Wizardry 8 Walkthrough

     Wizardry 8 for Windows
Supplementary FAQ (Version 2.5 - Incomplete Struggle)
Current Update: Monday, 18 March 2002
Previous Update: Wednesday, 13 March 2002
Created: Thursday, 13 December 2001
By Don "Gamera" Chan (crs1219@hotmail.com)
Note: I read Guiler's WIZ8 FAQ as I play WIZ8. This
FAQ is "supplementary" because this FAQ skips the
details that his FAQ already explained. OTOH, this FAQ
reports details that aren't or weren't in his FAQ,
and clarifies details that are ambiguous in his FAQ.
0.   Wanted
1.   Acknowledgements
2.   1st Impression
2.1  2nd Impression
3.   The Party
3.1    Character Creation
3.2    Character Development
3.3    Strategies and Tactics
4.   The Adventure Begins
4.1    Lower Monastery
4.2    Upper Monastery
4.3    Arnika Road
4.4    Arnika-Trynton Road
4.5    Arnika
4.6    Trynton
4.7    Trynton Upper Branches
4.8    Rattkin Tree
4.9    Swamp
4.10   Mine Tunnels
4.11   Northern Wilderness
4.12   Umpani Base Camp
4.13   Mt Gigas Caves
4.14   Mt Gigas Upper Caves
4.15   Mt Gigas Peak
5.   The Alchemist's Guide
6.   The Gadgeteer's Guide
7.   The Ranger's Guide
8.   Recruitable NPCs
9.   Links
"Setsunasa!" (*1)
0.   WANTED
I'm looking for:
- A list of merging which two potions will produce
which other potion.
- A list of quest items, including their names,
locations, and the NPCs who need them. For example, the
components that Antone in Arnika needs to make his special
items.
- A list of swear words that the NPCs dislike.
- Any Easter Egg or weirdness that the overworked and
underpaid Sir-Tech Canada programmers planted, or any
undocumented feature that the debuggers missed.
- WIZ8 players who will write entire chapters of useful
hints about the areas that my party hasn't explored,
including Ascension Peak and even Marten's Bluff!
- Osama bin Laden, dead or alive.
Disclaimer: I send the newest version of this file
to only five Websites:
- http://www.gamefaqs.com/
- http://vgstrategies.about.com/
- http://DLH.Net/
- http://www.gamesover.com/
- http://www.cheathappens.com/
If you downloaded or read this file at other
Websites, the SysOps of the other Websites probably
leeched it from one of the above Websites.
Dementi: J'ai envoye la plus recente version de ce
fichier a seulement cinq sites webs.
- http://www.gamefaqs.com/
- http://vgstrategies.about.com/
- http://DLH.Net/
- http://www.gamesover.com/
- http://www.cheathappens.com/
Si vous avez telecharge ou lu ce fichier a partir
d'autres sites, les responsables de ces sites l'auront
probablement pompe a partir de l'un des sites ci-dessus.
1.   ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to these sierra hotel persons/organisations:
- Amakusa, Chickenator, Don Barlone, dr490n, Jowy,
Kimpo, Klef, MrPink, Paladin, phunky1, Quesius, remoh,
ribald, the fallen one, Thor the Almighty, ZephyrKai, and
other WIZ8 players in the WIZ8 message board in
GameFAQs.com, for Q&A.
- Borgman of Philippines and his wife.
- Drechenn, Guwahaha, kiah, Kthulu, Muley, and
tangentz, for chara creation hints.
- Guiler and Jack Leung, for the WIZ8 FAQs.
- Jean-Luc Barbera of France, for the French
translation of the Disclaimer, and the English translation
of the NOIR foreword. (After all, English and French are
the two official languages up here in Canada, the True
North Strong and Free.)
- John Hubbard, for hints.
- Matt Majewski, for gadget list.
- Miguel Sanchez, for feedback.
- Peloi, for attribute, dungeon, magic item, potion,
spellbook, music instrument (WIZ7 and WIZ8), and Omnigun
lists.
- Philip In of Hong Kong, for being yet another
non-Japanese friend who works in Japan.
- Razorclaw X, for the WIZ8 RPC (Recruitable Player
Chara) Guide.
- Slankers, for gadget list and recruitable NPC list.
- NATO personnel participating in Operation Enduring
Freedom. The Empire Strikes Back.
(Social democracy in action.)
No thanks to these lima delta persons/organisations:
- The EVIL terrorists responsible for the attacks in
the USA in the morning on (Tuesday) 11 September 2001
(local time).
- M27Power.Com, for computer virus.
- Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda.
In memory of:
- The victims of the terrorist attacks in the USA in
the morning on 11 September 2001. God bless America.
"Le noir, ce mot designe depuis une epoque lointaine
le nom du destin.
"Les deux vierges regnent sur la mort.
"Les mains noires protegent la paix des nouveaux-nes."
- NOIR (TV: 2001)
2.   1ST IMPRESSION
Wizardry 8 for Windows, by Sir-Tech Canada, has three CDs. Disc 3 is
the play CD.
This game installs as 1.19 GB (without levels and cinematics) to 1.85
GB (with levels and cinematics). I chose to install it with levels and
without cinematics, which consumes 1.59 GB.
WIZ8 is a direct continuation of the previous Wizardry games. The
player can actually import old chara from WIZ7.
The WIZ8 party can have six PCs and two NPCs. The PCs' races and
classes are same as the PC races in Bane of the Cosmic Forge and Crusaders
of the Dark Savant.
In each chara's inventory screen, the figure that represents that chara
is blurry and naked, and the figure remains naked when that chara's wearing
armour. (-_-;) (Then again, I knew we Canadians are more liberal than the
Americans to our south.) Unfortunately, the male figures of the Human and
Human-like races (Dwarf, Elf, &c) don't look (ahem) anatomical correct.
(The ancient American proverb "Naked man standing in revolving door is
going to Bangkok" doesn't apply in WIZ8.)
During the game, the player can change the chara's names, portraits,
and voices anytime. A chara can change her/his portrait to a portrait of
another race of the same sex, but not to a portrait of another sex. IMO,
most of the female voices sound either overly cheery or overly macho.
The game world is 3D, not square-based like WIZ7. Combat is turn-based,
but can be set as continuous. The monsters are also 3D.
The BGMs are MP3 files.
2.1  2ND IMPRESSION
When the party damages some monsters, disengages from the monsters,
exits the monsters' area (map), re-enters the monsters' area, and re-engages
the monsters; those monsters' HP will be the same as when the party last saw
them. The damaged monsters' HP don't regenerate.
At the same experience level as a PC, each non-recruitable named NPC
has at least 100 more HP than a PC. Also, the NPCs are like 7-Eleven. They
are awake and open their shops 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
After a chara equips and fights with an unidentified armour or weapon,
in its description, the name and attributes of the armour or weapon remain
unknown.
In combat, when a chara's missile weapon runs out of ammo, it's a free
and instant action in her inventory screen to take a slot of ammo from her
personal slots and reload her missile weapon.
Else, such as when a chara wants to equip a weapon from her personal
slots, she must use the Equip command in the next turn.
When a Valkyrie's Cheat Death works after the party falls down from a
high place, she remains awake and has about half her maximum HP. In combat,
after a hit that should've decreased her HP to 0 or below, she becomes
unconscious and has 1 HP. But Cheat Death doesn't seem to work against
poison damage. A poisoned Valkyrie, when neglected, will buy the farm.
A Gadgeteer tunes up her Omnigun about once per two levels.
When a Gadgeteer has two Omniguns and she levels up, she tunes up only
one Omnigun. When she has 1) an Omnigun in her active primary weapon slot
and another in her inactive primary weapon slot, or 2) an Omnigun in her
primary weapon slot and another in her Carried slots; she tunes up only the
Omnigun in her primary weapon slot. When she has an Omnigun in her personal
slots (primary weapon or Carried) and another in the party slots, she
doesn't tune up the Omnigun in the party slots. If both Omniguns are in her
Carried slots, she tunes up only the Omnigun closer to the upper left corner
of her Carried slots.
When a Gadgeteer has three or more Omniguns and she levels up, I
presume the game complies with the above rules.
When a Gadgeteer has no Omnigun in her personal slots, and 3) has both
Omniguns in the party slots or 4) in another chara's Carried slots, she
tunes up only the Omnigun closer to the upper left corner of 3) the party
slots or 4) the other chara's Carried slots.
When the party has dropped all their Omniguns on the ground and the
Gadgeteer levels up, she expectedly doesn't tune up any Omnigun. After she
levels up and picks up the Omniguns, she doesn't retroactively tune up the
Omniguns.
My party doesn't have two Gadgeteers, and I don't want to yomp all the
way back to Trynton Upper Branches to recruit Madras, so I don't know what
happens when both Omniguns are in the other Gadgeteer's primary weapon
slots?
Further, when the mark of the Omnigun to be tuned up is below the mark
appropriate to the Gadgeteer's Level, the game tunes up the Omnigun to the
mark appropriate to the Gadgeteer's Level. For example, a Level 12 Gadgeteer
will tune up an Omnigun Mk.5 ("borrowed" from a Level 8 Gadgeteer) to Mk.7.
When the mark of the Omnigun to be tuned up is above the mark defined
by the Gadgeteer's Level, I don't know if the game tunes down the Omnigun?
The next time my Gadgeteer levels up, to Level 14, she can't tune up
her Omnigun Mk.7. But if she has only an Omnigun Mk.6, I don't know if
she'll tune it up to Mk.7 anyway?
A Bishop or Priest's Turn Undead ability damages and sometimes
paralyses Undead monsters.
After a Bard successfully uses an unidentified music instrument, the
name of the music instrument remains unknown, but its description explains
its effect.
After the party has collected a lot of items that they don't want to
carry in their party slots or sell to NPCs, they can store the extra items
in safe places. For example, the empty houses or NPCs' shops in Arnika
(town).
In a house/shop, to deposit an item, go to the inventory screen, click
an item to stick it to the pointer, click the chara's head or the icon at
the lower right corner to exit the inventory screen, then drop the item in
the room. For example, in Arnika, my party store weapons in Antone's shop,
and magic items in He'Li's inn. OTOH, I don't think the party can pack items
back into chests.
WRT Pickpocket, I downloaded the WIZ8 patches, but I'll not install
them unless I bump into and can't overcome a serious bug, because the
patches reportedly tune up the NPCs' resistances to Pickpocket.
Also, I think different difficulty levels (Novice, Normal, and Expert)
just make the Pickpocket attempts harder, but don't change the items that
the party gets from the NPCs.
(FYI, when I was playing the AD&D2 CRPGs Icewind Dale (IWD) and Icewind
Dale: Heart of Winter (IWD:HOW), my female Human Paladin also used Detect
Evil on every NPC, and my female Gnome Illusionist/Thief used Pickpocket on
every NPC. It was like Rings of Free Action R Us.)
[From Paladin (2002.02.09):
I think the items you PP is not at random. Every NPC has a set of items
you can PP.]
[From Don Barlone (2002.02.09):
The items set that you can PP from an NPC changes, if you steal
everything from then you will get a new set of items, for example: you need
to steal several items from Don until you got the Cane.]
The Elementals that the Summon Elemental spell summons:
Level 1: Air Pawn (Level 3, 140-145 HP), Earth Pawn (Level 3, 296-350
HP), Fire Pawn (Level 3, 117-135 HP), Water Pawn (Level 4, 190-216 HP).
Level 3: Lesser Air Elemental (Level 5, 206 HP), Lesser Fire Elemental
(Level 5, 280-288 HP), Lesser Water Elemental (Level 6, 198 HP).
Level ?: Major Water Elemental (Level 9, 276 HP).
IDK if the WIZ8 patches already fixed these "features":
- An ale seems to have a "max item per slot" of 1 instead of 10.
- A recruitable NPC won't let the player give her special item to another
chara or the party slots. Trying to force this to happen may hang the game.
For example, in Domina's inventory screen, when I tried to give her
Stun Mace to my Priest, Domina vocally complained and blocked the attempt.
In a safe room, I ran the party (Shift+(movement key)) until she was
unconscious. In her inventory screen, I tried to give her Stun Mace to the
Priest again, but failed because the Priest's also unconscious. I tried to
give the Stun Mace to the conscious Bard and Gadgeteer, and to the party
slots, but got a message window that says: "This item belongs to Vi. You
can't remove it." Closing this message window doesn't change the situation.
I clicked the Stun Mace on the chara's portraits and Exit icon (lower
right corner) to try to drop the Stun Mace, but got the same message window.
I clicked the Stun Mace on the Drop icon, and the pointer became an
arrowhead again, as I assumed the game successfully dropped the Stun Mace on
the floor, but when I tried to exit the inventory screen, I got the
abovementioned message window. I clicked a weapon in the party slots and
tried to give it to Domina (unconscious) and another chara (conscious), and
to drop the item, but got the abovementioned message window.
About the only things I didn't try are to dismiss Domina, dual-class
her, paralyse her, and get her killed.
BTW, after the party ran to and fro, when everyone else was
unconscious, the Stamina bars of the Bard and Gadgeteer, who wore Necklaces
of Endurance (female only), remained almost 100%. But in combat, their
Stamina bars don't regenerate as fast.
Later (2002.02.12): Domina doesn't complain when she has two Stun Maces
and the player takes away one of them.
- In the first few slots of my party's items are two Poison Daggers, two
normal daggers, and a Sprite's Dagger. Each time I click the Sort By Type
icon, the Sprite's Dagger plays musical chair with the normal daggers. That
is, the Sprite's Dagger cycles through the slots holding the normal daggers.
- When a chara equips a Cursed weapon as her active weapon, she can't
remove the Cursed weapon, or swap between her active and non-active weapons.
But when a chara equips a Cursed weapon as her non-active weapon, she can
remove the Cursed weapon. Also, when a chara equips a Cursed weapon as her
non-active weapon, and swaps the Cursed weapon as her active weapon, she
can't remove the Cursed weapon.
Thus, a chara can test whether an unidentified magic shield or weapon
is Cursed or not.
- When a Gadgeteer tunes up her Omnigun to Mk.6, does it "Kill 5%" or "KO
5%"?
- When a Gadgeteer tunes up her Omnigun to Mk.7, the game claims it has
an Arrow Attachment. Its description doesn't mention the Arrow Attachment,
and it really doesn't accept arrows as ammo.
The Wizardry 8 for Japanese Windows (WIZ8J) is made by Locus and came
out on 2001.12.20.
http://www.locus.co.jp/wizardry8/
The Mycom PC Web HP has a review at
http://pcweb.mycom.co.jp/column/game/game060.html
http://pcweb.mycom.co.jp/news/2002/01/25/06.html
And the 4Gamer.net HP has a review at
http://www.4gamer.net/review/live/wiz8j.html
The text in the game are evidently in Japanese, but I don't know if the
voices are also in Japanese?
I presume the Chinese (Taiwanese) version is on its way. (X_X)
As of 2002.02.23, my party's Sierra Hotel list, sorted by kills:
Class                    Level     Kills     Alias
Valkyrie, Female Human   12        221       Vi
Samurai, Male Dracon     12        179       Battousai
Ranger, Female Mook      11        162       Mireille
Bard, Female Felpurr     13        138       Chierin
Gadgeteer, Female Elf    13        128       Kirika
Bishop, Female Elf       12        104       Maki
Priest, Female Elf       12        74        Misato
Monk, Male Android       11        55        RFS-81
For comparison, as of 2002.02.09, the party's previous Sierra Hotel
list:
Class                    Level     Kills     Alias
Valkyrie, Female Human   10        118       Vi
Samurai, Male Dracon     10        115       Battousai
Bard, Female Felpurr     11        101       Chierin
Ranger, Female Mook      9         99        Mireille
Gadgeteer, Female Elf    11        76        Kirika
Mage, Female Elf         10        76        Asuka
Priest, Female Elf       10        54        Rei
The Valkyrie gets the most kills because her polearm does excellent,
multiplied damage against hostiles affected by Freeze All, Freeze Fresh, and
Web.
The Bard, Ranger, and Samurai's secondary weapons are magic bows and
crossbows with magic ammo, so they can take down heavily wounded hostiles
who begin to flee from the party.
The Bishop is dual-classed from a Level 10 Mage. She gets kills with
her high-level, single-target offensive spells less often than the Bard's
multiple-target Piercing Pipes and the Gadgeteer's single-target Lightning
Rod.
The Priest uses a Holy Basher as an extended weapon, but doesn't use a
missile weapon, because the Bishop/former Mage already uses a Wrist Rocket
sling, the Gadgeteer (logically) uses an Omnigun, and thus the party's
always low on sling ammo. Though every chara has bombs, potions, and
powders, the Priest thus has fewer chances to hit the hostiles.
(To take advantage of the Gadgeteer's high Modern Weapon skill, she's
just begun to use a musket, after the party bought 400-500 musket balls from
Kunar in Umpani Base Camp. Earlier, the Ranger has a blunder buss reserved
for the tough hostiles, such as Golems and Moraxes.)
Revision history of this file:
Version 0.5 (Limited Edition): Tuesday, 18 December 2001
Version 1.0 [46 KB]: Sunday, 20 January 2002
Version 1.5 [74 KB]: Saturday, 9 February 2002
Version 2.0 [113 KB]: Saturday, 23 February 2002
3.   THE PARTY
Note: To paraphrase the anime studio KSS, all
characters, stock prices, and three sizes in this
game are fictional.
The player can create a new WIZ8 party, or import a WIZ7 party. This
defines the area where the party begins the adventure. I created a new WIZ8
party.
3.1  CHARACTER CREATION
The way I formed my first party is to create six new chara, and not use
any default chara. First, I choose six different Classes.
Based on my WIZ6 and WIZ7 (Bane of the Cosmic Forge and Crusaders of
the Dark Savant) experience (and prejudice), I prefer Classes that can KIA
(critical hit)... and hope they don't get Charmed or Confused in combat. I
naturally also need a Priest-type and a Mage-type. I choose Samurai (melee
KIA and speed), Ranger (missile KIA), Bard (Music), Gadgeteer (Engineering),
Priest, and Mage... but hope they don't get doubled by NPCs with higher
Levels in the same Classes.
I dislike Monk and Ninja because they have light armour and weapons.
Though Monk and Ninja have melee KIA, stealth, and thief skills; I can use
Bard and Rogue for stealth and thief skills. Instead of Rogue, I choose Bard
because Bard can use music instruments.
As I'm a Mechanical Engineering grad (U of T, MEC 9T3+1, N PSI SUX,
ERTW), I feel a sense of duty to try Gadgeteer. (^_^;)
Instead of Alchemist, Bishop, and Psionic, I choose Priest and Mage for
simplicity. I remember the WIZ1 Bishop's "Identify Item 9" trick that
instantly warped a WIZ1 Level 1 Bishop into a Level 234 Bishop (Tiltowaits R
Us), but I think a WIZ8 Bishop might level up too slowly and need to divide
his bonus points amongst too many skills and spells. I might change my mind
later and reform the party with the other Priest- and Mage-type Classes.
(WRT the WIZ8 Ranger's missile KIA, when I was playing Phantasie III by
SSI, the magic weapon called Gnome Bow impressed me. It could cause
excellent damage to and remove a monster's body parts, and KIA many monsters
with one shot. In the real world, I've a lot of respect for the USMC (United
States Marine Corps) Scout Snipers, but I prefer semi-automatic sniper
rifles.)
Second, after I choose the above six Classes, I review the default
chara of those Classes, to note their primary attributes, and the attributes
that control their primary skills. Then, I choose a Class, and cycle through
the Races to note which Race gives 50-60 points in the important attributes
of that Class, without decreasing more than one of the other attributes to
25-35 points.
I avoid Faerie because I think despite the AC bonus, his size prevents
him from using many items.
Finally, my party are:
Samurai:       Dracon, Male        "Battousai"
Ranger:        Mook, Female        "Mireille"
Bard:          Felpurr, Female     "Chierin"
Gadgeteer:     Elf, Female         "Kirika"
Priest:        Elf, Female         "Rei"
Mage:          Elf, Female         "Asuka"
I hope there aren't many powerful items that Elves can't use.
Also, I don't have any Fighter, Lord, or Valkyrie. I initially wondered
if I should replace one of the first four chara by a female Human Valkyrie,
or eventually change one of the female chara's Class to Valkyrie. Later, in
Arnika, the party recruited a NPC Valkyrie (see below).
Without a Bishop, IMO the party can't conveniently identify new items
and unequip Cursed items.
(No prizes for the Netters who identify the origins of the chara's
names.)
Later (2002.02.19): Make sure every chara has average or above
Vitality, so they have as many HP as possible. Despite all the armours,
shields, and defensive magic; the enemies' melee, missile, and offensive
magic damage will penetrate! Worse, most magic attacks will simultaneously
affect the entire party.
Reportedly, after a chara changes class, she can't use the equipment
and skills of her previous class, unless the equipment and skills overlap.
For example, a Mage who was a Fighter can't use most armours, shields, and
weapons. OTOH, a Ninja who was a Samurai can still Critical Strike.
A dual-classed chara's level isn't necessarily her level in her current
class. For example, when a Level 10 Mage dual-classes into a "Level 11"
Bishop, she actually functions as a Level 1 Bishop. She can't even learn
most Spell Level 2 spells from spellbooks.
More about the Change Class function in a later version of this FAQ.
WRT spells, low-Level Priest obviously should choose spells that heal
the party (Heal Wounds, &c), and spells that affect multiple targets (Sleep,
Terror, Web, &c).
Low-Level Mage obviously should choose spells that damage one or more
targets (Energy Blast, Frost, &c), and spells that affect multiple targets
(Sleep, Terror, Web, &c).
In the game, a spell-caster learns a new spell everytime she advances a
level, or uses a spellbook that the party gets from NPCs and treasure
chests.
Finally, some practical comments about the chara's skills:
Alchemy: Just as a Gadgeteer can merge otherwise useless items into
gadgets, any chara with the Alchemy skill, even a Ranger, can merge two
different potions into a better potion.
After a chara successfully produces a potion, the new potion is an
unidentified potion in the inventory, but the party should've no problem
with identifying the new potion. So, producing new potions can increase both
the chara's Alchemy skill and the party's Artifacts skills.
Locks & Traps: My party has Bard and Gadgeteer, but no Rogue. So, WRT
Rogue skills, the Gadgeteer takes care of Locks & Traps, and the Bard takes
care of Pickpocket.
Modern Weapon: Muskets are useable by Fighter, Lord, Valyrie, Ranger,
Rogue, and Gadgeteer. Blunder busses are useable by Fighter, Lord, Valkyrie,
and Ranger.
Thus, unless the party begins in the Umpani Base Camp area, when they
eventually get some guns, the Gadgeteer probably has the best Modern Weapon
skill because of her Omnigun, but she can't use the best gun. Though a
Gadgeteer's Omnigun can also use musket balls as its ammo, don't waste them
this way.
Pickpocket: My party has Bard and Gadgeteer, but no Rogue. So, WRT
Rogue skills, the Bard takes care of Pickpocket, and the Gadgeteer takes
care of Locks & Traps.
Polearm: A polearm is a two-handed weapon. It has extended reach and
high minimum damage. Against an immobile or sleeping enemy, even a low-level
warrior with an awl pike can easily cause 20+ damage points.
(OK. The sources of the chara's names are: NOIR, Rurouni Kenshin -Meiji
Kenkaku Romantan-, Sentimental Graffiti/Sentimental Journey, and Shinseiki
Evangelion (Neon Genesis Evangelion): Ayanami Rei (II and III), Hitokiri
Himura Battousai, "Chierin" Matsuoka Chie of Fukuoka (Fukuoka), Mireille
Bouquet, Souryuu Asuka Langley, and Yuumura Kirika.)
3.2  CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Some of the chara's skills automatically increase (grow) when the party
is yomping about the game world, Dominus. For example, everytime the party
finds some hidden items, some chara's Scouting may increase. Everytime the
party identifies some items, some chara's Artifacts may increase. Everytime
the party sees some monsters, some chara's Mythology may increase. Everytime
the party survives a battle, some chara's combat and weapon skills may
increase.
Later (2002.03.09): To complement my earlier comments below, when the
player creates a party of new chara, each Level 1 chara's Vitality and the
attribute that's important to her class should be as high as possible. The
aim is to ensure the chara will have high HP, and her important attribute
will reach 100 naturally (without magic items) as soon as possible, which
unlocks a special skill related to that attribute.
For example, a Mage should have high Vitality and Intelligence. Even
when she begins with Intelligence 70, and she allocates 2-3 points per Level
to her Intelligence, she needs at least 10-11 Levels before her Intellgence
reaches 100 and unlocks the Power Cast special skill.
When a chara "levels up" or gains a level, I evenly allocate the bonus
skill points to the skills that aren't amongst the above-mentioned. For
example, Samurai increases his Critical Strike and Dual Weapons, but not his
Sword. Gadgeteer increases her Engineering and Locks & Traps.
Also, when a chara levels up, I evenly allocate the bonus attribute
points to the attributes that control that chara's primary skills. For
example:
Samurai:       Dexterity, Senses, Speed
Ranger:        Dexterity, Intelligence, Senses
Bard:          Dexterity, Intelligence, Senses
Gadgeteer:     Dexterity, Intelligence, Senses
Priest:        Dexterity, Intelligence, Piety
Mage:          Intelligence, Piety, Senses
On second thought, I'm neglecting Vitality, which controls each chara's
all-important HP. (My Mage's maximum HP is very pathetic.) Maybe I'll
increase their Vitality instead of Dexterity or Senses... (9_9;)
When the primary attribute of a chara's Class reaches 100, she gains a
new speical skill. For example, when a Mage's Intelligence reaches 100, the
Mage gains a special skill called Power Cast that allows the Mage's spells
to penetrate the high-level monsters' 100% Resistances.
The special skills are:
Strength: Power Strike.
Intelligence: Power Cast.
Piety: Iron Will.
Vitality: Iron Skin.
Dexterity: Reflection.
Speed: Snakespeed.
Senses: Eagle Eye.
When, for instance, Ranger and Samurai reach Level 5+ and can learn
spells, they should choose either defensive spells that heal (Heal Wounds,
&c), or offensive spells that affect multiple targets (Sleep, Terror, Web,
&c).
Let Priest and Mage choose spells that cure, heal, or protect the party
(Armourplate, Bless, Heal Wounds, &c), and spells that affect or damage one
or more targets (Energy Blast, Frost, Sleep, Terror, Web, &c)
Later (2002.01.30): When a chara levels up, the player can't allocate
points to a skill that's 75 or above.
After my chara were Level 5-6 and began recruiting NPCs, when they
gained levels, I improved their attributes this way and hoped some of their
attributes eventually hit 100:
Warrior-type:  Dexterity, Strength, Vitality
Priest-type:   Dexterity, Piety, Vitality
Mage-type:     Dexterity, Intelligence, Vitality
Also, instead of a Priest and a Mage, maybe my party should've started
with a Priest and a Bishop, with the Bishop concentrating on Mage-type
spells, because the Bishop uses way better armours and weapons than the
Mage. Though the Bishop's Artifacts bonus is inferior to the Mage's Wizardry
bonus, I'm considering dual-classing my Mage to Bishop.
Later (2002.02.10): As advertised, I dual-classed my Mage 10 to a
Bishop 11. She loses the Wizardry bonus, but can learn more spells and use
better armours, weapons, and items. I also changed her name from Asuka
(Souryuu Asuka Langley) to Maki (Miyamura Yuuko, the former adult video
actress).
3.3  STRATEGIES AND TACTICS
During combat, if the party has no monster in their melee range, or the
player predicts the party can survive one turn of attacks by the monsters
that are already in their melee range, the party can choose to walk or run
in the next turn.
Then, in the next turn, when the party's walk/run is pending, the
monsters will probably move or attack before the party can walk/run. When
the game allows the party to walk/run, the party can cancel the walk/run.
Before the player clicks the "X" to cancel, the chara can adjust the targets
of their weapons. After the player clicks the "X", all the chara
consecutively attack the monsters.
This voluntary delay is useful when, for instance, some monsters
affected by a Terror spell in the previous turn, flee in the current turn.
The delay allows the chara with missile weapons to not attack the fleeing
monsters, switch to melee weapons, and attack the monsters in melee range.
During combat, damaging a spell-casting PC or monster doesn't abort
her/its spell-casting.
Right-click a monster to learn its immunities, if any. For example, in
Arnika, don't bother to Sleep or Terror a Savant Trooper.
When a low- to middle-level party has warriors who can throw spells, in
the first turns of a battle, when the monsters are in missile to thrown
range, the warriors can break up the monsters' formation with Terror,
instead of wasting missile weapon ammo for minimal damage. The Mage can
soften the monsters with Energy Blast and Frost. Then, when some monsters
are in melee range, the Priest and Mage can hinder the monsters and multiply
the other chara's melee weapon damage with Sleep, Terror, and Web.
If the party has a Bard, remember to use the Poet's Lute to Sleep the
monsters.
(BTW, a sleeping or unconscious Humanoid remains standing. A sleeping
or unconscious flying monster (bat, &c) floats in the air.)
[From Miguel Sanchez (2002.01.17):
If you go to somewhere that is "restricted" while you are in Marten's
Bluff, just stand