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<html> |
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<head> |
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<title>Crossfire Playbook - Chapter 2</title> |
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</head> |
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<body> |
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|
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<H1>About Characters</h1> |
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|
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<h2><a name="2.1.0">Character Attributes</h2> |
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Each player interacts in the <em>Crossfire</em> world through the persona of |
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a character. In turn, the interaction between the character and the game |
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world is mediated by the ``attributes'' of the character. After all, the |
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player is not going to play him/herself! In <em>Crossfire</em> we chose to |
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parameterize the acceptable limits of player behavior via the values of the |
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character attributes which, in turn, help to determine the success of any |
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action taken by the player. There are no limits per se on what you can |
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attempt to do with your character; rather, the attributes of a character |
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indicate the certain ``natural'' talents and inclinations. Two concepts |
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which are relevant to <em>Crossfire</em> character attributes are ``stats'' |
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and ``class''.<p> |
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|
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<h2><a name="2.1.1">2.1.1. Character Stats</h2> |
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|
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Character statistics (or ``stats'' for short) can be |
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divided into two types: primary and secondary. What's the difference |
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between them? Secondary stats are calculated from a number of things |
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including the primary stats. But the reverse isn't true, secondary |
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stats never have any influence on the primary stats. In playing the game, the |
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player may find that either of these kinds of stats may be changed |
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for better or worse. In general, the primary stats change much less |
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often than the secondary stats. Equipment, magic, and death are |
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just three examples of the many things which can alter the values of |
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the character stats. The current values of both the primary and |
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secondary stats may be viewed in the stat window. Four important |
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secondary stats - food, grace, hitpoints and mana also appear |
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again in the stat-bar window. <p> |
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|
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|
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<h4>Primary stats</h4> |
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|
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The seven primary stats are:<p> |
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<UL> |
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<li><strong>Strength</strong> (``STR'') - a measure of the physical strength.<br> |
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<li><strong>Dexterity</strong> (``DEX'') -measures physical agility and speed.<br> |
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<li><strong>Constitution</strong> (``CON'') - |
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measures physical health and toughness.<br> |
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<li><strong>Intelligence</strong> (``INT'') - |
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measures ability to learn skills and incantations.<br> |
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<li><strong>Wisdom</strong> (``WIS'') - |
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measures the ability to learn/use divine magic .<br> |
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<li><strong>Power</strong> (``POW'') - |
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measures magical/spiritual potential.<br> |
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<li><strong>Charisma</strong> (``CHA'') - |
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measures social and leadership abilities. |
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</UL> |
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<p> |
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|
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Primary stats have a ``natural'' range between 0 and ~20. The actual upper |
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limit on each primary stat is set by the chosen character class (see <a |
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href="#2.1.2">character classes</a>.) You can raise your primary stats by |
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drinking potions up to your class natural limit.<p> |
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|
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There are plenty of items which give you bonuses to your stats even |
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<em>beyond</em> your class limit - swords, armour and rings to name the most |
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important. You can also read scrolls or cast spells (incantations or |
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prayers) to temporarily raise your stats. The ultimate maximum value is 30, |
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and the player class doesn't matter here. |
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|
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Some quantitative effects of the primary stats are summarized in the table |
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below. The top row in the column header specifies a particular bonus (i.e. |
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<samp>HpB</samp>, <samp>MgB</samp>, <samp>AcB</samp>, <samp>DmB</samp>, |
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etc.) while the second row in the header indicates the stat which is used to |
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calculate the value of that column. Where no stat appears, one of |
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<em>several</em> stats may be used to calculate that value. See later parts |
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of the text (particularly section <a href="chap3.html#3.2.3">statistics calculation</a>) for further details. <p> |
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|
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<center> |
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<a name="table_pri_eff"> |
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<table border=1 cellpadding = 5> |
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<tr><th>Stat</th><th>HpB</th><th>MgB¹</th><th>AcB</th><th>DmB</th> |
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<th>Thac0</th><th>Max Carry</th><th>Speed</th> |
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<th>%learn²</th><th>Buy/Sell</th></tr> |
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<tr><th></th><th>(CON)</th><th></th><th>(DEX)</th><th>(STR)</th><th>(STR)</th> |
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<th>(STR)</th><th>(DEX)</th><th></th><th>(CHA)</th></tr> |
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<!--#include file="bonus.html"--> |
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</table> |
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Selected primary stat bonuses/penalties.</center><p> |
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|
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¹ Either POW or WIS can be used to calculate MgB (magic bonus).<br> |
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² Percentage for learning either skills (INT), incantations (INT) or prayers (WIS).<br> |
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|
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<h4>Secondary stats</h4> |
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|
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The secondary stats are :<p> |
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|
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<UL> |
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<li><strong>score</strong> - The total accumulated |
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experience of the character. <samp>score</samp> is increased |
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as a reward for appropriate player action and may decrease as a |
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result of a magical attack or character death (see section |
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<a href="chap3.html#3.2.4">death</a> for more about death). The <samp>score</samp> starts at a value |
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of 0. <p> |
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|
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<li><strong>level</strong> - A rating of overall ability whose value is |
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determined from the <samp>score</samp>. As the <samp>level</samp> of the |
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character increases, the character becomes able to succeed at more difficult |
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tasks. <samp>level</samp> starts at a value of 0 and may range up beyond |
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100. The value of the stat which appears in the stat window is sometimes |
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known as the <em>overall</em> <samp>level</samp>. See section |
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<a href="chap3.html#3.2.2">experience</a> for more details.<p> |
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|
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<li><strong>hit points</strong><samp> ("Hp")</samp> - Measures of how much |
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damage the player can take before dying. Hit points are determined from the |
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player <samp>level</samp> and are influenced by the value of the character |
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CON (see section <a href="chap3.html#3.2.3">statistics calculation</a>). <samp>Hp</samp> value may range |
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between 1 to beyond 500 and higher values indicate a greater ability to |
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withstand punishment.<p> |
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|
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<li><strong>mana</strong><samp> ("Sp")</samp> - Measures of how much ``fuel'' |
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the player has for casting incantations. Mana is calculated from the |
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character <samp>level</samp> and the value of the character POW (see section |
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<a href="chap3.html#3.2.3">statistics calculation</a>). Mana values can range between 1 to beyond 500. Higher |
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values indicate greater amounts of mana.<p> |
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|
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<li><strong>grace</strong><samp>("Gr")</samp> - How favored the character is |
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by the gods. In game terms, how much divine magic a character can cast. |
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Character <samp>level</samp>, WIS and POW effect what the value of grace is |
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(see section |
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<a href="chap3.html#3.2.3">statistics calculation</a>). During play, grace values <em>may</em> exceed the |
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character maximum; grace can take on large positive and negative values. |
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Positive values indicate favor by the gods.<p> |
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|
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<li><strong>weapon class</strong> <samp>("Wc")</samp> - How skilled the |
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characters melee/missile attack is. Lower values indicate a more potent, |
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skilled attack. Current weapon, user <samp>level</samp> and STR are some |
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things which effect the value of <samp>Wc</samp>. The value of |
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<samp>Wc</samp> may range between 25 and -72. See section |
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<a href="chap3.html#3.2.3">statistics calculation</a> for a more detailed explanation of weapon class. See |
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section <a href="chap3.html#3.2.1">combat</a> to see how <samp>Wc</samp> works in attacking.<p> |
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|
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<li><strong>damage</strong> <samp>("Dam")</samp> - How much damage a |
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melee/missile attack by the character will inflict. Higher values indicate a |
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greater amount of damage will be inflicted with each attack. See section |
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<a href="chap3.html#3.2.3">statistics calculation</a> for a calculation of the character <samp>Dam</samp>.<p> |
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|
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|
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<li><strong>armour class</strong> <samp>("Ac</samp>") - How protected the |
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character is from being hit by any attack. Lower values are better. |
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<samp>Ac</samp> is based on the character class <a href="#table2.2">table |
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character classes</a> and is modified by the DEX (<samp>AcB</samp> column in |
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table <a href="chap2.html#table_pri_eff">primary stat effects</a>) and |
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current armour worn. For characters that cannot wear armour, <samp>Ac</samp> |
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improves as their level increases (see section |
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<a href="chap3.html#3.2.3">statistics calculation</a>).<p> |
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|
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<li><strong>armour</strong> <samp>("Arm")</strong> - |
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How much damage will be subtracted from successful hits made upon |
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the character. This value ranges between 0 to 99%. Current armour worn |
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primarily determines <samp>Arm</samp> value.<p> |
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|
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<li><strong>speed</strong> - How fast the player may move. The value of |
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<samp>speed</samp> may range between nearly 0 (``very slow'') to higher than |
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5 (``lightning fast''). Base <samp>speed</samp> is determined from the DEX |
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and modified downward proportionally by the amount of weight carried which |
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<em>exceeds</em> the <samp>Max Carry</samp> limit (table <a href="chap2.html#table_pri_eff">primary stat effects</a>). The |
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armour worn also sets the upper limit on <samp>speed</samp> (see the |
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<A href="../spoiler-html/spoiler.html">spoiler</a> for these limits).<p> |
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|
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<li><strong>weapon speed</strong> - Appears in parentheses after the |
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<samp>speed</samp> in the stat window. This quantity is how many attacks the |
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player may make per unit of time. Higher values indicate faster attack |
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speed. Current weapon and user DEX effect the value of weapon speed. See |
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section <a href="chap3.html#3.2.3">statistics calculation</a> for a calculation of weapon speed.<p> |
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|
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<li><strong>food</strong> - How full the character's stomach is. |
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Ranges between 0 (starving) and 999 (satiated). At a value of 0 the |
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character begins to die. Some magic can speed up or slow down the |
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character digestion. Healing wounds will speed up digestion too. |
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</ul><p> |
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|
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<h2><a name="2.1.2">Character Classes</h2> |
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|
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Much like the older ``paper and pencil'' role-playing games |
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<em>Crossfire</em> has adopted the idea of character ``class''. |
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Each class is meant to be a template of a particular ``style'' of play; |
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therefore each choice of class modifies both the starting |
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values and sets the natural upper limit on the primary stats. |
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<em>Important note:</em> character class is chosen at the time a |
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character is created and can't be changed later on.<p> |
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|
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<center> |
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<A name="table2.2"> |
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<table border=1 cellpadding = 5> |
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<tr><th>Type</th><th> </th><th>Str</th><th>Dex</th><th>Con</th><th>Int</th><th>Wis</th><th>Pow</th><th>Cha</th><th>Special</th></tr> |
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<!--#include file="char.html"--> |
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</table> |
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Table 2.2 <em>Crossfire</em> character classes</em><p> |
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</center> |
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|
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The table shows the various available character classes with |
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the natural stat limits for each. |
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Under the ``special'' column several bits of information are included. ``<samp>Ac</samp>'' |
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indicates the base armour class |
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for the character; ``damage'' |
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indicates the base <samp>Dam</samp> value. |
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Some character classes have special attack abilities and certain vulnerabilities, |
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protections from, and immunities to various attacktypes. Read section |
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<a href="chap3.html#3.2.1">combat</a> for more information about what effect these can have.<p> |
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|
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<h4Sizing up the character classes</h4> |
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|
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Generally, the titles of the character classes speak for themselves. But you |
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can get a better idea of the potential of a class by checking out a few |
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things. Take a look at the starting equipment (table <a |
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href="#table2.3">starting equipment</a>) and, if you are using |
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<em>Crossfire</em> compiled with the skills system, checkout the starting |
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skills for those classes your interested in (table <a href="#table2.4">starting |
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skills</a>).<p> |
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|
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|
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<center> |
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<table border=1 cellpadding = 5> |
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<tr><th>Type</th><th>Starting Equipment </th></tr> |
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<!--#include file="equip.html"--> |
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|
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</table> |
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<A name="table2.3">Table 2.3 Starting equipment by character class.</em><p> |
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</center> |
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<p> |
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|
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<center> |
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<table border=1 cellpadding = 5> |
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<tr><th>Character Class</th><th>Additional Skills¹</th></tr> |
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<!--#include file="skills.html"--> |
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</table> |
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<A name="table2.4">Table 2.4 Starting skills.</em><p> |
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</center> |
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<p> |
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|
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¹ All character classes start with the skills <samp>melee |
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weapons</samp>, <samp>find traps</samp>, <samp>use magic item</samp>, |
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<samp>literacy</samp>, and <samp>disarm traps</samp>.<p> |
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|
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Finally, here are some notes concerning a couple of the more ``exotic'' classes:<p> |
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|
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<strong>Fireborn</strong><br> |
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<em>Attacks:</em> fire, physical<br> |
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<em>Protections:</em> immune: fire, poison; vulnerable: ghosthit, drain, cold<br> |
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<em>Special:</em> fly, no armour, no weapons. <samp>Ac</samp> 0<br> |
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Fireborns are fire spirits. They're closely in tune with |
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magic and learn all types of magic easily. |
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Being fire spirits, they are |
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immune to fire and poison, and vulnerable to cold. They are vulnerable to |
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ghosthit and drain because being mostly non-physical, anything which strikes |
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directly at the spirit hits them harder.<p> |
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|
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<strong>Monk</strong><br> <em>Attacks:</em> physical<br> |
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<em>Protections:</em> none<br> <em>Special:</em> no weapons.<br> |
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|
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Monks are members of various martial arts orders. They have devoted |
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themselves to a life of contemplation and revelation though physical |
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fighting! Their life-long secret vows keep them from using all hand-held |
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melee weapons, but in return they are allowed to learn secret techniques of |
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meditation.<p> |
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|
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<strong>Quetzalcoatl</strong><br> |
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<em>Attacks:</em> physical<br> |
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<em>Protections:</em> immune: fire; vulnerable: paralyze, poison, cold<br> |
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<em>Special:</em> no armour, <samp>Ac</samp> 5<br> |
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Quetzalcoatls are an odd mixture of magic and combat abilities. They are |
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born knowing the spell of burning hands (heh, its their ``dragon breath''). |
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But because of their low natural intelligence/wisdom, they have a very hard |
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time learning new spells. All the same, they may become potent |
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wizards/priests as they have the highest power bonus, and they will |
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typically have a large amount of mana and a fair amount of grace. |
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Quetzalcoatls can be very |
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devastating fighters at low level. A combination of their low natural <samp>Ac</samp> |
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and high base damage tend to make mincemeat |
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out of low-level monsters. However, at mid-level, they really begin to have |
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problems because they cannot use armour.<p> |
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|
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<strong>Wraith</strong><br> |
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<em>Attacks:</em> cold, physical<br> |
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<em>Protections:</em> immune: drain, ghosthit; protected: physical, cold; vulnerable: fire<br> |
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<em>Special:</em> <samp>Ac</samp> 6<br> |
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|
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The Wraith is a creature of the undead. These characters represent |
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revenging spirits come back to life to work their unholy will on the living. |
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Their undead nature makes them immune to life-damaging forces and their |
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etherealness protects them from physical harm. Like all undead, they succumb |
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to fire readily. <p> |
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|
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<h2>Generating a character</h2> |
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|
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When you start up <em>Crossfire</em> , you will be asked for a character name |
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followed by a password. If you are playing for the first time, type |
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any name you like; this will be your character name for the rest of |
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the life of that character. Next, type in any password. |
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<em>Remember!:</em> |
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you will need to type the same password again to play that character |
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again! One more note: its not a good idea to use ``real'' passwords |
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to your computer accounts! Doing so may make your system vulnerable |
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to unscrupulous <em>Crossfire</em> server administrators. <p> |
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|
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Your next step will be to generate random (primary) stats for your |
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character. You aren't limited to the number of times you can roll your |
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stats - so have fun. Notice that the stats are always arranged that the STR |
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stat has the highest value, the CHA stat has the lowest. You may re-arrange |
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the order of these values when you decide that you have rolled some decent |
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stats. <em>Two points:</em> you can never roll a character with better |
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stats than an average of straight 15's, and you can't roll higher than 18 in |
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a stat. <p> |
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|
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When you roll your character, the stats displayed are the stats you |
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will get as a human (which are unmodified). |
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When satisfied, you can step through a number |
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of classes, each with special bonuses in stats.<p> |
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|
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<a href="#table2.2">Table 2.2</a> shows how your basic stats will |
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be changed by choosing a different class. |
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The difference between the natural stat limit and 20 indicates the |
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bonus/penalty assigned to rolled primary stats. For example, a |
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barbarian has a maximum strength which is 4 higher than 20-that |
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means he will begin with an additional 4 points added to his |
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strength roll. On the other hand, a barbarian can never get above 14 |
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in intelligence. This means that your rolled character will have 6 |
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less in intelligence if you choose that class. It also means that you |
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can't be a barbarian if you roll less than 7 in intelligence; the |
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poor barbarian would have had a stat below 1.<p> |
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|
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<h4><a name="2.2.1">Selecting a character</h4> |
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|
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While each class has its particular strengths and weaknesses, in summary |
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its just a fact that some classes are easier to play than others.<p> |
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|
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For beginning players, the ``simple fighter'' characters are the easiest to |
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play successfully. The Dwarf, Human, and Warrior are among good earlier |
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choices. As you gain experience with using <em>Crossfire</em> you may wish |
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to branch out into other ``fighter'' characters such as the Thief or Elf, or |
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try your hand at playing ``spellcaster'' characters like the Wizard, Mage, |
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Cleric or Priest. The ``exotic'' classes (e.g. Fireborn, Monk, |
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Quetzalcoatl, and Wraith) are the hardest classes to master. <p> |
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|
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One more note: If you are using the default game (compiled with the skills |
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system), you will probably find any character class that has a low natural |
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INT (for example, the Barbarian class) will have a fairly difficult time at |
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higher levels. Skills, and most importantly, spells, will be more difficult |
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learn. Plan to spend a lot of loot on grimores, prayer books and skill |
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scrolls.<p> |
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|
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<a href="handbook.html"><img src="fig/book.gif">Back to table of contents</a><br> |
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<a href="chap1.html"><img src="fig/stairup.gif">Go to chapter 1</a><br> |
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<a href="chap3.html"><img src="fig/stairdown.gif">Go to chapter 3</a><br> |
