-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ START OF PART 3 -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ XArmor class values are always diplayed between a set of brackets X'`5B#,+#`5D'. The first value is the armor class of the item. The Xsecond number is the special bonus of the item, and will always Xhave a sign preceding the value. There are a few cases where the Xform '`5B+#`5D' is used, meaning the object has no armor class, only Xa special armor bonus if worn, for example, (DF) weapons. X Some pieces of armor will possess special abilites denoted Xwith abbreviations. More information can be found under items/armor. X`20 X2 Bashing X Weight is the primary factor in being able to bash Xsomething, but strength plays a role too. After bashing, a Xcharacter may be off balance for several rounds depending upon Xhis or her DEXTERITY. X`20 X Doors can be broken down by bashing them. Once a door is Xbashed open, it is forever useless and cannot be closed. X`20 X Chests too may be bashed open, but be warned that the Xcareless smashing of a chest often ruins the contents. Bashing Xopen a chest will not disarm any traps it may contain, but does Xallow the strong and ignorant to see what's inside. X`20 X Finally, a creature may be bashed. If a shield is currently Xbeing worn, the bash is a shield bash and will do more damage. XIn either case, a bash may throw an opponent off balance for a Xnumber of rounds, allowing a player to get in a free hit or more. XIf the player is thrown off-balance, his opponent may get free Xhits on him. This is a risky attack. X`20 X2 Stuck Objects X Some objects, mainly armor and weapons, have had curses laid Xupon them. These horrible objects will look like any other Xnormal item, but will detract from your characters stats or Xabilities if worn. They will also be impossible to remove until Xthey are demagnetized. X`20 X When a stuck item has been identified, an asterisk '*' will Xappear next to the inventory letter of the item. If you should Xwear a stuck item, you will immediately know it is stuck and the Xasterisk will appear again. X`20 X2 Death X If your character falls below 0 hit points, he has died and Xcannot be restored. A tombstone showing information about your Xcharacter will be displayed with the option to print the Xinformation to a file. X`20 X After the tombstone, the top fifty list of heroes is Xdisplayed. If your score beats any of the top fifty, your Xcharacter will join this elite rank of heroes. Otherwise, well, Xthere is always next time... X`20 X It is important to keep in mind that dying isn't the worst Xthing in the world. BOSS is just a game. If your 40th level Sexy XCon-Artist bites the dust, hey, that's life. Roll up another one. X`20 X2 Fighting X Attacking is simple in BOSS. If you move into a creature, Xyou attack him. You can attack from a distance by firing a Xmissile, or by special means such as aiming a ray gun. Creatures Xattack in the same way, if they move into you, they attack you. XSome creatures can attack you from a distance, and alien type Xcreatures can breathe from a distance, but these are the only Xexceptions. X`20 X If you are wielding a weapon, the damage for the weapon is Xused when you hit the creature. If you are wielding no weapons, Xyou get two fist strikes. Note that very strong creatures can do Xa lot of damage with their fists... A character may have a Xprimary and secondary weapon. A secondary weapon is kept on the Xbelt, or on the shoulder for immediate use. You can switch Xbetween your primary and secondary weapons by using the 'x' Xcommand. Be sure you are wielding the proper weapon when Xfighting. Hitting an alien over the head with a purse will simply Xmake it mad, and get you killed. X`20 X Missile weapons, such as pistols, can be wielded, and then Xthe proper ammo can be fired across the room into a target. X`20 X Hits and misses are determined by ability to hit vs. armor Xclass. A miss doesn't necessarily mean you failed to hit the Xtarget, but only that you failed to do any damage. Therefore a X'hit' is a strike that does some damage. Higher armor classes Xmake it harder to do damage, therefore more misses. X`20 X2 Light X There are two sources for light once inside the dungeon. XPermanent light which has been specially placed within rooms, and Xa light source carried by the player. If neither is present, the Xcharacter will be unable to map or see any attackers. Lack of Xlight will also affect searching, picking locks, and disarming. X`20 X A character must wield a flashlight or lantern in order to Xsupply his own light. Once a light source has only 50 or less Xturns left before burning out, the message "Your light is getting Xlow" will be displayed at random intervals. Once a flashlight is Xburnt out, it is useless and can be dropped. A lantern can be Xrefilled with batteries by using the Fill 'F' command. X`20 X2 Mining X Much of the money within the tunnels can be found only by Xdigging it out of the walls. Many rich strikes exist within each Xlevel, but must be found and mined. Quartz veins are the Xrichest, yielding the most metals and gems, but magma veins will Xhave some hordes hidden within. X`20 X Mining is virtually impossible without a pick or shovel. XPicks and shovels have an additional special ability expressed as X'(+#)'. The higher the number, the better the special digging Xability of the tool. Note that a pick or shovel also has plusses Xto hit and damage, and can be used as a weapon. Several very Xpowerful digging tools exist in the game, but must be found. X`20 X When a vein of quartz or magma is located, the character Xshould wield his pick or shovel and begin digging out a section. XWhen that section is removed, he should locate another section of Xthe vein, and begin the process again. Since granite rock is Xmuch harder to dig through, it is much faster to follow the vein Xexactly and dig around the granite. X`20 X If the character has a floppy or device of treasure location, Xhe can immediately locate all strikes of treasure within a vein Xshown on the screen. This makes mining much easier and more Xprofitable. X`20 X2 Objects X The tunnels are full of objects just waiting to be picked up Xand used. How did they get there? Well, the main source for Xuseful items are all the foolish adventurers that proceeded into Xthe tunnels before you. They get killed, and the helpful Xmonsters scatter the various treasure throughout the realm. Most Xcursed items are placed there by the joyful servants of the Boss Xwho enjoy a good joke when it gets you killed. X`20 X You pick up objects by moving on top of them. You can carry Xup to 52 different items in your backpack while wearing and Xwielding many others. Note that although you are limited to 52 Xdifferent items, you may be carrying several of each item Xrestricted only by the amount of weight your character can carry. XYour character's weight limit is determined by his Strength. XOnly one object may occupy any one given floor location, which Xmay or may not also contain one monster. Note that doors, traps, Xand staircases are considered objects for this purpose. X`20 X Many objects found within the dungeon have special commands Xfor their use. Ray Guns must be aimed, Devices must be used, Floppy Xdisks must be run, and potions must be quaffed. In any case, you must Xfirst be able to carry an object before you can use it. Some Xobjects, such as chests, are very complex. Chests contain other Xobjects and may be trapped, and/or locked. Read the list of Xplayer commands carefully for a further understanding of chests. XOnce in a while, a chest will contain another chest... X`20 X One item in particular will be discussed here. The Floppy Xof "Beam Me Up" can be found within the dungeon, or bought at Xthe computer store in town. It acts in two manners, depending upon Xyour current location. If ran within the dungeon, it will teleport Xyou back to town. If ran in town, it will teleport you back Xdown to the deepest level of the tunnels which your character Xhas previously been. This makes this floppy very useful for Xgetting back to the deeper levels of BOSS. Once the floppy is Xexecuted it takes a while for the program to act, so don't expect Xit to save you in a crisis. Beware, however, of your soul plummeting Xto the depths of hell. X`20 X And lastly, a final warning. Not all objects are what they Xseem. Sparkly treasures lying peacefully about the dungeon have Xbeen known to bite... X`20 X2 Secret Doors X Many secret doors are used within the dungeon to confuse and Xdemoralize adventurers foolish enough to enter. But with some Xluck, and lots of concentration, you can find these secret doors. X`20 X Secret doors will sometimes hide rooms or corridors, or even Xentire sections of that level of the dungeon. Sometimes they Xsimply hide small empty closets or even dead ends. X`20 X Creatures in the tunnels will generally know and use these Xsecret doors. If they leave one open, you will be able to go Xright through it. If they close it behind them you will have to Xsearch for the catch first. Once a secret door has been Xdiscovered by you, it is drawn as a known door and no more Xsearching will be required to use it. Of course, you'll probably Xstill have to pick the lock... X`20 X2 Staircases X Staircases are the manner in which you get deeper, or climb Xout of the Boss's realm. The symbols for the up and down staircases Xare the same as the commands to use them. A '<' represents an up Xstaircase and a '>' represents a down staircase. You must move Xyour character over the staircase before you can use them. X`20 X Each level has several staircases, many leading up, and many Xleading down. Be careful, though, because some staircases are Xvery steep and will bring you more than one level up or down. Be Xsure to look at the staircase first to see how steep it is. X`20 X2 Weapons X Carrying a weapon in your backpack does you no good. You Xmust wield a weapon before it can be used in a fight. Note that Xa secondary weapon can be kept by wielding it and then using the Xexchange command 'x'. A secondary weapon is not in use, simply Xready to be switched with the current weapon if needed. X`20 X Weapons have two main characteristics; their ability to hit Xand their ability to do damage, expressed as '(+#,+#)'. A normal Xweapon would be '(+0,+0)'. Many weapons in BOSS have special Xbonuses to hit and/or do damage. Some weapons are cursed, and Xhave penalties that hurt the player. Note that cursed swords Xare stuck and cannot be un-wielded until the curse is removed. X`20 X Missile weapons, such as pistols, have only one major Xcharacteristic which is to hit, expressed '(+#)'. This plus to Xhit is added to that of the missile used, if the proper Xweapon/ammo combination is used. X`20 X Although you recieve any special bonuses an unidentified Xweapon may possess when you wield it, those bonuses will not be Xadded in to the displayed values of to-hit and to-dam on your Xcharacter sheet. You must identify the weapon before the Xdisplayed values reflect the real values used. X`20 X Finally, some rare weapons have *special* abilities. These Xabilities augment the normal capabilities of the weapon. More Xinformation about special weapons can be found under items/weapons. X`20 X2 Winning X Once your character has progressed into killing aliens with Xbut a mean glance and snap of his fingers, he may be ready to take Xon the Boss. The Boss will appear on every level after 2450 Xmeters, so don't go down there until you are ready for him. X`20 X The Boss cannot be killed in some of the easier methods Xused on normal creatures. Because of the Boss's cunning, he Xwill teleport away to another level if a skill such as genocide Xis used upon him, and the Boss cannot be polymorphed, slept, or Xcharmed. Special skills like coldball are effective against him Xas are weapons, but he is difficult to kill and if allowed to Xescape for a time can heal himself. X`20 X If you should actually survive the attempt of killing the XBoss, you will recieve the status of WINNER. Since you have Xdefeated the toughest villain alive, your character is ready to Xretire and cannot be saved. When you quit the game, your Xcharacter recieves a surprise bonus score and is entered into the Xtop fifty list, probably at the top. X`20 X2 Wizards X There are rumors of BOSS Wizards which, if asked nicely, Xcan explain details of the BOSS game that seem complicated to Xbeginners. In addition, they have special skills which can Xrestore characters lost by accident, such as power-outs and such. X`20 X1 BANKING X There is a savings and loan institution in the office building Xof every town, run by Danny Dollar. Well, Danny is more of a figure- Xhead for the s&l, sort of like Ronald McDonald is for McDonalds. XWhile there's a Danny in every town, no one is sure which town has Xthe real Danny Dollar. In fact, no one even knows whether or not XDanny is still working, or if he has retired. X`20 X2 Deposits X Danny has a wife, three kids, a dog, and employees, so he takes a Xcut when you deposit, but only then. His rates are displayed upon entering Xthe establishment. To be fair, however, your account does earn interest at Xthe weekly rate listed. X`20 X2 Withdrawls X Getting your money out is as easy as asking for it. X`20 X2 Loans X Getting a loan is simple. Danny will give you as much as he thinks Xyou are worth, depending on your level. Persumably higher level characters Xare going to live for a while, and are good for more money. Your loan is Xcharged interest at the advertised rate. X`20 X2 Payments X It is necessary that you pay back your loans. If you do not, several Xthings may happen to you. First, Danny will start charging you higher Xrates on your loan. Second, he will take a bigger cut on your deposits. XThird, he will pay you less interest on any money you have deposited. XFourth, and without warning, Danny may send out two of his large +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- END OF PART 3 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-