BMK BMK ...For a few moments they stared down into the darkness that the stairway descended into. It was a terrifying time for them. Never before had they faced such danger. Never. True, they were skilled enough, a life of seemingly constant training had seen to that. On previous adventures they had known fear and faced danger, but all those times seemed like child's-play to them now. Today, they were going to face the power of Lord Chaos himself, a man, no, a thing, who looked on happiness as a disease. Zed kicked a small stone down the steps, it continued its descent for some time. "Come on," started Gothmog, "The sooner we go in, the sooner we will come out," and so with that Zed started down the steps, the others not too far behind.... The Bitmap Kid Presents, The Second edition of a multi-part guide to, DDDDDD UU UU NNNNN GGGGGG EEEEEE OOOOO NNNNN DD DD UU UU NN NN GG EE OO OO NN NN DD DD UU UU NN NN GG GGG EEEEEE OO OO NN NN DD DD UU UU NN NN GG GG EE OO OO NN NN DDDDDD UUUUU NN NN GGGGG EEEEEE OOOOO NN NN MMMMMM AA SSSSSS TTTTTTTT EEEEEE RRRRRR MM MM MM AA AA SS TT EE RR RR MM MM MM AA AA AA SSSSS TT EEEEEE RRRRRR MM MM MM AA AA SS TT EE RR RR MM MM MM AA AA SSSSSS TT EEEEEE RR RR PART TWO: P L A Y I N G A D V I C E / L E V E L 2 1 - Notes and Mapping Any experienced adventure-game player will tell you it is a good idea to keep maps, and sometimes notes as well. Any experienced Dungeon Master player will tell you that keeping both are absolutely vital. To a player new to the game, keeping good maps and clear notes will normally seem like a total hindrance, taking up a lot of time and effort. But I assure you that getting lost, or forgetting a clue or where an item needed later is, will take you a hell of a lot longer than if you just took your time a bit in the first place. It is best to map using a large sheet of squared paper. Start near the middle, a lot of dungeons surround the stairway in all directions so starting on the edge of the paper would be foolish. Paper allowing, make each 'step' the party takes represent one square, this should give you enough room to add fountains, pits etc. If possible mark in things you find as you find them, even if you pick it up. If you get killed, you'll know where the object you found before was, but make sure you make it clear if it was picked up or left, you wouldn't want you to travel miles and then find you DID pick it up after all! Remember to mark in EVERYTHING you see that you can interact with, even if it is just ANOTHER pair of shoes or whatever that you think you could not possibly want, later in the game, you might just need them. Always use a pencil to map, it can be easy to make mistakes and if you find a secret entrance once you've drawn a wall, you can rub the wall out (but remember to mark that it was a secret passage!) In your notes, write down details of the dungeon, clues, how you solved puzzles etc, they will also be handy in the long run. However, noting spells will no longer be necessary, see below... 2 - Spells A very difficult area in the game. Trying to figure out spells by guessing or even careful studying of the manual can take forever, and spell scrolls are few and far between. So, being the generous soul I am, I have listed most (if not all) in a separate file. Aren't I kind? (Anyone who just said 'no' can leave right now!) More Mana: You will often find that your champion has not enough mana, but enough experience to cast a spell, there is an easy way to combat this. Simply cast as much of the spell as you can and then make your champions sleep. The casters' mana will rise and when you awaken them you will be able to cast the rest of the spell! A similar process can be used to prepare spells for later in the game. Make your champions cast the spells you want, but don't cast them forth. Now make your champions sleep and awaken then when their mana has been topped up. When you need your spells (ie, if you come into a surprise battle) THEN you can cast them forth, casting spells while fighting can cost you valuable time! Once you've done that you can continue with the normal fighting tactics. 3 - Clothing. All of the armour found should be worn by your fighters, if you find say, two helms and both your fighters have one already, determine which is the best to keep or wear and keep it! For your magic users, give them as much protective clothing as possible; armour will probably slow them down etc... Most armour is okay, but never wear armour dropped by the Chaos Knights, it is cursed and will bring you no good! Look out for SPECIAL armour in later levels though, (Flamebrain, plus or minus twelve antifire; Armour of Darc, level 12, helps camouflage you; Armour of Lyte, level 10-12, is very light) they will help you greatly. 4 - Food and Drink. Food and drink is found in abundance in the first levels, SO DON'T WASTE IT!! Only eat and drink when your champions' food and water bars have turned, or are just about to turn, yellow, which means they are hungry. If you eat and drink too often you will find yourself without any food or water by level four! Carry as much food & drink as you can and if you don't have enough space keep it in chests. 5 - Creatures. Although it may not seem like it to a new player, there are loads and loads of different creatures deeper in the dungeon which, like the champs themselves, all have their own strengths and weaknesses. In some places in the dungeon, creatures can 'regenerate', which means more of the same monsters can re-enforce the first lot. If you find a load of regenerating Screamers for example (level 3?), you will have an infinite food supply! A few creatures carry objects, and when you kill them you can take their booty! To help you out a bit more I've listed all of the nasties and the best form of attack in a separate file. Have a look in a minute. 6 - Fighting Although there are many different ways to fight many different monsters, there are a few basic skills that will work on most of the baddies. Advance/Retreat fighting. This involves attacking the creature, normally with everything you've got and for as long as you can, or before they can strike back, then retreating to a safe place, normally behind a door, and then recovering (sleeping), and preparing for the next battle (re-arming and spell casting). If you've got a real hard enemy to deal with, try luring it to a stairway (which is safe at the other end) and then attacking. When your party gets into trouble you can back off to the stairs and get ready for the next fight, the beast won't be able to follow! Pre-spell casting (again). As I explained before, cast as much of the spell you can, sleep if you need more mana, and THEN go into battle. (In other words you don't have to cast spells and use them straight away.) 7 - Training Training your champions can really boost your chances of success. Using weaker magic users: It is a good idea to train your weaker magic users in case your stronger magic users get killed or lose all their mana. Select a spell you want to teach your weaker magic users and keep trying to get them to cast it. Once they get it right get them to cast it a few more times and then try a higher level spell, their experience should come up well so you're not left with very little magic if your main wizard gets killed. 8 - Some Special Items The Master key on level twelve opens a door on level seven. There is a Ruby key on level eleven that also opens a door on level seven. The Winged key on level seven, gets you to the dragon down in level fourteen. The famed RA keys are on levels three, seven, nine and twelve; they open the four doors on level seven. It has been said, by a wise man, that the rabbit's foot aids luck in battles... ...if you carry it in the right place... ******** Next time I'll be telling you about and a run-down on level 3! (The second level if you discount the Hall of Champions.) Note: Look out for my PD disk coming out some time this year (hopefully). It will be the best DM hint/map disk around (honest!) with the clearest maps, rundowns and tips available! I'll cover all items in this guide there as well - don't miss it! @~(ANOTHER ad? - Sue.) BMK BMK