Status Screen

Double clicking on a character’s portrait calls up the first page of the party’s status screen. It reviews your characters’ names, races and attributes, as well as their equipment, weapons and armor. Press Ctrl+E simultaneously in order to see a list of party members. Then choose one character from the list by typing the number of his or her line or by clicking on the line. In addition to the above information, the amount of gold and rations of the entire party will be shown. The status screen pools gold and food in order to avoid circumstantial exchanges between characters. The second page of the status screen is loaded by typing M or by clicking on More. This gives you the name, race, skills, spells, linguistic competence and runes of the character examined. If the character’s condition is other than normal an additional display, located between the Drop and More options, will show the state he or she is in (e.g. poisoned).

If you want to abort an action you have begun to perform on page 1 of the status screen, simply press Esc.

Equip - equipping a character’s items

Your characters begin the game with basic equipment stowed in their backpacks. The party will also find, purchase or otherwise obtain various items during their journey.

In order to be able to use items (e.g. in combat) you need to mark them in the character’s status screen.

Click on the item you wish to equip. It will then be marked by a diamond at the end of the line to show that it is equipped.

If you are playing with the keyboard, type E in order to highlight the first item of the character’s inventory list. Use the up and down arrow keys to highlight the item you wish to equip, then press Enter.The item is now marked by a diamond and is ready for use.

Vice versa, if you wish to unequip an item, simply click on its line or press E, highlight the item with the up and down arrow keys and press Enter to confirm. The diamond behind the item will disappear, indicating that this piece of equipment is no longer ready for use.

Transfer - exchanging items

If a character is loaded with items or cannot use or identify an item found, it might help to give the item to another member of the party. In order to do this, press T to highlight the person’s inventory. Use the up and down keys to choose an item, then confirm by pressing Enter. This will highlight the list of characters on the right-hand side of the screen. Choose a character to receive the item and confirm by pressing Enter. A short message will tell you whether transfer was successful. If you are using a mouse, just click on the item in question, then on the person to receive it.

Drop - throwing items away

Should one of your heroes be carrying up to capacity (i.e. 16 items) it might make sense to drop a piece of minor importance or value. Otherwise, this character will not be able to take any more important items he or she may still come across.

Type D, highlight the item you no longer have use for and confirm with Enter. Alternatively, click on the item with your mouse, then click on Drop. In either case the program will now ask you whether you really want to drop the item. This avoids inadvertent loss of equipment. If you do not want to lose the item after all, press N or click on No. You are then spared the loss. If you are sure you do want to get rid of the item, press J or click on Yes. Beware - once dropped, an item is gone forever. Too many inquisitive figures roam the land and will be quick to snatch anything that could be of use or value.

Status screen - viewing other characters

The right-hand side of the status screen displays a list of up to five more characters in your party. In order to view one of them just type the corresponding number. The characters are numbered from top to bottom. Hence, if you wish to view the person at the top of the list, type 1. typing 5 would call up the statistics of the person in the bottom line. If you are using a mouse, simply double click on the character at the right-hand side of the screen.

More - viewing page 2 of the status screen

To turn from page 1 of the status screen to page 2, type M or click on More.

Leaving the statue screen

Press Q to exit the first page of the status screen and return to the game. Alternatively, click on Quit in the upper left-hand corner of the status screen.

Actions on page 2 of the status screen

If you wish to abort an action you have begun performing on page 2 of the status screen, simply press Esc.

Skill - activating, or deactivating a magical talent

Every character begins the adventure with one skill. The magical dust of Lamarge will allow the acquisition and perfection of further skills. A skill must be activated in the status screen of a character in order to have an effect. Double click on the skill you wish to activate. A diamond will appear behind it to show that it can now be used. With a keyboard, press S to highlight the character’s first skill. Use the up and down arrow keys to choose a skill and activate it by pressing Enter. It is now ready for use and marked by a diamond. For deactivating a skill, double click on it or press S, highlight it with the arrow keys and press Enter.

Rename - altering the name of spell

When a spell is generated in a rune temple it will appear in the character’s status screen. Its name will be shown as?. A short note behind the spell name informs you of the amount of energy required to cast this spell. In order to remember the meaning of a spell you should replace its question mark by a name suggestive of its use.

Type R in order to change the spell name. Use the up and down arrow keys to highlight the spell you would like to rename, then press Enter. You can now type a name of up to seven letters or numbers.

Typing Backspace allows you to delete digits. Confirm your choice with Enter. You can change names with the mouse by clicking on the spell in question. Its name must be typed manually, though.

Wipe out Spell - deleting a spell

Your characters will create a good deal of spells in the course of their adventure. At one stage their capacity will be exhausted. The number of spells a person can learn depends (among others) on their race anal experience. If a character wishes to learn an important new spell, he or she may be forced to delete one already known.

Type W and choose the spell you need to erase with the arrow keys. Enter will remove this spell from the character’s list. Double clicking on the spell with the mouse will also delete it.

In either case, the program will ask you if you are sure you want to lose this spell. This prevents you from inadvertently losing your most powerful combat magic. If you do want to erase a spell, confirm by typing J or by clicking on Yes. If the program’s inquiry has just saved you from a fatal error, quickly type N or click on No.

Trade - exchanging runes

When your party finds a rune it will be picked up by a character carrying less than four runes. If you want another party member to carry it, type T. The upper right-hand part of the screen will now display the familiar highlighted rectangle. Choose a rune to be traded with the arrow keys and confirm by pressing Enter. This highlights the list of characters on the right-hand side of the screen. Use the arrows to choose the person to receive the rune and press Enter again. Alternatively, click on the rune, then on the character to receive it in order to trade the rune. A short message will then inform you whether the transaction was successful.

Status screen of other characters

There also is a list of up to five other party members on the right-hand side of page 2 of the status screen. If you want to view page 2 of another character’s status screen, just type their number. The characters are numbered by order. For example, typing 1 would call up the statistics of the character in the top line.

Typing 5 would display the statistics of the character in the bottom line. With a mouse, double click on the character in question at the right-hand side of the screen.

Back - turning back to page 1 of the status screen

In order to turn back from page 2 of the status screen to page 1 simply type B or click on BACK.

Leaving the status screen

If you wish to return to the game from the status screen, just type Q or click on the Quit icon in the upper left-hand corner of the status screen. You can then resume your game.