ) ( ) | |
| | | | |
| ( ) ( )---( )---( ) {Brown} |
| | / \ {Bears} |
| b ( )--p--/ \ |
| | | \ |
| ( ) h ( ) |
| {Brown} | | / |
| {Bears} ( )---( )---( )---( ) ( ) |
| \ \ |
| {Werebears} ( ) ( )-b-( )---( )---( ) |
| / / | |
| k / v |
| [go crack to ] / / | |
| [upper levels] *A* ( )---( ) ( )---( ) |
| [ map 2 ] / {Storm} | |
| ( ) {Giants} ( )-r-*B*|
| | |
| | |
| | |
| ( )-w-( )---[Claedesbrim] [go crevice to] |
| [ Castle ] [ lower level ] |
| [ map 4 ] |
_| |
/@| |
\_/____________________________________________________________________/
-11- More...
_______________________________________________________________________
/ \ \
\@| |
| Map 2: Upper levels of Claedesbrim Dungeon |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ N |
| W-|-E |
| [Claedesbrim] S |
| ( ) ( ) [ Castle ] |
| | | | |
| d d l |
| | | | [go crack ] |
|( ) ( )---( )---( )---( )---*A* [to return] |
| | | | [to map 1 ] |
| | | | |
|( )---( )---( ) ( ) { Cave } |
| | | | {Trolls} |
| a d | |
| | | | |
|( ) ( ) ( )---( ) |
| | | |
| | ( ) {Manticores} |
| | |
| [chute is] | ( )---( )---( )---( )---( )---------( ) |
| [one way ] u | | | | |
| | | k | | |
| | | | | | |
| | ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )-d-( )-t-( )|
| | | | {Crystal} | | |
| | | | {Golems } | | |
| | | | | | |
| ( )-d-( ) ( )---( )---( )---( ) ( )|
| | | | | | |
| | d | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | ( ) | -------- ( )|
| | | d | |
| | a | ( ) |----- |
| | | | | | |
| ( )---( ) ( ) |----( )-s-*C* | |
| / / | / | |
| d d | ( ) [go shaft] | |
| / / | {Spectres} [ map 3 ] | |
| ( ) *E* | [one way ] | |
| | | |
| | | |
| ( ) ( ) ( )-d-( )|
| | | | |
| d | ( )-d-( )|
| | | | |
| ( )---( )---( )-n-( )--------------k------------( )|
_| |
/@| |
\_/____________________________________________________________________/
More...
-12-
_______________________________________________________________________
/ \ \
\@| |
| Map 3: Middle level of Claedesbrim Dungeon N |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ W-|-E |
| S |
| ( ) |
| \ |
| c |
| \ |
| ( )---( ) ( ) |
| / | \ | [from map 2, no ] |
| d | \ d [return possible] |
| / | \ | |
| ( ) ( )-d-( ) ( ) ( )---*C*-d-( ) |
| | | | |
| --------- | | |
| | | | |
| | ( )-d-( ) ( ) ( ) |
| | | | { Major } | / |
| | | | {Spiders} | d |
| | | | | / |
| | | ( ) ( )-i-( ) |
| | | | \ {Ghoul} | |
| | | | d {Kings} | |
| | | | \ | |
| | | ( ) ( ) ( )-d-( ) |
| | | | | |
| | | ( )---------------( ) |
| | | \ |
| | | ( ) |
| | | / |
| | | ( )---( ) |
| | | \ |
| | | ( ) |
| | | f> |
| | |------( ) |
| | <i | [to lower level] |
| | *D* [ map 4 ] |
| ( ) ( ) [ one way ] |
| | | |
| ( )---( )-t-*E* [to map 2] |
| | [one way ] |
| n |
| | |
| ( ) |
_| |
/@| |
\_/____________________________________________________________________/
More...
-13-
_______________________________________________________________________
/ \ \
\@| |
| Map 4: Lowest level of Claedesbrim Dungeon |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| |
| {Steel } ( ) *B* [ go crack to ] |
| {Golems} / \ | [outside dungeon] |
| ( ) ( ) ( )---( ) [ map 1 ] |
| \ / / |
| ( )----------( )--------( )-----( ) |
| \ | / |
| ( ) ( ) ( ) |
| \ | / {Wight} |
| ( ) ( ) {Lords} |
| / / |
| ( ) ( ) |
| / / [from map 3, no ] |
| ( ) *D* [return possible] |
| \ / |
| ( ) ( ) N |
| \ / W-|-E |
| ( ) { Major } S |
| / {Spiders} |
| ( ) |
_| |
/@| |
\_/____________________________________________________________________/
LEGEND
~~~~~~
a = go arch *A* connects Map 1 to Map 2
b = go ledge *B* connects Map 1 to Map 4
c = go cell *C* connects Map 2 to Map 3 (one way)
d = go door *D* connects Map 3 to Map 4 (one way)
e = go passage *E* connects Map 3 to Map 2 (one way)
f = go tunnel
g = go log
h = go hole f> indicates GO TUNNEL works
i = go opening in one direction.
k = go crack
l = go (climb) ladder <i indicates GO OPENING works
n = go iron door in the other direction.
o = go oak door
p = go path NOTE: In the interest of saving
r = go crevice space, only portals where you
s = go shaft must GO or CLIMB are marked.
t = go trapdoor UP, DOWN and OUT are listed in
u = go chute the room descriptions. It is
v = go cave left to your common sense to
w = go (climb) tower determine these on the maps.
-14-
School of Life
_____________ """"""""""""""
/ \ _________ \ Guest Editorial
\@| ||-|-|-|| | by Synyster DIAMOND-NINJA
| ~~ |~| ~~ |
_| |~| |
/@| |~| |here are few joys newcomers. What satisfaction it is
\_/ ~~~~~ / greater than helping to run across the newcomer you
~~~~~~~~~~~~ out a new player taught, weeks down the road,
found wandering about the lands skilfully hacking away at a lesser
around Kulthea. I seem to have Orc in Hobland! Plus, they also
developed a sixth (or seventh) sense make great hunting partners!
for recognizing these budding
adventurers, or maybe it's the full So help these new people out. It
plate armor that gives them away. brings great satisfaction, and you
never know if they'll save your life
I identify with them because I still some day. Remember, without your
remember the fateful day when I was help, these guys have little chance
spat onto Land's End Road by the of surviving in this hostile land.
Character Generator. Terrifying, to Take a few minutes and it will be
say the least; naked and alone in wisely invested. I don't mean just
this newfound environment with no teaching them to fight, these
earthly (Kulthealy?) idea about what adventurers don't
to say, what to do, or where to go. know how to laugh, ___
smile or even pout. / \
Lucky for me I met Taarna first off. Now if we could |o o|
She tenderly clasped my hand and just figure out how |\_/|
showed me what to buy and how to buy to get to them __|_|_|__
it. Then, unexpectedly, she left me before they buy /---. .---\ .
to fend for myself (sink or swim, I that plate... / |\_______/|
guess). The first real obstacle to /,,/| |
overcome for me was how to enter __________________ \ \| | |
certain rooms. I remember standing \__| --+-- |
at the entrance to Tyron's Arms and /| | |
crying because I just could not get Dedicated to Taarna, *\ | /
in. Then, up walks Ilstar, and in Ilstar, Ravage, Opal |\ /
he goes. Hmmmm, I thought as I read and all the others | \_____/
the passage stating he had entered who helped this | || |
the entrance. That's it!! In I fighter learn to love. |,,||,,|
went, just as Ilstar was leaving. | || |art
It seemed that every time I got / \/ \ by
stuck trying to enter something, ____________________ |__||___Twie
Ilstar would walk up and go in,
unknowingly showing me the way.
Interestingly enough, it was days ______________________________ \
before I knew that there was a / \
world outside of Kelfour! Lucky I | Fresh Flowers |
guess, because I would've learned | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
about death quicker! | Wedding garlands, crowns, |
| bouquets and boutonnieres. |
It was Ravage and Opal who took me | |
under their wings and showed me | Somber funeral wreaths. |
about fighting, parrying and stats | |
(read rerolling). They taught me | Perfect long-stemmed Roses |
that quick-gens just don't cut it. | |
| Place your order at |
Now, every chance I get, I try to | Kelfour's Floral Shoppe |
repay my debt by helping the \______________________________/
-15-
___________ Battlefield Blues
/ \ _______ \ Wounds in the Field and Keeping Alive
\@| ~|~|~|| | """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
| |~| | by Rhys Corwinson
| |~|=| | Thanks to Kirc Bloodguard and Kayla Kyndhart
_| |~| |
/@| |~| |irst, let me update on Caretaker's chart. In fact, the
\_/ ~~~~ / 2 items on Caretaker's majority of severed limbs I treat
~~~~~~~~~~ herb chart. Neck wounds are for people who do not wear them.
are in the same category as head
wounds; treat them as such for Once you have that information,
healing and scar removal. Eye don't panic. Unless you have a head
wounds, however, are organ wounds critical bleeding at 10 cps per
and must be dealt with as a wound to round and have about 9 cps left, you
the back, chest, or abdomen - under have time. Wounds bleed in 30
the Body Injury category. Finally, second rounds, meaning you have time
I have had a level 3 nervous system to take a bite of Akbutege leaf for
scar (the result of curing a fire every drop of blood you lose. Note
critical) and it is "a very dif- that this 30 second round time also
ficult time controlling muscles." applies to concussion point loss
from disease or poison. If you are
Last month, we saw how criticals low on cps, you will have a fairly
cause various levels of wounds, how high DB percentage loss, perhaps up
wounds can be healed by selective to 30 percent. If you can barely
use of herbs, and how you can avoid stay alive at full parry even at
scarring. This is useful infor- 100% cps, get out of that area into
mation once you're out of danger one less dangerous for actions save
from bleeding to death; however, if for the obligatory call for a healer
you have few concussion points left on ESP. The simplest way to survive
and are far from the Temple or is to call one of us and ring in to
Surtey's, it might not do you a lot the temple. As we are always on ESP
of good. This article attempts to - that's why we like people who give
cover some basic field healing tips. us amulets so much ;) - and usually
have a ring set to the temple, you
First, if you have a long stun, a can at least get some concussion
nasty wound, and a monster ready to points back, and if a journeyman
attack you with your DB down by 50, healer above level 6 is on, you may
LOG OFF! The monster may not kill actually get the damage taken with-
you, but chances are it will do some out use of herbs.
more damage - perhaps even upgrading
those bruises to a severed leg. Assuming you don't have a ring set
Wait for a bit, and then come back to the temple and/or no healer is on
on. You won't stop bleeding and line, you have several choices. One
you'll still be stunned, but in all I'd recommend is posting in Healers'
likelihood you will not face an Haven, topic 46 in category 20 on
opponent until the stun wears off. the Games Bulletin Board. A healer
will read it and come on to meet you
Second, check your health. You need at an agreed time, keeping you alive
to know three things to treat without problem. You can go to
wounds: The area affected, the rate Surtey if you're really desperate,
of bleeding, and the number of but if you have a severed limb, head
concussion points you have left. If damage, or nerve damage, I'd really
you are smart and wear arm greaves, advise against it. He will make
leg greaves, and an aventail, you your life in Kulthea miserable until
will find that what looked like a you buy herbs to remove the scars.
horrible wound may only have caused If you must take this route, get an
bruises, since they reduce arm, leg, apprentice healer to go with you so
and neck wounds one severity level you will be scarless.
-16- More...
If a healer isn't available and you have been carrying around a
don't want to see Surtey, you can non-bleeding level 2 or 3 wound,
drink from the Dangirland pool, eat chances are your first bite of the
an herb, or tend your wound(s). The herb will leave that wound reduced
Dangirland pool is famed for its and the other wound dripping away.
remarkable ability to stop bleeding I have seen this happen when a
from all wounds with but a drink. friend took a chomp of Grass for a
(Isn't it wonderful how Simutronics nasty abdomen wound and instead
has implemented this Earthnode reduced his blinded eye to a swollen
property in only one of the four eye. Moral: Get old wounds fixed
Earthnode spots in Kulthea?) How- before adventuring.
ever, the wound doesn't disappear;
it will still be there, but it won't Note that scars from head wounds
bleed. If you have a level 2 will also prevent you from casting
injury, it can be upgraded to a spells, searching, and accepting
level 3 injury with but a bruise on items - one reason why the only time
the same location, causing it to I accept donations is when stuck in
bleed again and also giving the stun the temple with a head scar. Once
appropriate to that critical - 5 again, I would recommend carrying
rounds for a chest wound, 10 for a around as many of these herbs as you
head wound, and 10 for a severed can. Edram moss is almost a must;
limb. If you have a level 3 injury, about 65% of the criticals I see are
you'll be dead if you get hit again limb wounds. Body wounds are more
in the same spot. In addition, the common than head wounds, but head
pool does not restore concussion wounds bleed at voracious rates - 10
points, so your DB will likely make or 12 cps per round. Carry all
you vulnerable. three if you can, but ESP for a
higher-level healer before doing
Most importantly, the pool is lo- anything; That's how we earn our
cated in Dangirland, a region which experience and it'll also save your
abounds with nasty creatures - the herbs for more important outings.
one most common around the pool is Refer to last month's article and
our friend the HILL TROLL. He has a herb chart for more information.
twohanded sword with an OB of 110,
and can kill you even quicker if Finally, and most commonly used, is
your DB is down. My latest death the TEND command. You may tend your
was from one of them, so I know from own wounds or another's wounds; to
experience the fun of fighting one. tend somebody else's head wounds,
If you must go to the pool, try to they must sit, to tend body and limb
get someone to go with you if your wounds, they must lie down.
DB is below 120. They can at least Remember that laying down and
drag you out if you get whacked. If sitting involve massive DB subtrac-
you can't tend the wound and are at tions, so my earlier warning about
risk of getting killed by trolls, going to a safe area is emphasized
I'd recommend logging off and if you have another tend you. In
posting in the Haven instead of fact, I would recommend town for
going to the pool. In any case, to most two-person tendings. If you
get to the pool from the entrance to tend yourself, you do not have to
hobland: SE, SE, E, NE, E, E, E, E, sit or lie down. However, all
GO PATH, NE, N, NE, and run like tendings carry round times -- for
heck once you take a drink. both the tender and the tendee.
Before talking about tending, you Tending round times are affected by
also can staunch the wound with an the area and level of the wound, the
herb. Edram Moss will fix even a amount that it is bleeding, and the
severed limb (two chomps), Pasamar tender's first aid skill. Research-
Grass a body wound, and Arfandas ing tending round time is difficult,
Stem a head wound. However, if you and the figures I present here are
-17- More...
tenative; please post any differ- from fire, which seems to cauterize
ences in Healers' Haven. First, you the wound and doesn't ever bleed.
must have a first aid bonus (NOT Head wounds are tricky; they usually
skill level) of 10 bonus points per cannot be tended save by others.
1 cp of wound tended. That is, to
tend a 3 cp/rd chest wound, you Tending doesn't last forever;
would need to have a +30 bonus in violent movement seems to unwrap
first aid (6 skill levels) to be bandages quicker, so lying down
able to tend it to the base round helps. In addition, if you should
time. If you don't have enough go to see Surtey or do eat a herb
first aid to tend a wound normally, for the wound, you should UNWRAP the
you will either receive the message area tended. Otherwise, a bug will
"The severity of that wound is cause you to continue bleeding even
beyond your capability to treat after the injury has been cured.
(sic)" or you may, if the wound is
not far above your skill level, be Thus, you should first make sure you
able to tend it, but receive a 210 have enough concussion points to do
second (or such) round time. what you're planning. Then, do one
of five things (in this order of
Any additional first aid skill seems preference): find a healer, tend
to decrease round time. For your wound, eat an herb, go to the
instance, you may be able to pool, or see Surtey. Any comments
entirely do away with round time on would be appreciated; either find me
1 cp and 2 cp/rd limb wounds, and or post in the Haven. Good luck,
you can significantly reduce your and stay healthy!
round time for other wounds. For
instance, I can tend chest wounds ===========\==========
with a roundtime of (only ;) 102
seconds, and Kirc and Kayla can do
it even quicker. How Synyster Was Lost
"""""""""""""""""""""
Base Tending Roundtimes in seconds (Continued from page 24)
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Chest: 120 seconds Ravage, just coming around, was able
Limbs: 30 seconds for fractures to just catch a fleeting glimpse of
Severed leg (lvl 3): base RT 200 his baby brother being carried away
Broken leg (level 2): base RT 120 by the hungry Orc, but was still too
Broken arm (level 2): base RT 30 weak to even stand. Ravage wept as
Abdomen: 120 seconds he lie helpless on the ground.
Head: 60 seconds for level 2 wounds,
cannot be tended by self if level Valkrie screamed as she saw Ravage
3; unknown for 2nd-person tending lying on the ground in a huge puddle
(usually bleeds too much for all of blood and gore and ran quickly to
but the most trained to deal with) him. Lord Diamond nearly swooned at
Back: 120 seconds, usually no blood the sight. Then, they realized that
Eyes: Do not bleed their precious baby was gone. The
family huddled together and wept as
Several notes on the above figures: Ravage explained what happened. For
All are self-tending and tentative. 20 years, they would never see
The only times that I am positive of Synyster again, but somehow they
are fractured limbs and level 2 knew that Syn was not dead. They
chest and abdomen wounds. Please knew that some day he would come,
post differences in Healers' Haven. and the family would be united
Blinded eyes don't bleed and thus again.
cannot be tended, where backs do
bleed but most back criticals come [To be Continued]
-18-
Shadow Over Kulthea
"""""""""""""""""""
by Lythe L'Green
This story is based on historic accounts of the Second Age as recorded
by the great Loremasters.
The force which is the beginning and end of all True Evil,
-- whether its servants know it or not --
the Unlife is the shadow which taints many of the wonders of Kulthea.
_____________ --- The Tomes of Kulthea
/ \ __ \
\@| / "| |
| //|"| |
| //_|"| | cold wind whipped long journey ahead of him. As we
_| //~~|"| | the tattered and walked down a narrow, rutted road
/@| // |"| | mouldering land of toward the gates, he noticed an odd
\_/ ~~ ~~~ / Jaiman. The young man who sat on the ground, peering
~~~~~~~~~~~~ warrior-smith named deeply into a strange crystal.
Krelij clutched tightly at his cloak
to keep the chill out, yet kept a Smiling, Krelij asked, "Hey old man,
firm hand on Narselkin, a fabulous what do you see in there?"
sword forged by his own incomparable
skill; for this was the Second Age The man looked up for a moment. His
of Kulthea, and the great shadow of eyes widened as he looked at Krelij,
the Unlife threatened to drink the but his attention quickly turned
souls of all who opposed it. back to the crystal.
Krelij the Smith had left his Krelij sighed and turned to leave,
homeland to seek knowledge on the when suddenly he heard a voice
nature of the Unlife. His brother, behind him. "You are Krelij the
Tethior, had stayed home. After Smith, master craftsman of the
all, thought Krelij, Tethior was Iylari?"
only interested in making silly
baubles, not learning to make the Krelij spun around. It was the old
implements of war with which the man, no longer looking inside his
Unlife could be defeated. Damn crystal, but pointing a bony finger
Tethior! Why couldn't he be here? directly at him.
His insights were sometimes useful.
"Aye, but how..."
As he walked, Krelij began to make
out a small town at the end of the "Young man, I see many destinies in
path he was following. Ah, it would my crystal. Yours is but one of
be good to sleep in a warm bed them. Ah, but your destiny is a
tonight. This winter had been great one..."
particularly harsh.
Krelij frowned. He did not care
The folk in the town were friendly much for soothsayers. "What say
enough; most were hunters, trappers you, old man? What know you of my
or miners. A few were travellers destiny?"
and adventurers as himself. The inn
was comfortable, and he slept the "You will learn much in the ways of
night. your enemies. Would you know more,
Krelij of the Iylari?"
In the morning, Krelij desired to
leave town right away, for he had a "Tell me what you know."
-19- More...
The old man whispered loudly. He "I have shown you powers which feed
spoke of a strange cult where those upon the very depths of your soul --
like him could band together to only this mastery will lead to our
combat the growing forces of Evil. eventual victory over our enemies!"
This cult was everywhere, he said,
this town being only one of its "Aye, Master. You have shown me
outposts. Krelij was interested. such skills. If these are the ways
Using the old man's directions, he of Evil, they are strong. But since
found the cult's council chamber. I know them, we may be able to crush
these enemies."
The only person there at the moment
was the Master of the cult, who The Master cracked an eerie smile
remained nameless. Speaking in the and began to chuckle.
most soothing of tones, he explained
to Krelij their goals. "Evil is a "You were so easy to corrupt," he
strong force. Even now, the Unlife said. The Master's gaze seemed to
courses through the very soil of the pierce Krelij's body like an icy
land. We can oppose this Evil. dagger. "By using the forces of
Together, we can walk down the path evil, what have you become? Evil!
of Darkness, learn the Unlife's You no longer serve your brethren,
ways, and in doing so destroy it." you now serve us."
This was what Krelij had desired, And as Krelij looked upon the Master
and now the information he sought with a strange feeling of horror,
was within his grasp. Quickly, he for the first time he saw him for
joined the cult, certain that he what he really was: the high priest
would someday use this knowledge to of Kadaena, the Slayer.
banish the Unlife from Kulthea.
For months, Krelij stayed at this And so ends the story of Krelij of
town and helped the cult with his the Iylari. In trying to learn the
services. All the while, he was ways of Evil, he was ensnared. Evil
trained to wield great powers. Some cannot be fought with Evil. Evil
added to his battle prowess, while can only be fought with goodness,
others let him influence the very firm resolve and courage of the
essence flows about him. spirit.
Eventually, he was taught in the
ways of Evil, to wield its own The historians know little of what
powers. Yet Krelij thirsted for became of Krelij, only that he was
more power, not realizing that what controlled by Evil in the days which
he served was no longer good, but became known as The Wars of
the Unlife itself. Dominion, when "Almost as a unit,
the peoples and creatures under the
One day, as he left the council sway of the Unlife arose and
chamber, he was stopped by the attacked those who remained free of
Master. dark domination." Some say that he
lay dead and soulless on one of the
"I would have a word with you, thousands of battlefields fought
Krelij." They descended to the during this great war; others
Master's personal office. believe he was slain by his own
brother, Tethior, using the holy
"In the months I have known you, we blade Narselkin to destroy its
have trained you in the ways of onetime master. One thing is
Evil. Only by embracing this Evil certain: Krelij was a great and
can we hope to someday defeat it!" good warrior, and even he could not
resist the corruption the Unlife
"Of course, Master," spoke Krelij. caused once its power gripped him.
-20-
________________ The Art of Macros, Part II
/ \ ____ ____ \ """"""""""""""""""""""""""
\@| +|~~\ /~~|+ | by Nastorm Trevin
| |~|\~~/|~| |
_| |~| ~~ |~| |
/@| _|~| |~|_ |y article last month introduced basic macro writing. The
\_/ ~~~~ ~~~~~ / major advantage of macros are speed and no typing errors
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ but other advantages accrue with them. My communications
program has the added benefit of loading other macro files. This means
almost unlimited macros. Not all communications programs allow so many
macros. In this article we are going to explore ways to make your macros do
double, and triple duty.
GemStone has a type ahead feature. That means that you can send more than
one command at a time. The macro: PARRY 100<CR>WEAR SHIELD<CR>, as you
might notice contains two commands. First it tells your character to parry
100, then wear shield. This macro takes advantage of GemStone's type ahead
feature. Now when you are out in the wilds, picking up items to sell or
wear you are at Parry 100, maximum Defensive Bonus. I can't even begin to
tell you the times this saved my character from serious harm.
If your communication program has a time delay feature, and most programs
which support macros do, you can make macros that do triple duty, or even
more. For instance, if you're hunting hobgoblins and gathering breastplates
to sell, you might want to try this:
GET BRE<CR>SELL BRE<CR><D>PUT BRE IN MY BACK<CR>
Bre = Breastplate, Back = Backpack, <CR> = Carriage Return, and <D> = .5
second delay.
This macro does triple duty. Your character gets the breastplate and then
tries to sell it. Since no merchant is out in the field with your
character, you can't sell it. The half second (.5) delay allows enough time
for the first set of commands to process. The third command puts the
breastplate in your backpack. When you hit the pawn shop to unload your
goodies and get some hard earned coins, this macro still does the job. When
you're in the pawn shop you GET BREASTPLATE and SELL it. Sometimes with
this macro you get an error message, "Only 1 type ahead line allowed." That
means the third command was sent before the first two commands processed.
This happens only during slow downs, if you're in the pawnshop you still
sell the breastplate, the third command is not important. But if you're out
in the wilds you will need to press that macro key again, to get the
breastplate in your backpack.
A word of caution when using abbreviations in your macros. Macros are nice
but disadvantages do exist. The speed of macros do not allow you to digest
information until after the macro is done. Most disadvantages can be
overcome with a little forethought. For instance, you write a macro to get
battle axes. The Macro looks something like this: GET AXE<CR>SELL
AXE<CR><D>PUT AXE IN MY BACK. Then a nice friend lends you a BLUE LAEN AXE.
You put it in your backpack for safe keeping. When you show up at the pawn
shop to sell your battle axes, you mistakenly sell the LAEN AXE too! The
macro should read GET BATTLE AXE<CR>SELL BATTLE AXE<CR>. ;)
Macros have many advantages. Next month we'll cover them in combat,
keyboard placement, etc. For the best macros in your profession get a
mentor. Elder players always have sage advice, and almost all use macros.
-21- More...
I try to design each macro so that if the system is slow I can just hit the
macro key again to work it. Of course, the first one can put you back at
the gate. But if you press it twice you will enter town instead of leaving
it. One less macro key location to memorize, and another double duty macro.
Additional macros you might want to try are:
GO GATE<CR>GO PATH<CR><DELAY>INV<CR> This does an inventory when you leave
town and hit the path. That way you know if your gear is ready for battle.
NOTE: You can enter town from the path by invoking this macro twice.
PAR 100<CR>WEAR SHIELD<CR><DELAY>PUT BROADSWORD IN MY BACK<CR>PUT RAPIER IN
MY BACK<CR> This will put away two different weapons and wear the shield.
Good for lock picking and going to the temple.
PAR 100<CR>GET BROADSWORD<CR><DELAY>WEAR SHIELD<CR>INV<CR> This one is good
right before you leave town, or to get your gear out after lock picking.
SKIN MONSTER<CR>SEARCH MONSTER<CR><DELAY>GET COIN<CR> Will skin and search,
then if you find coins you pick them up.
GET COIN<CR>GET COIN<CR><DELAY>GET COIN<CR>GET COIN<CR> Gets at least 100
coins each time, nice in a group.
PAR 100<CR>WEAR SHIELD<CR><DELAY>REMOVE RING<CR>WEAR RING<CR> For a fast re-
treat in case of problems.
HIT CHIME WITH MALLET<CR>HIT CHI WITH MALL<CR><DELAY>KNEE<CR> GET AGATE<CR>
DROP AGATE<CR> HIT CHIME WITH MALLET<CR>OUT<CR> These are deed macros, and
they save a lot of time, but aren't often used. Invoke the second macro for
the number of agates you need for your deed.)
==================//=================
________________________________________________________________________
/ \ HALL OF FAME \
|@/______________________________________________________________________/
| Kelfour Edition wishes to extend congratulations to: |
| Lord Yuri Hanbidt for attaining Noble Rank! |
| |
| Should Old Acquaintances be forgot & ne'er brought to mind |
|_ We'll Drink a Toast to all the brave, in days of Auld Lang Syne |
/----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Bard Mendle Seldagrave 16 | High Human Angeleyes DuLac 15 |
| Ranger FXG Lyon 21 | Common Man Beolost Lamontt 15 |
| Mage Dagmar Istarii 23 | Dwarf Vesitsa Talchild 15 |
| Fighter Kirc Bloodguard 15 | Halfling Whittle Boysenberry 11 |
| Thief Riverwind Entreri 19 | Wood Elf Celeborn Greyswndir 10 |
| Cleric Erebor Bordeaux 22 | High Elf Strom O'Berin 13 |
| Sorceror Airioch Ramthanadox 12 | Half Elf Dagmar Istarii 23 |
| Healer Kayla Kyndhart 22 | Fair Elf Erebor Bordeaux 22 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
/@| Current GSIII Fame Rankings by Profession and Race: December 29, 1990 |
\_/_______________________________________________________________________/
-22-
_____________ How Synyster Was Lost
/ \____ ____\ """""""""""""""""""""
\@|~|~~\ |~|~| by Synyster DIAMOND-NINJA
| |~\~\ |~| | (as told by his family)
| |~|\~\|~| |
_| |~| \~ ~| |
/@|_|~| \~~|_|ot far from the lands after sending his message, Blitz
\_/~~~~ ~~~~/ regularly hunted and took a bone-crushing blow to the
~~~~~~~~~~~~ known by all are the chest, which knocked him senseless
Swamplands. These are wild, untamed for precious minutes.
lands where only the strongest and
most courageous adventurers have a Lord Diamond realized he was near
chance of surviving. Several races enough to help Blitz, and told young
inhabit these lands, all of which Ravage to stay with the baby while
have adapted to the harsh, swampy he and his mother flew to the
environment. Some of these crea- rescue. He knew the baby was in
tures are mutated versions of those safe hands, for Ravage, although
which inhabit the area around only 13 years, had already begun to
Kelfour's Landing. master the arts and was skilled with
the golden laen dagger he had
One of these fearsome beasts is a received for his tenth birthday.
mutated form of the Greater Orc. Lord Diamond also knew that they
This being is known to the swamp would only be a short while gone.
hunters as a Brackish Orc. Being
well over eight feet tall and As the Lord and Lady rushed to the
weighing four hundred pounds, and aid of their fallen comrade, praying
commonly seen wearing plate armor they would not be too late, he
while brandishing crossbows, these readied his eog falchion and she her
awe-inspiring distributors of death blue laen rapier. Both carried
are, of course, not dealt with golden shaalk shields.
lightly. The bounty that just one
of these "Orcs" carries is enough to The biggest Orc, Thioog, saw that
provide a family enough meat for an Blitz was dazed, and a broad toothy
entire season. You can well imagine grin crossed his face. Thioog
why killing one worth the trouble. thought (in the simplest of terms,
This bring us to the reason the of course) these pesky little men
DIAMOND-NINJA family lost poor baby were no more than a nuisance. As he
Synyster. raised his hammer to deliver the
death blow he felt a strong shock
Spring in Kulthea is a joyous time, his his body, not unlike lightening.
full of laughter and adventurous That was the last sensation the Orc
hunters seeking the bountiful and would ever feel as Lord Diamond
items that the local creatures have turned on the other Orc after neatly
to offer. Lord Diamond, his wife slicing his spinal cord.
Lady Valkrie, young Ravage and baby
Synyster (riding in Valkrie's fur Blitz was slowly coming around, at
backpack) had set out for a picnic least enough to tell that he was
in the forest several miles from the still alive, as the Lord and Lady
Swamp. They had just laid out a whacked away at the last Orc.
beautiful azure cloth on which to
spread the food when Lord Diamond Back at the picnic site, Ravage was
received a telepathic call for help. teasing little Synyster, making
It was a from High Man Fighter Blitz faces at him to keep him occupied.
who had found rouble in the swamp. He worried about his parents even
though he knew that there were few
It seems that overly ambitious Blitz in this land stronger than they. He
had become tangled with not one, but also knew that, although this was a
TWO Brackish Orcs. Immediately relatively safe spot, there were
-23- More...
sometimes bands of marauding Trolls, the Troll as he struck Ravage
hobgoblins, and lesser Orcs in the sending him flying about 10 feet
area. Ravage kept his beloved through the air. Young Ravage hit
golden laen dagger close at hand. the ground with a thud and
immediately leaped to his feet.
The Orc was tough, tougher than Ravage, now thoroughly angered by
most, Lord Diamond thought as he was the Troll's attack, ran at the Troll
beginning to tire from battle. full force and buried the dagger
Blitz came around and began to help deep into the Troll's abdomen.
even though he had begun to bleed Black blood began to pour all over
from his chest wound. Blitz was a Ravage as he twisted and worked the
tough fighter and he knew his dagger all around in the Troll's
limitations well. He knew that he belly. The Troll, even though in
still had some fight left in him for agonizing pain, reached down and
several minutes but he would soon go caught Ravage by the throat and
into shock from loss of blood. He began to squeeze.
gave it his all because he knew that
this had to be quick. Valkrie too, Back in the Swamp, the brave
was beginning to grow weary and in adventurers were winding up the
the back of her mind she worried battle. The Orc had taken several
about her sons. The Orc would have serious hits and was beginning to
run, but the fight had worked it's falter. Blitz too, was beginning to
way into a spot that no one was lapse into unconsciousness and he
going to be able to get out of until had to stop fighting to slow the
this conflict had finished. blood loss. Blitz put out a
telepathic call for a Healer and one
Ravage looked up at his worst was on the way, but still some
nightmare come true. A War Troll distance away. Valkrie tossed him
was ambling toward the picnic spot some Passamer Grass which he ate and
from the dark forest beyond. The slowed the bleeding more. The big
Troll appeared to be flaming mad at Orc died with little more than a
something as it pushed down small grunt after Valkrie delivered the
trees and such as it made it's way final blow to the head to the
toward the picnic spot. Ravage had creature.
every intention of grabbing the baby
and running for their lives, for a Ravage lost consciousness just as
War Troll, he knew, would make fast the Troll passed on to the next
work of him and Synyster. Ravage realm and released it's grip.
reached for his dagger and it was Watching the battle from a distance
gone! Somehow, in the scuffling was a hungry lesser Orc. When it
around it had gotten misplaced. saw that the boy was out cold and
Scrambling, Ravage frantically the nasty Troll was dead, it seized
searched for his only weapon. He the opportunity and quickly made
knew that running in the forest was it's way to the succulent baby High
deadly without a weapon. He heard a Man (a delicacy to lesser Orcs).
fierce screeching cry as the Troll
had spotted them. The Troll broke Blitz thanked the Lord and Lady and
into a run toward the boys and offered them some of the spoils,
Ravage nearly panicked. Just as the which they refused, due to the fact
Troll was only feet away, Ravage that they had limited carrying space
seized the dagger and, knowing that from the picnic and children. Blitz
it was too late to run now, leaped said that he would be ok there, now,
at the beast. Synyster was too because the Healer was close and,
terrified to cry as he watched his seeing that they were anxious to get
brother attack the Troll. Ravage back, bid them a fond farewell.
got a good hit from the start as he
lacerated the artery in the Troll's [Continued on page 18]
left leg. But it did not even sway
-24-
_________ Kalagay Comes to Kelfour's
/ \ _____ \ """"""""""""""""""""""""""
\@| ~|_|~ | by Kalagay Halatil
| |~| |
_| |~| |
/@| _|~|_ |t was autumn when Kalagay to be the Raging Threk Inn. She
\_/ ~~~~~ / Halatil left her doting made for its door straight away,
~~~~~~~~ family and comfortable beginning to cherish hopes of
home in a city on Mur Fostisyr, for getting a night's lodging to sleep
what she considered to be good and collect her wits.
reason. She had her elvish father's
graceful carriage and her human She approached the desk, painfully
mother's lazy charm; she was a aware of her dishevelled, famished,
spoiled pretty girl in her early and generally disreputable appear-
twenties, educated but unfit for ance, but confident of being able to
life on her own. Nevertheless, she wheedle a room for the night. The
pawned her jewelry and sought pas- proprietor, upon hearing what she
sage on a merchant ship to seek her wanted and why he should give it to
way in the world. her, seemed to waver between fury
and amusement. Finally, he began to
Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to laugh. His face grew red and his
Kalagay, the owner-captain was too shrewd little eyes nearly
closefisted and stupid to hire a disappeared. He had huge teeth, all
Navigator. In the course of the dis- of which showed as he laughed.
aster which followed, the merchanter
was attacked by pirates and Kalagay "Sit you down out of sight over
was robbed and set adrift in a there, Missy," he said when he
dinghy in the choppy waters of stopped wheezing and could speak
Claedesbrim Bay. The fact that again. "You'll be giving my place a
robbery was the worst which befell bad name hanging about looking like
her, marked her as one of those for this. Howsoever someone might be
whom the the Goddess might have willing to share a room with you if
other plans. A howling gale beached you behave." He went back to his
her and her splintering conveyance ledgers still chuckling and shaking
north of the rowdy little settlement his head.
of Kelfour's Landing.
Kalagay found a bench from which she
It is a measure of her wildcraft could watch the door and the desk at
that she became completely lost with the same time. Soon her head
the palisades of Kelfour's just a dropped forward. Exhaustion claimed
line of sand dunes away and arrived her eyelids and she slipped into
at the town's tall wooden gates sleep without even realizing she had
from the west sometime late the done so. It seemed she had hardly
following day. Her traveling cos- composed herself to wait, when a
tume, stiff with dried sea salt, was vigorous shake of her shoulder all
tattered from her first night on the but tumbled her off the bench into
trail, spent in the dubious shelter the floor. In front of her,
of a flaeshorn berry patch. A saucy appearing to take up all the room
rabbit had shared the space with there was, loomed a young warrior of
her, insultingly unafraid. a size unprecedented in her
experience. He was grinning, but
Twilight thickened as she slipped his eyes were kind. "Sorry, didn't
through the gates on the heels of mean to startle you. The innkeeper
some handsomely outfitted hunters, here said you need a place to stay."
trying not to draw anyone's notice.
Through tired, tearing eyes she "Oh, I ... well, yes ... you see I
spotted a sturdy building down a never meant ... "
busy street. Its sign proclaimed it
-25- More...
"It's okay." He smoothly interrupted Nah, I don't think so. You seem
the incoherent fragments before they spunky enough to have come all this
could become a hysterical out- way on your own. And you have luck
pouring. "I can see that you are a because otherwise you'd never have
damsel in distress, so in courtesy I made it alive. The simplest sol-
must give you aid." ution is for you to become a Ranger
and sell pelts for a living."
"I wish no charity," Kalagay
bristled. "I suppose so. It is not demeaning
work?"
"Now see here, Missy," the innkeeper
frowned. "It ain't seemly to Kraus snorted. "It can be very hard
scratch at the one person in the work, in the way that almost all the
past hour who has been willing to professions in Kelfour's are. And
help. Kraus is a good fellow, and the first little while is going to
he will not see you come to harm. I be more tough and dangerous than
commend you let him settle you in, anything you yet know. On the other
and it's not just because he will hand, we could get in touch with
pay." And he turned and huffed back your parents ..."
to the desk, radiating disapproval
of her manners, her common sense, Kalagay shook her head firmly. "I
and everything else about her. will be a Ranger."
Maintaining rigid control over lower Kraus handed her a key, pointed to a
lip and chin, she shoved tangled stairway which looked to be a dark
strands of silver hair back and thousand steps long. "Up there,
nodded. "I thank thee indeed for first door to the right. Shut the
thy kindness to a stranger .. er .. door tight and don't worry. I have
Kraus. I am Kalagay Halatil of the business in Kladesfang tonight."
fishing and merchant house of the
Golden Osprey in New Coldwash. As Through her weariness, Kalagay shyly
soon as my father knows of my ..." touched his arm. "I really am most
She halted, blushing painfully. She grateful. Someday you will hear of
had forgotten for a moment. "Thank me."
you," she finished lamely.
Kalagay found a clean tunic and
Kraus considered his charge, and leggings outside her door the next
Kalagay squirmed under his exam- morning, a sack with some money in
ination. Men had looked her over it, and two maps. There was also a
before in a far different manner, scrap of paper with a message
and she was accustomed to dealing saying, "Take these. Burn that
with that; but this detached dress. Pay the loan back as soon as
assessment was something new and a you can. Being a Ranger is
little frightening to her. As honorable work and being outdoors is
though he were continuing aloud a good for you. Welcome. Signed:
conversation she had missed, Kraus Aleta Wood-walker, Guild Sec/Treas.
nodded abruptly. "Right. There is
the matter of livelihood. We'd Consulting the smaller of the maps,
better get that in hand right away. Kalagay noted the location of the
What can you do?" weaponsmith, the armorer, the gen-
eral store, and the fashion bou-
"Play the harp. Sort of. Make tique. Since the latter was on the
brown sauce. Embroider. Ride to other side of town, Kalagay deter-
hunt. I used to play mumbledy-peg mined to save the most enjoyable
with my brother. He says I am shopping for last, and get her pro-
blade-wise." fessional accoutrements first thing.
"Hmm. Maybe Helga could use you in After a few false starts, she landed
the tavern. Or Saaris the clothier. at Tyron Weaponsmith's shop to
-26- More...
peruse a bewildering array of Waiting not one instant longer, the
armaments. Some experimentation led torkaan attacked! Kalagay swung at
her to an unadorned broadsword which it -- and missed. It snapped and
was surprisingly well balanced and snarled around her ankles and she
light. swung and swung and missed and
missed. The torkaan began to look
"I'd like this broadsword, please," uncertain but returned to the
she said. attack. There seemed to follow an
unending exchange of attack and
The shopkeeper, seemingly able to parry. Totally demoralized, Kalagay
tell a babe in the woods when he saw began to wonder if she could run as
one, smiled genially. "An excellent far as the cottonwood and climb out
choice. You have an eye for a of the berserk animal's reach. None
weapon. That will be 607 silver of the torkaans she was familiar
pieces." with at home behaved in this
freakish manner.
Kalagay gasped in outrage. That was
more than half the money she had At the height of the melee, a
been loaned. She was prepared to familiar figure bulked in the
stalk out the door without another periphery of her vision. Politely,
word, when up bubbled the instincts he bowed. Though Kalagay had little
of generations of merchant seafolk. attention to spare, she managed a
She returned to the counter and nod. He observed for a moment.
smiled winsomely. "How much was "Need help?"
that again?"
"Oh, Kraus, please..."
A while later she left the weapon
shop with her broadsword, not He grinned cheerfully, closed an
unhappy at the way the bargaining enormous hand into a fist and dealt
had gone. The traders of Kelfour's the torkaan a death blow, bare-
were obviously excellent business handed! The creature all but dis-
people, i.e. greedy as pongits, but integrated at her feet. "Ufdah,"
they could be made to see reason. she muttered, a phrase her grand-
Before long the armorer and the father was fond of using. "That is
owner of the general store had also the most amazing ... but Kraus,
been made to see reason, and Kalagay why, I never even came close to it.
was ready to venture into the wild Maybe I'd better make brown sauce
lands outside the settlement gates. for Helga after all. Why couldn't I
hit the dratted thing?"
Down the path and south she went,
following her second map. Grass- Kraus considered her, his mouth
lands spread before her, dotted with twitching at the corners. "The main
flocks of grazing animals, and dom- reason is probably because your
inated by a magnificent cottonwood sword is in your backpack, and not
some quarter mile distant. Kalagay in your right hand. Doesn't do a
had just taken a deep breath of the torkaan any harm at all to whang it
dry hay-smelling air and adjusted on the nose with your shield. Just
her shield when a ravening drooling makes it mad."
creature the size of a sheep topped
the rise to her right. It was a Kalagay flushed. She glanced
torkaan, one which had wandered from quickly at the huge young fighter.
its shepherdess and become rabid. He seemed composed, but he was
Kalagay regarded its teeth and sharp definitely laughing at her. "Thou
hooves nervously, flailed in its art too eager for blood, my lady.
direction with her shield, and said, Newcomers here must pay more heed."
"Shoo!"
More...
-27-
She yanked her broadsword from her ____________ To Fly
pack and regarded him furiously. / \ ______ \ ~~~~~~
"So you just let me whale away -- \@| /~/~~\~\ | by Damiano Faustas
Oooh!" ||~| |~||
||~| |~||nce there was a tree.
"It was pretty funny at that. But _||~| |~|| In this tree there
soft, my lady," he said, holding up /@| \~\__/~/ | lived a flock of
his long fingered hand. "I beg thee \_/ ~~~~~~ / swallows, and at its
be not wroth with me." ~~~~~~~~~~~ base lived a group of
weasels. These weasels gnawed
And she couldn't be, any longer. "I constantly at the roots of the tree
know, I know. Boyish high spirits. in an attempt to kill it. Many were
Well, no doubt other creatures await the battles between the noble
my attention. Good-bye and many swallows and the evil weasels.
thanks."
One day a crow appeared on the outer
Kraus waved and headed back toward branches of the tree only to be
town. Then, almost instantly he re- noticed by a brave, young swallow.
appeared. "Don't forget: sword in "What are you?" asked the swallow.
your right hand, shield in your "Have you come to harm the tree?"
left." He watched while she made the
swap. "Run away from wolverines. "Why, no!" said the crow. "On the
You can probably kill kobolds, but contrary, I have come to help you!
run from hobgoblins. Good hunting." I will teach you new ways to fight
And he vanished again. the weasels so that they may be
defeated once and for all. Just
Pleasantly warmed up and happy from give me a feather," explained the
her exercise, Kalagay went on south. crow. "One feather for each lesson."
========//======== This sounded great to the swallow.
He immediately wanted to tell his
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * companions. "No," said the crow.
* * "I must pick the truly good swallows
* Official Newsletter * to benefit from my teachings and you
* of GemStone III, * must keep this a secret to your-
* The Kronicles of Kulthea * self." At last, the swallow agreed.
* *
* Kelfour Edition * Soon the swallows began to become
* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * more powerful. The weasels were
* * defeated more and more often. Once,
* Awards FREE WEEKENDS * one of the wise old swallows noticed
* in GemStone III * the lose of feathers among the young
* for * fighters. He asked about it, but
* articles, reports, fiction, * the next day no one could find him.
* ASCII art, puzzles, poetry *
* and stories of interest to * Finally, there came a great battle
* those who reside in Kulthea. * at the foot of the tree, and the
* * weasels were defeated. As they re-
* Contact * joiced, the eldest swallow said,
* Usul Lu'Nak, Editor-In-Chief * "Let us fly to top of the tree to
* Phaedra Bleu, Publisher * sing our triumph!" But when the
* * swallows tried, they found they
* Or * could not fly. "Why can't we fly?"
* Leave GEnie Email to * they cried.
* P.HERRINGTON for assignments *
* and further details. * "Because you are not swallows
* * anymore," answered the crow. "You
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * are weasels." And they were.
-28-
________________ The Poisoned Quill
/ \ ____ ____ \ """"""""""""""""""
\@| +|~| |~|+ | by Miss Louvella Parsnips
| |~| __ |~| |
| |~|/~~\|~| |
_| |~/~/\~\~| |e are scandalized, noisome ranger, we have sniffed out
/@| |__/ \__| |simply scandalized a sordid little "menage a trois."
\_/ ~~~ ~~~ / at the goings on There is no accounting for taste
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ here in Kelfour's and it appears that a good humored
Landing. Frick's Inn and Cheldar's and agreeable fair elf sorcerer has
Bathhouse are doing a thriving taken a liking to this red-head,
business. It appears that we are going so far as to shower her with
now host to a lusty harlot who's expensive gifts. Meanwhile, promis-
main purpose in life is to seduce ing undying love for the poor sap,
the entire male population of our ranger has been flinging herself
Kelfour's Landing. We are sure that at an ever chivalrous common man
her careful notetaking shall reach ranger. He, of course, will have no
our most agreeable eyes any time truck with her. Will she will
now, and of course, dear reader, you finally get her just deserts?
will read every scathing detail.
Her list reputatedly contains the There is a liaison occurring between
names of prominent Kelfour's two of Kelfour's more prominent
adventurers, including one most thieves. The fact that the lady
lordly and supposedly chaste cleric. thief is exceedingly evil and her
gentleman (if you can can call him
It is our pleasure to report that that) has an almost exemplary
our jaded eye has finally uncovered reputation is quite beside the
Kelfour's beloved and presumedly point. In fact, he was one of the
virtuous lady cleric of the olde Canasta players discovered in the
speech in a decidedly immoral water closet last month. We are
position at the inn with a certain delighted to inform you that we
lascivious dark haired mage. We noticed a previously elusive lady
were under the impression our dear mage cloistered in the water closet
cleric was devoted to her long also. Perhaps she was enjoying the
suffering betrothed fighter, but he card game? We suspect that our
appears to have been left out in the wraithlike mage was enjoying a very
cold, so to speak. Perhaps all is different kind of game. After all,
not lost and the unfortunate there were some vigorous males
fighter's name shall soon appear on tucked away in said water closet.
the long list of the most agreeable
notetaking seductress. We were recently the recipient of a
thoroughly shocking letter regarding
This same seductress seems to have one of our married and angelic lady
added the names of more than a few mages. We were outraged to learn
"taken" adventurers to her list, and that this strumpet was discovered
as a result of these delightful rolling around in the grassy glade
indiscretions, was viciously slain at the bottom of Lower Kaldsfang
without warning by an exceedingly Forest with her youthful and
foul tempered, red-haired lady presumedly innocent apprentice. It
ranger. This did not seem to bother seems this young fellow is learning
our delightful seductress in the all the "tricks of the trade" so to
slightest and we later noticed the speak. We are under the impression
two trotting off in the direction of that this apprenticeship has been
Threk's inn. We are most curious as going on for some time and are most
to whether said ranger's name will curious as to where the husband has
be the next to appear on the been during said encounters. Per-
infamous list. Most curious indeed. haps HIS name will appear on the
While we are on the subject of this seductress' list. Tra-la for now!
-29- KE V1N8
[end]
See Also: