User manual GAMES PC THE BARD S TALE III

[. . . ] The Bard's Tale III The Bard's TM Tale III The Bard's Tale IIITM Contents Introduction Objectives Getting Started The Command Summary Card Pre-Built Parties Creating Characters Viewing Your Characters Onscreen Statistics Special Characters Moving Up In Levels Places Combat Systems Items And Equipment Magic Users Conjurer Spells Magician Spells Sorcerer Spells Wizard Spells Archmage Spells Chronomancer Spells Geomancer Spells Bard Songs 95 94 97 97 98 98 102 104 104 105 106 107 109 110 112 114 116 118 120 121 122 124 The Bard's Tale III The Bard's Tale III The Bard's Tale IIITM INTRODUCTION I lay dying. . . I pray my body does not fail me before I am able to complete this most important missive. I pray as well that, somehow, the heroes who once before saved Skara Brae will find this accounting and act upon it. I leave this record so those who come after will know what horrors that the Mad God Tarjan has perpetrated, and so that they will not be lulled into believing that Skara Brae was his sole target. [. . . ] It will disarm any trap, including the Gas Cloud trap, famous for its toxic fumes. · Make sure all members of your party are fully healed before entering a new dungeon. You'll need all your strength for the next onslaught. The Bard's Tale III COMBAT SYSTEM or not fighting is your fare, prepare to partake in much of it. Without advancement, you are little more than a hapless bunch, doomed to wander the world with a purpose forever unfulfilled. You can't physically attack enemies more than 10 feet (10') away. However, you can't advance on them if there is another group already within the 10' melee range. Whoever is closest in the 10' melee range are the lucky monsters who will get to do battle with your party first. In each round, you need to enter a battle action for each party member. 107 Mapping So your exploring efforts aren't wasted, or unnecessarily repeated, you should map your moves. Each "step" you take equals a graph box (which is ten feet from a character's point of view). To aid your mapping, Thief of Fate has an automap feature (refer to the Command Summary Card for the command). If you're outdoors, you'll see a description of where you are and the general time of day. . If you're in a dungeon, you'll see a sketch of the corridors. Mazes also contain one-of-a-kind magic items and spell regeneration zones. In addition to keeping you alive, carefully drawn maps will show the logical places for secret doors and rooms. 106 Whether The Bard's Tale IIITM Attack Foes: This sends you headlong into battle with weapons drawn. Attacking a foe doesn't equip a character with a weapon; that must be done before combat. You'll pass on the opportunity to perform any action, which may be a wise move if you're injured. Party Attack: You will turn on a member in your party, including special members. Useful if one of your characters has been possessed and needs a good beating or if somebody who has joined your party is giving you trouble. Use an Item: You will use a magic item or missile weapon that you've prepared for use. Your presence might go undetected as the combat round commences and you'll get to advance 10 feet. If you attack an enemy in the next round who is at your range or less, you have a good chance of getting a critical hit (one that kills) because you'll be striking at the monster from behind. The first four characters in your party can be physically attacked by monsters and can also retaliate. [. . . ] GILL, 10, Party, Medium Gilles Gills - This survival spell lets your party breathe under water. It is cumulative in effect; casting it more than once will extend the amount of time you can spend underwater. DIVA, 250, All Foes/Party, Misc Divine Intervention - This powerful spell earns its name by doing the following: 1) Turns illusionary characters into real characters; 2) Cures characters of all illnesses but age; and 3) Restores all hit points to the party. If you're in combat, it also does the following: 1) Lowers your armor class, saving throw, to hit, and damage by 20 points; 2) Increases your attack by eight points; and 3) Casts Mangar's Mallet. [. . . ]