-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ START OF PART 11 -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Xcharacter enters a maze of interconnecting staircases and finally Xpasses through a one-way door. He is now on the first level of Xthe dungeon (50 feet), and must survive many horrible and Xchallenging encounters to find the treasure lying about. X X2 Armor Class X Armor class is a number that describes the amount and the Xquality of armor begin worn. Armor class will generally run from Xabout 0 to 40, but could become negative or greater than 40 in Xrare cases. X X The larger your armor class, the more protective it is. A Xnegative armor class would actually help get you hit. Armor Xprotects you in three manners. One, it makes you harder to be Xhit for damage. A hit for no damage is the same as a miss. Two, Xgood armor will absorb some of the damage that your character Xwould have taken. An armor class of 30 would absorb 30% of any Xdamage meant for him. Three, fire and acid damage are reduced by Xwearing body armor. It is obvious that a high armor class is a Xmust for surviving the lower levels of MORIA. X X Each piece of armor has an armor class adjustment, and a Xmagical bonus. Armor bought in town will have these values Xdisplayed with their description. Armor that is found within the Xdungeon must be identified before these values will be displayed. 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 magical 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 magical armor bonus if worn. X X Some pieces of armor will possess special abilites denoted Xby the following abbreviations: X X (RA) - Resist Acid. X X This magical ability is usually enchanted into armor, X but may occasionally be found as an ability of a weapon. A X character using such an object will take only a quarter X damage from any acid thrown upon him. In addition, armor so X enchanted will resist the acid's effects and not be damaged X by it. X X (RC) - Resist Cold. X X This magical ability is also found in both weapons and X armor. A character using a resist cold object will take only X half damage from frost and cold. X X (RF) - Resist Fire. X X This magical ability is found in both weapons and armor. X A character using a resist fire object will take only one X quarter damage from heat and fire. X X (RL) - Resist Lightning. X X This magical ability is found in both weapons and armor. X A character using a resist lightning object will take only X one quarter damage from electrical attacks. X X (R) - Resistance. X X This magical ability is found only in armor. A X character wearing armor with this ability will have X resistance to Acid, Cold, Fire, and Lightning as explained in X each part above. X 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 DEXTERITY. X X Doors can be broken down by bashing them. Once a door is Xbashed open, it is forever useless and cannot be closed. X 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 whats inside. X 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 X2 Cursed 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 Xa remove curse is done. X X When a cursed item has been identified, an asterisk '*' will Xappear next to the inventory letter of the item. If you should Xwear a cursed item, you will immediately know it is cursed and Xagain the asterisk will appear. X 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 X After the tombstone, the toptwenty list of heroes is Xdisplayed. If your score beats any of the toptwenty, your Xcharacter will join this elite rank of heroes. Otherwise, well, Xthere is always next time... X X2 Fighting X Attacking is simple in MORIA. If you move into a creature, Xyou attack him. You can attack from a distance by firing a Xmissile, or by magical means such as aiming a wand. Creatures Xattack in the same way, if they move into you, they attack you. XSome creatures can cast spells from a distance, and dragon type Xcreatures can breath from a distance, but these are the only Xexceptions. X 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 a dragon over the head with a bow will simply Xmake him mad, and get you killed. X X Missile weapons, such as bows, can be wielded, and then the Xproper missile, in this case an arrow, can be fired across the Xroom into a target. Missiles can be used without the proper Xmissile weapon, but used together they have a greater range and Xdo far more damage. X 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 X2 Light X There are two sources for light once inside the dungeon. XPermanent light which has been magically 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 X A character must wield a torch or lamp in order to supply Xhis own light. Once a torch or lamp has only 50 or less turns Xleft before burning out, the message "Your light is getting low" Xwill be displayed at random intervals. Once a torch is burnt Xout, it is useless and can be dropped. A lamp or lantern can be Xrefilled with oil by using the Fill 'F' command. You must of Xcourse be carrying extra oil to refill a lantern. X X2 Mining X Much of the treasure within the dungeon can be found only by Xmining 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 X Mining is virtually impossible without a pick or shovel. XPicks and shovels have an additional magical ability expressed as X'(+#)'. The higher the number, the better the magical 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. X 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 X If the character has a scroll or staff 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 X2 Objects X The mines 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 dungeon before you. They get killed, and the helpful Xmonsters scatter the various treasure throughout the dungeon. XMost cursed items are placed there by the joyful evil sorcerers, Xwho enjoy a good joke when it gets you killed. X X You pick up objects by moving on top of them. You can carry Xup to 22 different items in your backpack while wearing and Xwielding many others. Note that although you are limited to 22 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 X Many objects found within the dungeon have special commands Xfor their use. Wands must be Aimed, staves must be Used, scrolls Xmust be Read, 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. X X One item in particular will be discussed here. The scroll Xof "Word of Recall" can be found within the dungeon, or bought at Xthe temple in town. It acts in two manners, depending upon your Xcurrent location. If read within the dungeon, it will teleport Xyou back to town. If read in town, it will teleport you back Xdown to the deepest level of the dungeon one which your character Xhas previously been. This makes the scroll very useful for Xgetting back to the deeper levels of MORIA. Once the scroll has Xbeen read it takes a while for the spell to act, so don't expect Xit to save you in a crisis. X X And lastly, a final warning. Not all objects are what they Xseem. Skeletons lying peacefully about the dungeon have been Xknown to get up... X 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 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 X Creatures in the dungeon will generally know and use this 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. X X2 Staircases X Staircases are the manner in which you get deeper, or climb Xout of the dungeon. 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 X Each level has at least one up staircase, and at least two Xdown staircases. There are no exceptions to this rule. You may Xhave trouble finding some well hidden secret doors, but the Xstairs are there. X 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 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 MORIA have magical X MORIA Xbonuses to hit and/or do damage. Some weapons are cursed, and Xhave penalties that hurt the player. Note that cursed swords Xcannot be un-wielded until the curse is lifted. X X Missile weapons, such as bows, 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/missiles combination are used. X X Although you recieve any magical bonuses an unidentified Xweapon may possess when you weild 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 X Finally, some rare weapons have special abilities. This are Xcalled ego weapons, and are feared by great and meek. An ego Xsword must be wielded to receive benefit of it's abilities. X X Special weapons are denoted by the following abbreviations: X X (DF) - Defender X X A magical weapon that actually helps the wielder defend X himself, thus increasing his armor class. X X (FB) - Frost Brand X X A magical weapon of ice that delivers a cold critical to X heat based creatures. X X (FT) - Flame Tongue. X X A magical weapon of flame that delivers a heat critical X to cold based creatures. X X (HA) - Holy Avenger. X X A Holy Avenger is by far the most powerful of weapons. X Holy Avengers have been known to increase several of the +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- END OF PART 11 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-