LoK Kompanion

All credit for this excellent guide should be given to its author and contributors as listed below. This work is the result of a tremendous effort on the part of many people.

As I was reading through this guide, I noticed that it needed a bit of clarity on several points, and I have done my best to revise the Kompanion to better convey the wisdom contained in these pages. As I was editing this document, I decided to convert it into HTML so that it may be placed directly on LOK based webpages as a virtually unabridged resource for information. Please note that this is the very first web-based release of the Kompanion, and, despite my efforts, there is likely to be a bug or an incorrect fact here and there. Please do not hesitate to e-mail me at e_ness@softhome.net with your comments, complaints, or suggestions.

-Revenant

1.2: A Word From the Author

The Legends of Kesmai is a community oriented, multi-player, role playing game. Legends is set on the fantasy Island of Kesmai where wizards, thaumaturges, fighter/knights, martial artists, and thieves band together to explore and face the many dangers of the island with the use of magic, prowess, and pure brute strength.

It is a combat oriented game that emphasizes tactical challenges. There is no single objective to the game; the game is open-ended. Players pursue various ambitions: skill, discovery, adventure, wealth, power, and ability to help others; often pursuing these ambitions over several characters' lifetimes. The game has proven to be enormously compelling.

This manual is an unofficial guide to the game. Original LOK edition was completed by Treyner (treyner@aol.com) in March 1998. Updated charts, tables, quest and general information submitted by Maggie (LOKSMaggie@aol.com), Malachi.Doom (LegendsHC@aol.com) and Fang..Zand (LOKSBronze@aol.com). Other sources of information include the IOK Kesmai Kompanion, LOK help files (available both in game and offline) and LOKs FAQs.

I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the updating of this manual. The IOK version of this manual had been for many years the primary source for help and reference to the game. I hope that you find the material contained in this manual informative and helpful. This manual is not solely directed towards newbies. The seasoned veterans can use it from time to time to help with their gaming needs. The manual was originally created by TJ, revised and updated by Sir.James, and the final IoK edition edited by, GreyMouser. The torch was passed to Stryker who was the first to update this manual to the LOK version and now it has come to me to carry on the tradition of passing on the great wisdom of present and past players. Hopefully, someday a new author will come along and carry on the tradition of updating the manual to reflect the changes in future versions of LOK. (The current version is LoK version 1.11). I hope that reading this manual will better enable you to play the game with increased knowledge and wisdom. As for now, keep playing Legends of Kesmai - it is the greatest online RPG of all time! If you have any questions about the game or the LoK Kompanion, e-mail me at treyner@aol.com.

Visit The TWB Homepage or http://members.aol.com/treyner for maps and links to other Legends web sites.

- Treyner

Beware: the information in this manual outlines specific details and solutions to all aspects of the game. If you are interested in solving the secrets of the game without help and enjoy the sense of accomplishment and discovery then put this manual down and read no further.

Disclaimer

I have made every effort to determine that the information in this guide is accurate. I assume no responsibility for deaths or losses that may result from any incorrect information or the use of the information in this manual. This is a fully independent edition and is not affiliated with, authorized, or sponsored by The Kesmai Corporation. All products and characters mentioned in this guide are trademarks of their respective companies.

Section Two: System Requirements

Before you can venture forth in the Lands of LOK it is necessary to have the right equipment and install the software. Hardware requirements are different for each provider.

2.1: Hardware Requirements

2.1.1: Game Storm Requirements

Windows 95 or higher
Minimum 66 MHz 486
SVGA graphics card
8MB RAM (16MB recommended)
60MB hard drive space available
9,600 baud modem

2.1.2: Other Gaming Services

Windows(tm)3.1 or higher
66 MHz 486
SVGA graphics card
8 MB RAM Win95 (16 MB RAM recommended)Win 3.11 16 MB RAM required
9,600-baud modem
W32S13.C.EXE required for Win 3.11

There are no plans at this time to support Macs or Amigas. LOK supports IBM and compatibles only.

2.2: Front-End Programs (FE)

Before you can play Legends of Kesmai you will need the appropriate Front End (FE) software. Each Gaming service that provides Legends has the FE available as a download at their site.

2.3: Providers

A list of providers that access Legends of Kesmai can be found on the Kesmai web site at WWW.KESMAI.COM

Section Three: Conduct and Etiquette

3.1 RULES OF CONDUCT

The rules of conduct are a set of rules that every player must abide by when they are playing in Legends. These rules are always in place and enforced. A complete outline of the Rules of conduct is located at http://www.gamestorm.com/adventure/legends/howtoplay/rules.html and in the legends help files. It is advisable to familiarize yourself with these rules prior to entering the game. There are severe penalties for those who violate these rules.

Rules of Conduct Violations include but not limited to the following:

Vulgarity/Sexually Explicit Language
Harassment/Personal Threats
Scrolling
Game/Room Disruption
Impersonation
Advertising & Commercial Activities
Unacceptable Discussion
Abusive Behavior
Unacceptable Character Names/Email Addresses
Bug Abuse
Scripting
Player Killing Under the Circumstances Described Below

3.2: Player Killing (Pking)

Player Killing is the act of killing a character controlled by an actual person, known as a player character or PC for short. Although player killing is not a violation of the Rules of Conduct, it is highly discouraged by the ghods and is not in the spirit of the game. The one exception to this is intentionally setting one's self denfense flag in order to PK without incurring a mark. The player community as a whole disapproves of player killing and will generally take the appropriate action to maintain a peaceful balance in the community. Kesmai and their guide assistants will not involve themselves in player killings unless the PK violates the Rules of Conduct. Since the ghods of Kesmai highly discourage PKing, all players of all alignments are encouraged to live in peace and harmony with one another.

3.3: Marks

The mark system was set up by the ghods to discourage players from killing other players. Players get marks on their account, not their individual characters, when they kill another player. This is true whether the killing was intentional or accidental. If a player receives more than 3 marks on his account he will be locked out of the game until one of the marks is forgiven by the player he as killed. If you are killed accidentally you may at any time forgive the player that killed you. From the conference room click "Rules" in the upper right corner, then click "Forgive," then type in the name of the person who killed you. A mark may also be forgiven in game by typing in the command "Forgive <name>". Note that to use this method, the player must be in the same facet and land as you. Marks will expire over time. The more you have the longer it takes. One (1) mark will expire in two (2) weeks. If you have two (2) marks the first will expire in four (4) weeks and the second will expire in two (2) weeks equaling a total of six (6) weeks for two (2) marks. If you have three (3) marks the first mark will expire in six (6) weeks, the second in four (4) weeks and the third in two (2) weeks equaling a total of twelve (12) weeks for the three (3) marks. Kesmai will under no circumstances remove marks from a players account. Marks apply to all player classes and alignments. Its highly recommended not to kill other players.

3.4: Karma and Alignment

All characters in the game have a certain alignment. Most of the players are lawfuls (Blue names), which means they are in good standing in the various communities. Most of the crits are "chaotic" (signified by a yellow name) or "evil" (signified by a red name). Chaotics will attack all non-chaotics; evils will attack non-evils. Occasionally chaotic and evil crits can be found in combat with one another.

Thieves are neutral players (Green name), although they appear to everyone except Knights to be lawful fighters. Thieves will be attacked on sight by the NPC Knights in towns such as the sheriff and his deputies; but will not be bothered by other NPCs or statues that live in or guard the towns.

Wizards or thaumaturges who cast terrain altering spells such as lightning, fire, illusions, portal, darkness, etc. inside town limits will turn neutral immediately, and will be seen as neutral by all. They will immediately be attacked by all lawful NPCs. The only way they can be restored to lawful status is by taking a silver dagger or tiger figurine to the confessor ghost. In Kesmai, for example, one would take the dagger or figurine to the northeast corner of the temple, drop the dagger or figurine in the ghost's hex, and type, "Ghost, forgive me". Any player that slays a lawful character will likewise turn neutral. Some terrain spells may result in the inadvertent killing of a lawful crit or player, so special care must be taken when casting these spells. If the lawful character that was killed was "human" (another player or an NPC) the killer will also receive a karma point and a mark against his account.

Karma is revealed by using the "show stats" command or under your player information by hitting Alt-I. If you have taken one karma point, you will be told "You have killed one lawful." If you have two karma points, it would be "two lawfuls", etc. If a player has three or more karma points, the player's alignment may be changed to evil, and the player will not be resurrected upon dying.

Karma can be removed by the confessor ghost, as well. The price demanded is a tiger figurine which may be difficult for a new player to obtain. Drop the figurine in the ghost's hex, and say, "Ghost, forgive me".

Weapons may also have an alignment. Broadswords, greataxes, return-hammers (rhammers), and several staves are lawful and cannot be used by non-lawful players. In addition, lawful weapons give an extra combat add when used against evil characters, which means the weapon will hit harder or block better.

3.5: Player Etiquette

What makes Legends unique is the player community. The cooperation and camaradery of the players strengthens the community which allows the players to have an enjoyable gaming experience. Proper conduct within the community is very important in maintaining a peaceful environment. One way to think about the way players should conduct themselves is the Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. Please keep the following in mind while playing:

3.5.1: Fighting other players

The rules do not forbid players from killing each other but is discouraged by the player community as a whole. There will be times when players do not always agree. Its better to try and work things out before killing each other. Working together in Legends has more benefits than killing each other. No experience will be gained from killing another player.

3.5.2: Stealing from other players

Since some items can take a very long time and a significant amount of expense to obtain, the LoK community takes a very dim view of stealing from other players. If you are running a thief, it may seem most natural to steal from other players, but keep in mind that many players, including most thieves, may take great exception to this and you will find it a dangerous activity. If you should ever come upon a deathpile (the items left after a player is slain and stripped) it is considered good etiquette to try to search out the player who died and return the items to him or her. The rewards that you will realize by participating in the cooperative spirit of the game will far outweigh any you may gain by theft. Keep in mind that you will most likely die eventually and you will want help in the recovery of your things.

3.5.3: Matters of Etiquette

When you come across a player involved in combat with a crit or group of crits, look at the player and ask if he/she would like a hand. If the player is near death, it might be wise to lend a hand even before waiting for the reply. But keep in mind that a player who has fought long and hard to bring a crit to near death will not be pleased if you were to deal the deathblow, taking the experience points and skill bonus involved.

As you enter a room with several loot piles and a player is involved with a crit or two, realize that some of the loot piles may represent recent kills that player has made and not yet had time to loot. Do not scavange these piles without first asking.

Lair etiquette operates on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you come to a dragon or drake lair and find another player engaged or waiting ahead of you do not engage the crit without being asked. Offers of help may be appreciated and there is always the possibility that the loot might be shared once the beast is slain. Simply ask first.

3.6: Getting Help from Fellow Players

Legends of Kesmai players are among the kindest and most social online gamers around. Oftentimes, experienced players will be more than willing to help you out by offering advice, weapons, armor, or items, and most players will even guide you and escort you to certain areas of the game if you ask them to. If you need help, do not be afraid to ask for help. Making great companions can prove to be very rewarding and beneficial. Do be aware that a polite request for assistance is far more likely to yield results than whining, shouting, begging, or insulting.

3.7: Guides

KesCorp has been gracious enough to make Guides available at certain times to assist the players. Guides can be identified by the [GUIDE] tag in front of their names. Guides are experienced players that have volunteered their time in helping to make the game an enjoyable experience. Guides are not game encyclopaedia and do not know everything about the game, but they will assist when they can. Guides are restricted in the amount of information they may disclose and to what extent they can assist players. Guides are working people and do not exist to hunt the dungeons with players, help players retrieve deathpiles, go on quests with players, be a player's punching bag or cast spells for players' amusement. The guides responsibilities include, but are not limited to, assisting new players in becoming familiar with the game, directing players to information sources, and watching for Rules of Conduct violations. A guide giving out information and advice is only doing so at the request or prompting of the players and do not purposely give out false information. Players must remember that the game is played at one's own risk and living through any situation depends on one's skills and abilities.

3.8: Information Resources

Use the Forum

There are a number of forums available where you can obtain and pass on information, post and read messages, get updates from KesCorp, and get technical help. It is highly recommended that you check these forums periodically. You can find Forums on the Gamestorm web site Community page, Compuserve in the Gamestorm forum at GO Kesmai and AOL at keyword Legends. Some of the players have developed and dedicated web sites to Legends which are filled with information.

In addition, the file libraries in these forums contain many reference files, stories, maps, and other notes about the game. Downloading these to your computer and examining them carefully will serve to uncover alot of useful information. Perhaps the most important file to you right now is called KES-KEYS.JPG - a map of the land of Kesmai; a must until you have the place memorized. It is reccommended that you do not begin to play until you have, at the very least, downloaded this map. You can find the Kesmai map as well as other maps and useful information at http://members.aol.com/treyner.

3.9: Contests and Special Events

Occasionally Kesmai Corp will organize special contests or events. These events are in the form of scavenger hunts, races, etc. The winner of the contest as well as those that help organize and run the events are often rewarded for their efforts with a prize. Participating in these events is a wise decision.

3.10: Deletion of your Character

You can have up to 8 different characters per account. Your characters are stored on the Kesmai game server; not your hard drive. However, once a character is created it cannot be deleted. You have the option of overwriting, renaming, or just keeping your characters. Characters which are not used for an extended period of time are subject to deletion at the whim of KesCorp in order to make available space for other players' characters.

Section Four: Creating a Character

The first step is to create your character. (Commonly called "rolling a character"). When you play Legends for the first time, you are automatically brought to the Character Creation Screen. From here, you can select your character's profession (class), appearance, primary statistics, gender, and name. Here are a couple of suggestions for your first character: First, recognize that it will probably not be a "keeper" character; in other words, you will probably be killed several times as you learn the manner of the game, and your character will eventually die once too often, and you will want to create another. In the beginning, this is no great tragedy; in fact, you should plan on it as you learn the game and begin preparations for an eventual "keeper" character. Secondly, for your first character, you may wish to choose a Fighter or a Martial Artist. These characters are the simplest to run and they are the hardiest characters in the game. A common practice is to gather wealth and weapons for one's "keeper" character with his first few characters. In this way the keeper character has gold with which to purchase levels, training, and other necessaties. Often a character-tied weapon is ancestored to the new character, which is a practice described in full detail later in this manual.

4.1: Naming Your Character

After you are done "rolling" your character, you will be asked to name it. Players can change their character's name every 7 days. There are no traditional conventions for naming except that the name may not be vulgar, sexually explicit, or offensive. Guild tags follow a few dots behind character names, i.e., Crafty.Zig, Mighty..LDR, Granny.Tuf. Guild tags should only be used if you start a guild or you are accepted into a guild. Existing guilds do not approve of players using their guild tags unless the player has been formally accepted into their guild.

Beyond guild names, there are few other considerations. Humor, self-deprecation, and imagination are appreciated by other players. So too are literary, mythical, and historical allusions. Pick a name that complements the role you envision for your character. Thaumaturges are religious zealots, wizards are stuffy intellectuals, thieves are sly and unobtrusive, knights may be chivalrous heroes or bashing brawlers, and martial artists have a wealth of history behind them.

4.2: Gender and Nationality

You will be asked to choose your character's sex and nationality. Gender is merely cosmetic. There is no difference in skills or capacities between the sexes.

Nationality is somewhat more important in that certain nationalities have slightly better starting skill levels. There are eight choices of nationality: Illyria, Mu, Lemuria, Leng, Draznia, Hovath, Mnar and a kind of non-national Barbarian.

4.3: Character Class

Your character class is the most important decision you will make. A discussion of each class follows.

4.3.1: Fighter/Knight

Running a fighter traditionally has been the most popular choice. It is an especially good choice for first time players. Fighters rely on weapon skills and strength to kill opponents and blocking skill and dexterity to avoid opponents' weapons. Fighters gain vital experience points rapidly and are given a higher number of hit points than any other class except martial artists. When fighters are knighted they gain magical powers that enhance their weapons, enable them to locate opponents and allies, increase their strength, and heal wounds during combat

There are disadvantages, however. Fighters are able to fight only one opponent at time in direct combat and must choose fight or flight when faced with overwhelming odds.

4.3.2: Martial Artist

Martial artist (MA) characters are for the action oriented player. They are fast, nimble and possess extraordinary ability to block opponents' blows. At higher skill levels they have offensive blows that exceed all other fighting classes. But because they must engage in direct hand to hand combat, the life of martial artists is as dangerous as it is exciting. Martial artists receive many hit points and acquire skills and experience rapidly.

This is not a difficult class to begin with, as equipment needs are minimal, and it offers much power to the player at higher levels. It requires, however, much patience during the middle skill levels. Opponent armor will frequently block a martial arts attack, and oftentimes the MA will not have enough HP to survive anything more than a brief stun. Moreover, martial artists who choose to wear armor to protect them while stunned will find their weapon blocking abilities severely limited.

4.3.3: Wizard

Wizards rely almost entirely on magic for their play. Highest level wizards are, arguably, the most powerful characters in the game. Even at middle experience levels, wizards possess terrain spells that can clear rooms full of opponents. Intelligence and dexterity are extremely important for this character class. Additionally, wizards are gifted with powerful shielding spells which are especially effective against missile weapons.

However, there are several disadvantages for this class. A low level wizard spends most of his time running for his life. To balance the awesome powers of the magic spells wizards can acquire, a wizard gets considerably less hit points to work with. This is why beginning players should consider a fighter or MA as a first character.

4.3.4: Thaumaturge

Thaumaturges are the LoK version of warrior/priests. They are a compromise between pure magic users and pure head bashers like fighters and MAs. Thaums, for short, are easier to train with standard weapons and are somewhat more durable than wizards. Like wizards, they have powerful spells and higher level thaums can even summon phantasms of various sorts to assist them. The main drawback is that their spells are more restricted than wizards'. Whereas a wizard has a number of area type spells such as fireballs and icestorms, a thaum's spells are more tailored for one-on-one combat, which can be awkward at times since most of the critters and other nasties like to gang up on adventurers.

4.3.5: Thief

The final class of characters to consider is the thief. Running a thief is both infuriating and exciting. The biggest strength of the thief class is the ability to hide. Thieves can use this power early in their careers to penetrate the lairs of dragons and drakes, the castle of the giant, and rooms full of opponents (if careful) without detection.

Also, although not terribly effective until a high thievery skill is achieved, thieves can steal. They can steal goodies from players and occasionally not get caught but more often than not a thief will get caught and set the player's self defense flag. Thievery is geared more towards stealing from the critters. To steal from anyone or anything you must be in the same hex. However, the steal command can be tedious and most thieves will develop MA skills. A thief with a high skill level in hand (martial arts) combat is not a character to be trifled with. Thieves also have the ability to appraise gems and rings simply by looking at them.

The down side is that thieves have one of the lowest HP levels of all the classes, second only to the wizard. Another major handicap is that thieves are neutral (their names are green). This means that lawful non-player knights such as the sherrif and his deputies will attack you.

NOTE: Thieves appear to be lawful fighters to all players, crits, and NPCs except knights and higher level thieves. Keep in mind that the sherrif and his deputies are knights.

4.4: Beginning Skills

One aspect to keep in mind is the skill with which your character will begin. The following chart shows what weapons each class in each nationality starts out with, and what their skills are with each weapon. Keep in mind that you can use most any weapon you like (except for thieves, more on that later). Also, remember that the skills at this stage are still fairly low level, and can easily be taken to higher levels.

New Character Starting Skills by Maggie

Fighter
(All nationalities
untrained in Magic
and Theft) Martial Artist
(All nationalities
untrained in Magic Thaum
(All nationalities
untrained in Theft) Wizard
(All nationalities
untrained in Hand and
Theft) Thief

Illyria Ra: Cap
Ma: Awk
Da: Cap
Bo: Awk
Sw: Med
2H: Awk
St: Awk St: Cap
Sw: Med
Sh: Cap
Da: Cap
3s: Med
Ha: Grn
Tf: Clm Ra: Med
Bo: Awk
Da: Med
St: Awk
Sw: Med
2H: Awk
Ma: Awk
Mg: Sha Ra: Med
Da: Med
St: Awk
Sw: Awk
Mg: Apr Da: Cap
Sw: Med
Ra: Med
Sh: Med
Ha: Yel
Tf: Med
Mg: SiS

Mu Ma: Cap
Da: Awk
Fl: Med
2H: Awk
Sw: Awk
St: Awk St: Cap
Sh: Awk
Ma: Cap
3S: Med
Da: Awk
Sw: Awk
Ha: Grn
Tf: Clm Ma: Med
Fl: Awk
Da: Awk
2H: Awk
Mg: Appr Ma: Med
St: Awk
Da: Awk
Fl: Awk
Mg: Aspir Da: Cap
Fl: Awk
Sw: Med
Sw: Med
Ma: Med
Sh: Med
Ha: Yel
Tf: Aver
Mg: MoM

Leng Sw: Cap
Ma: Awk
Da: Med
Ra: Med
Bo: Med
Sh: Awk
St: Med
Ha: Whte Sw: Cap
St: Cap
Bo: Med
3S: Cap
Da: Med
Sh: Awk
Bo: Med
Ha: Blue
Tf: Med Sw: Med
Ra: Awk
Da: Awk
Ma: Awk
St: Awk
Sh: Awk
Bo: Awk
Ha: Whte
Mg: Sha Sw: Med
Ra: Awk
St: Awk
Da: Awk
Mg: Appr Da: Cap
St: Awk
Sw: Med
Ra: Awk
Sh: Med
Bo: Awk
Ha: Yel
Tf: Aver
Mg: MoM
Draznia 2H: Cap
St: Awk
Bo: Cap
Da: Awk
Sw: Cap
Ma: Awk Sw: Med
Da: Med
Bo: Cap
3S: Med
St: Cap
Sh: Med
Ha: Grn
Tf: Clum Sw: Med
Ma: Awk
Bo: Med
St: Awk
2H: Awk
Da: Awk
Mg: Appr Bo: Med
2H: Awk
Sw: Med
St: Awk
Da: Awk
Mg: Appr Da: Cap
Sw: Med
Bo: Med
Sh: Med
Ha: Yel
Tf: Aver
Mg: MoM

Mnar Ma: Cap
St: Awk
Bo: Med
Sh: Awk
Sw: Med
2H: Awk
Da: Med St: Cap
Da: Med
Ma: Cap
3S: Med
Bo: Med
Sh: Awk
Sw: Med
Ha: Grn
Tf: Clum Ma: Med
Sh: Awk
Bo: Awk
2H: Awk
Sw: Awk
Da: Awk
Mg: Appr Ma: Med
Bo: Awk
St: Awk
Da: Awk
Sw: Awk
Mg: Appr Da: Cap
Bo: Awk
Sw: Med
Ma: Med
Sh: Med
Ha: Yel
Tf: Aver
Mg: MoM

Barbar-
ian Ma: Cap
Da: Awk
Sw: Med
St: Awk
Fl: Med
2H: Med Ma: Cap
3S: Med
St: Cap
Da: Awk
Sh: Med
Sw: Med
Ha: Grn
Tf: Clum Ma: Med
Fl: Awk
Sw: Awk
2H: Awk
Da: Awk
St: Awk
Mg: Appr Ma: Med
Fl: Awk
St: Awk
2H: Awk
Da: Awk
Sw: Awk
Mg: Appr Da: Cap
Fl: Awk
Sw: Med
Sh: Med
Ma: Med
Ha: Yel
Tf: Aver
Mg: MoM

Abbreviations - Bo: Bow, Da: Dagger, Fl: Flail, Ha: Halberd, Ma: Mace, Ra: Rapier, Sh: Shuriken, St: Staff, Sw: Sword, 3S: 3-Staff, 2H: 2-Handed Greatsword, Ha: Hand, Tf: Thievery, Mg: Magic; Awk: Awkward, Med: Mediocre, Cap: Capable, Appr: Apprentice, Clum: Clumsy, Aver: Average, Aspir: Aspiring

Fighters: Only the Barbarian tribes give fighters above awkward skill in both mace and greatsword. Only Leng offers any martial arts skill, and only Lemuria bestows halberd skill. All lands except Mu offer above awkward sword skill.

MAs: Only Leng and Hovath start MAs with blue belt. Hovath has the additional attraction of giving capable bow skill for those MAs who like to use bows as range weapons until their jumpkicks become reliable, although Leng also offers bow skill (at mediocre). MAs who like to steal will note Leng's higher thievery skill. Leng also offers the highest 3-staff skill.

Thaums: Unfortunately for thaums who like to use MA skill, only Leng bestows any skill at all, but starts you off in lower magic. For thaums who like to use BBSes and raxes, the only nations who give an above awkward level in at least one of those skills are Mu, Mnar, and the Barbarian Tribes. Hovath and Draznia, however, may be attractive choices since they also add mediocre bow skill to at least a smidgen of mace and/or greatsword skill without sacrificing magic. In addition, Hovath is the only nation to offer above awkward staff skill.

Wizards: Wizards who like BBSs and raxes will find the pickings to be slim. Only the Barbarian Tribes offer both skills while keeping highest in magic. Draznia offers greatsword only where Mu and Mnar offers only Mace. Note, however, that Draznia also offers above awkward bow skill for those beginning mages who need a ranged weapon when their mana runs out. And Hovath offers mediocre staff skill.

Thieves: As all thieves start out equal with dagger, shuriken, and MA skills, it gets down to magic, bow, thievery, and rapier. Only Draznia and Hovath offer decent bow skill without sacrificing magic or theft. Leng, however, offers a bit of rapier skill. Bow is slightly sacrificed for the exchange of rapier, but magic and thievery are not.

4.5: Character Attributes

You will want to adjust your primary stats with the extra character points you are given. All characters start with six basic attributes: Constitution, Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma

Constitution determines one's ability to gain hit points, magic points and stamina points as one advances in the game.

Strength has two numbers, the point value and the combat adds. Point value determines how much you can carry and how rapidly you use up stamina while moving about the game. Each point allows you to carry up to an additional 4,000 coins worth of weight. All items in LoK have weight expressed in coins. Any character who has a strength point value of 14 can carry 56,000 coins if he is completely "naked", wearing no rings, and carrying no additional items. Each additional point increases this value by 4000 coins. All equipment and items add weight. A ring weighs 20 coins, robes weigh 1600 coins, and a bracelet weighs 4 coins. Combat adds increase one's effectiveness with weapons. Each add gives better odds at penetrating opponent armor and inflicting damage. As you gain experience levels, you will gain additional strength adds from time to time, however failure to assign a strength of at least 15 will result in the loss of one strength add. This add can never be recovered, so it is an important consideration when creating your character.

Dexterity also has point and combat adds values. The point value gives one better odds at dodging attacks. The combat adds give one better odds at landing a blow. As with strength, failure to assign a dexterity of less than 15 will result in the loss of one strength add. This add can never be recovered, so it is an important consideration when creating your character.

Intelligence is needed by wizards, thaums, and thieves for spell casting. Intelligence primarily affects how rapidly a character will advance in the magical arts, and how much additional MPs you are likely to gain at each experience level. There are no combat adds.

Wisdom works like intelligence.

Charisma is not currently used.

Of these attributes, each class has certain primary attributes that should be sought.

New Character Creation Statistics by Maggie

Fighter
Inborn Points/Max Limit Martial Artist
Inborn Points/Max Limit Thaumaturge
Inborn Points/Max Limit Wizard
Inborn Points/Max Limit Thief
Inborn Points/Max Limit
Strength 14/18 12/17 12/17 11/16 11/17

Dexterity 14/17 14/18 11/16 11/15 12/18

Intelligence 12/16 12/16 12/17 14/18 14/17

Wisdom 12/16 12/16 14/18 12/17 12/16

Charisma 10/16 10/16 8/16 10/17 10/17

Constitution 14/16 14/18 14/18 14/18 14/18

Creation Points 15 17 20 18 16

Max Limit: This means only the maximum that can be achieved using the new character chreation points. Wizards, for instance, can later increase their strength to 17 by drinking permanent strength potions.

Constitution: Important! Note that unless you assign at least one creation point to Constitution, your new character will fail to start out with the highest hit and stamina points available for your class of character. Once you use that one point, remember that a quick trip to the UW, even with a brand new character, can be a cheap way to increast constitution to 18, thus saving those creation points for other stats not as easily increased later on, such as intelligence and wisdom. Also note that all characters will probably have better luck with their HP rolls on level-ups if their constitution is maxed.

Intelligence and Wisdom: Unless your magic user assigns at least one creation point to intelligence and wisdom, you will not reveice the highest mana points available for your class of character. This affects wizards, thaums, and thieves alike. Wizards and thaums will probably have better luck achieving max magic point rolls during the level-ups if their intelligence and wisdom are maxed. Thieves would do well to max intelligence.

Strength and Dexterity: Unless you assign enough creation points to achieve at least 15 strength and dexterity, your character will fail to accumulate the full adds bestowed during level-ups. This is true even if you later max these stats to 17 using permanent strength and dexterity potions. This affects all classes.

Charisma: Despite rumors to the contrary, charisma is currently inactive in the game.

Section Five: Interfacing with the game

There are two ways of interacting with the game: the mouse and the the command line. These methods are sometimes interchangable, but there are several actions which can only be accomplished using the command line. The mouse may be used to perform actions such as moving your character and indivdual items in the game. Your may also use the text line located below the main display screen. You will see either a set of lips or a sword in the left corner of the text line. To toggle between chat and command modes you can either click on the lips/sword or press Alt-T. A set of lips indicates that you are in chat mode. Chat mode allows you to talk with the other players. You are unable to use commands in chat mode. A sword indicates that you are in command mode and you can perform certain actions as well as chat with other players. To chat while in command mode you must to precede the text with / [forward slash]. There is a list of text commands in appendix A. As you make your way through the lands, you will notice piles of what appear to be treasure lying in various hexes. Each pile may contain anything; an empty bottle, a ring, some gold, a weapon, armor, a potion, a gem, a corpse, or any combination of these things. The best way to tell is to move to the hex with the pile and right click on the ground in your hex. You will see what is on the ground. The command line equivalent to inspect a loot pile is the "Look" command. You can also look in adjacent hexes by right clicking on the desired hex or by typing "Look n", "Look se", etc. If you see something interesting you can move to the hex where the object is. If there you so desire, you can click and drag the item to your hand, sack, or wherever it may fit. You can also type "Take <item> as long as your hand is empty. Your sack is always with you, except in Praetoseba, and holds up to twenty items. When you first arrive in Kesmai the only item in your sack will be a shiny gold coin.

5.1: Dealing with Shop Keepers

Keep in mind that you will not want most of what the shopkeepers have to sell. Occasionally you may want to purchase a special weapon, ring, or suit of armor at the pawn shop. Almost any shopkeeper (with the exception of the banker) will buy almost anything from you. You should be in command mode and must be standing in front of the counter when dealing with the shopkeepers.

The pawn shop is one of the more interesting and valuable shops in the Kesmai segments. The most valuable of all items sold to any shop in town eventually end up for resale to the public in the pawn shop - at three times its value. At first, it seems like quite a rip-off to pay three times the saleable value of an item to obtain it, and for many items this is true. But there are items that are fairly hard to obtain, especially for a new player, and they show up with some regularity in Pawn. A +6 strength ring will appraise for 2000 gold pieces, but sells in the pawn shop for 6000 gps. Yet these rings are rare enough that many players would gladly spend more than that to obtain one. Robes of power appraise for 2500 but sell for 7500 in pawn and are not terribly rare in the -400 ft dungeons of Kesmai. However, they are a good item to be wearing before one ever ventures down that far, so the 7500 coins might not be a bad investment in that sense. Occasionally the pawn shop prices are lower than those of higher level players selling items in the lockers.

5.1.1: Buying and Selling Items

Buying or selling items in the shops is done by standing in front of the counter and right clicking on the counter or using the LOOK command followed by the appropriate direction. When using the mouse, be sure you have clicked on the hex directly north (or south etc.) of where you are standing. If you have a bullseye cursor then you have clicked on the wrong area of the counter and won't be able to put things on or take things off of the counter.

5.1.2: Buying Items

To be able to buy an item from a shop you need to know what the shop has to sell. To see what items are available type "show prices" in the command line and you will get a list of generic items with prices. To see a description of an item, "look at <item> in shop" in the command line. To buy the item right click on the counter, put down the appropriate amount of gold, type "<shopkeeper>, sell <item>" in the command line, then click and drag the item to your hand, sack, or belt. Note that when dealing with any of the NPCs in LOK, it is only necessary to type the first three or four letters of his/her name.

5.1.3: Selling Items

There are two ways to put things on the counter. The first is to open your sack and use the mouse to drag the items one by one from your sack to the counter. The second is to use text commands. "Dump gems on counter" will dump all of the gems in your sack onto the counter. The dump command may be used for rings and bottles as well. To sell the items, type "<shopkeeper>, buy all" and the items will be replaced by an appropriate amount of gold.

5.1.4: Having Items Appraised

A shopkeeper will also appraise items for you. Appraising an item will give you a detailed description of that item, including its magical powers, if any, and its value. To have an item appraised place the item on the counter and type "<shopkeeper>, appraise <item>".

5.2: Character Name Colors

Take note of the color of the names of the crits on screen and the creature list in the upper right section of the screen. Yellow means they are chaotic, red means they are evil, green they are neutral, and blue they are lawful. Yellow and red critters will attack you. In the lower levels of the dungeon you will come across Non Player Characters (NPCs) that appear to be player characters except that their names will be yellow. Do not hesitate to attack and kill them; they are not player characters. Use caution and check all crits before you attack. Red names may be either NPCs or PCs so excercise caution before you attack. Remember that killing a player character will incurr a mark against your account regardless of alignment! The evil player character will not, for the most part, be out to hurt regular players. As a rule of thumb, if it is evil, and it is not a dragon, drake, etc., then it is a fellow player and you should probably not attack. Green means you've encountered a neutral player, and though you may wish to be on guard, you should probably not attack. Neutral players are player characters who have had their alignment changed by either killing another lawful or casting a pathed spell in town. Thieves will not appear to be neutral except to knights and higher level thieves, and in either case are readily distinguishable as thieves. Unless you are sure of the neutral player don't let your guard down, there are a few renegade players that practice the unsavory art of player killing. If another player ever attacks you your self-defense (SD) flag will be set. You can tell when another player has set your SD flag as his/her name will appear purple. If the other player's name is purple to you then you have every right to counter attack and even kill the player. However, be sure that the attack wasn't an accident. Newbie magic users sometimes cast spells that affect a large area and you may find yourself unexpectedly standing in a fire. Find out if it was unintentional and if it was then immediately pet the player. Stand in the same hex as the player with the purple name and type "Pet <name>" in command mode. (Note that as with shopkeepers, typing only the first three or four letters of the name is necessary). Petting the player with the purple name removes the SD flag. If the player has a blue name, it is a lawful player, and potential ally.

Summary:

Yellow -Chaotic (Attack and kill on site. No mark for this kill).
Red --- Evil (Attack and kill only if it is not a player. You will take a mark for the kill if it is a player and SD is not set).
Green--Neutral (Do not attack unless they attack you first. You will take a mark for the kill if your SD is not set).
Blue----Lawful (Do not attack unless they attack you first. You will take both a mark and a karmatic point AND you will change alignment to neutral or possibly even evil if your SD is not set).
Purple-SD flag is set (Attack only if it was an intentional attack by the other. You will not take a mark for the kill).

5.3: Time and Moon Phases

Time and the phases of the moon affect some areas of the game.

Time in the game is based on a two (2) hour day. That is a full day in the game is only two (2) hours long in real time.

Example:

8:05 AM Daytime - Daytime lasts 40 minutes real time.
8:45 AM Sun starts setting - Sun sets for 20 minutes real time.
9:05 AM Night - Night lasts for 40 minutes real time.
9:45 AM Sun starts rising - Sun rises for 20 minutes real time.
10:05 AM Daytime

If you have to enter an area that is only accessible at night then the only time you can get in is during the 40 minutes of night.

Moon phases in the game correspond with the real time moon phases. There are 8 distinct phases with each phase lasting about 3.5 days. A complete cycle takes about 30 days .The phases of the Moon, in sequence of their occurrence, are:

Section Six: Entering Kesmai (Arriving at the Dock)

When you have assigned all of the extra points and are satisfied with your new character, click Accept to go to conference room 1. In the conference room, you can type to talk to other players, if there are any in the room with you. At certain times you will find Guides in conference room 1 who are there to assist new players. Guides have [GUIDE] tags in front of their names. To see who may be in the conference room click on the Users button in the upper right corner of the screen, then click Users In Room. Also in the upper right corner you will find the Message button, used to communicate with players in game, the Find button, used to locate players, the Options button, used to change front end preferences, the Help button where you will find the player's manual and game help, and the Rules button. The Rules button is used to forgive another player's mark (see section 3.3). When you are ready to play Legends, click the big button marked Play! Once in the game you will find yourself standing at the end of a dock - you've just gotten off the boat. Your character is depicted in the center of the game map.

Before you go anywhere, take a minute to review your character's statistics and equipment. Type SHOW STATS in the command line, double click on your character, or hit ALT-I. In the middle left of the screen, you should obtain a readout listing your stats for strength, dexterity and so on, as well as the level and alignment of your character ("You are a level 3 lawful fighter") and your encumbrance ("You are lightly encumbered"). If your encumbrance is moderate or heavy, moving around, especially two or three hexes at a time, will gradually lower your stamina. In that case, you might want to lighten your load. Stamina is indicated by the green vertical line in the lower right corner between the red hit point indicator and, if you are a magic user, the blue mana indicator.

**NOTE: There is currently an encumbrance bug in the game. If you have dropped gold, a corpse, or emptied your sack or belt and you still appear to be heavily encumbered, you can remove and replace a strength ring or armor which will generally remove the bug.

To see what you are carrying on your belt, click on the belt icon. You will see the weapons and any special items you may have on your belt. To belt a weapon, such as your axe, click and drag the weapon from your hand, locker or floor to your belt icon or to your belt. To draw a weapon, click and drag the weapon of your choice to your right hand. To see what is in your sack, click on the sack icon. To remove items from your sack click and drag the item to the spot you want. To add items to sack click and drag the item to your sack. There are text commands available to perform certain tasks such as drawing and belting your weapons. A list of text commands is available in Appendix A.

To move around, double-click a square (hex) in the direction you wish to go. Your character can walk (move one hex at a time), run (two at a time), or sprint (three at a time). You may move a maximum of three hexes at a time. You may also use the command line to move, typing N N N to move 3 hexes north, or use the numeric key pad. If your stamina is low you may only be able to walk. In the dungeons it is best not to sprint until you get a feel for the place; you may sprint right into danger! But in town, as long as you are not carrying too much heavy stuff, you can sprint and save time. Right now, try heading north, toward the top of the screen. After heading north for a little while you will come to a fountain. Go west until you find a set of stairs going up. While standing on the steps, double click the stairs to ascend them and you will appear in the locker room. Once in the locker room you will see a bank of green doors in the southwest corner of the room. These are the lockers. To use the lockers, move to the hex directly in front of the lockers (the far southwestern hex) and double click on the green part of the wall. There may be a great many people in front of the lockers, in which case you will need to wait for a few people to finish before you can squeeze yourself in. Once you get the close up view of the lockers (which looks identical to the wooden floor of the locker room) you can remove items from your sack, belt, or ring box and store them in your locker. You are the only character who can access your locker, which can hold up to 48 items.

The locker room is the place for the new players to hang out. Generally there are experienced players hanging about that can sometimes help with items and information. There is a table in the upper right corner where items are placed by other players. The items left on the table are usually free for the taking. Often there are undesirables hanging out in the locker room so watch yourself. You can get some information about the other characters, by clicking on them or typing "Look at &l;tname>". The information includes: alignment, nationality, sex, class, what kind of armor he/she is wearing and what he/she is holding.

Lets head back down the stairs. The general layout of the town is as follows. To the west of the stairs is the tanner. The bank is just east and south. The sparring ring and weapons trainer is in the building east of the fountain. The building north of the steps is Rolf's tavern where you can sell your loot. South of the bank and to the west are a shop and a martial arts trainer. Southeast of the bank is another shop. South from the bank then down the road to the east is where the pawnshop is located. The thieves guild is located in the pawn shop; search the walls for a secret door. Oskar, the wizard trainer, is located just north of the pawn shop. The sage is northeast of the pawn shop. The recall ring seller is standing just outside of the pawn shop. There are a couple of other shops and vendors in the area. To the North of the fountain there is a large white building. This is the temple. Inside the temple you will find the balm seller, the priest, thaum magic trainer, the confessor ghost and the stairs to the dungeon. Right now, you are probably anxious to get into the dungeons and start hacking away at crits. There are a couple of things you might want to do first.

Section Seven: Packing for Survival

Most importantly, get some balm, or at least some balm berries. Balm berries are the red berries. Balm is a wonderful potion, sold for 16 coins by an NPC in the temple. If you drink a balm you will immediately be healed of any and all damage you have taken. This is an absolute must, because you will take damage! There is a technique to balming which should be learned before entering the dungeon. The technique is to leave your sack open while in combat. As you are taking damage click on a balm and drag it to the button labled "Character Portrait," under and to the left of the open sack display and let go. Your will rapidly heal to full HPs. However, if your HPs are too low and you take damage that drops you to 0 as you are balming, death will occur. If you need to, back off from the fight and then balm. Try to avoid letting your HPs get below half before balming.

Balm berries are not so useful, but at least they are free. If you eat the berries they will heal up to 6 points of damage for each sprig. Balm berries are found by going to the temple, going through the doors to the east, then heading north up the hall, then NE into the garden. Balm berries can also be found throughout all the lands.

To obtain your first few coins for balms, you can look around town for loot which has been dropped by other players. You can take this loot and sell it for a small price to the shopkeepers. (See dealing with the shop keepers in section 6.00). You can often find leftover balms at the balm seller. Someone may have dropped more gold than they needed for balms and left the excess there for others to take. Many higher level players don't think twice about leaving a few balms on the ground for people in need.

The other thing to consider is a recall ring. This is a magical ring that, when removed from your finger, magically transports you to wherever you were when you put it on. Recall rings cost 150 coins, are small gold rings emitting a faint blue glow, and are sold by an NPC just outside of the pawnshop (near a little plaza in east section of town). Thieves have a spell which they use to make recall rings and often leave little piles of recall rings laying around which are usually free. However, as with anything, be sure to ask before picking them up.

At 150 coins, recall rings seem awfully expensive at first, especially since they can be used only once, but they can be well worth the price if they save your life. I recommend that after you buy the ring, you put it on your lower left corner finger. Wearing it on this finger means that in an emergency all you have to do is type "remove ring". In order for the ring to be removed you must have an empty hand. Another possibility is to use the mouse to drag the ring from your finger to an empty hand, the ground, or your sack. Note that the ring will dissapear as soon as it is removed, but in order for it to be removed, you must drag it to a valid location.

One very important thing to remember is to reset your recall every time you facet or portal. You will regret not resetting your recall ring when you are getting badly beaten up by some critters and have absolutely nothing happen when you remove the recall ring. Make sure that the location you are in when you put the ring on is a safe one, as when you transport yourself there magically by removing the ring later you may be near death. Do not put the recall ring on when you are standing in water, or in a doorway, or on a ruined wall. A hint for aspiring wizards: the recall ring should be set in an out of the way place. Accidents can happen with area spells and if you happen to kill something lawful, like the town dog, you will turn neutral. Recalling into the middle of the town square in this condition could be extremely hazardous to your health since all the townspeople will immediately attack any nonlawful character they see.

Since you are just getting started, you don't have much gold with which to buy these nice products. But, if you wander around town and check every loot pile you see, you should soon be able to pick up enough scattered loot, dropped weapons, and other such that you can resell.

If you are the bold type, you can ask any other players you see for a loan or gift of some gold to help you get started...most are willing to be of help to beginning players.

To buy balm or recalls (or any other products from a peddler who is not behind a counter) simply step into the seller's hex, and drop the required amount of gold. The seller will then drop as many balms or rings, etc. as you have dropped money for, one at a time. Beware dropping 900 coins if you only want one ring; you may end up with 6 recall rings and no money for balm!

Section Eight: Off on your First Hunt (and coming back alive)

Now you are loaded up with balm, and if you could afford it you are wearing your recall ring. You are ready to hunt the dungeon. Take your weapon in your right hand, head to the temple, go through the western door, then head north through the doorway, then west to the stairway. Stand on the stairs and double click on the stair or type DOWN (or just D) to go down the stairs, and you will find yourself on level -1 of the dungeon. Be on gaurd...fierce critters inhabit these areas!

8.1: Armoring Your Character

Your first objectives will concern getting properly outfitted. You will need to be wearing proper armor before you go too far, and in the early stages, that means troll leather or salamander scales.

8.1.1: Obtaining Troll Armor

Begin by setting a recall ring for the tailor shop. Then, enter the dungeon and find your troll. It may be best to confine your hunt to level -1 if you can; trolls are tough prey for new characters, as they hit hard and can endure many hits themselves. You may wish to enlist the aid of others in your hunt. After the kill, you must pick the corpse up and yank the recall ring to get to the tailor's shop. This can be difficult for characters without high strength numbers; trolls are heavy. Strength potion can be purchased in the tavern or apothecary for such situations. If you cannot lift the corpse, you can PUSH it one hex at a time, even up the stairs...but pushing all the way back to the shop will take some time. Drop the corpse at Stam the tailor's feet, or push it into his hex. Wait a round and you should find that Stam has made you a vest of a peculiar stone colored leather. Pick up the armor and put it on. Nice protection, and it was free for the killing!

8.1.2: Obtaining Sally Scales or other Fire Protection

Fire/Ice protect rings, pr F/I or just F/I for short, and F/I amulets have the best fire protection. Robes offer limited F/I protection, but are hard for new players to get. They can all be found on the low levels of the kesmai dungeon. The robe can often be bought from the pawnshop for 7500 gps. These also help magic users restore magic points faster. You may save your gold for a robe, or borrow one from a more experienced player, but you certainly can't hunt -4 for one until you have another form of fire protection at the very least. This is where salamander (sally) scales come in. Sometimes goblins will wander up to -1, in pursuit of fleeing characters, and sometimes they'll be wearing sally scales. You may be able to kill one and obtain the scales that way. Otherwise, you'll have to kill the salamander, much as you had to kill the troll. But it won't be as easy. Salamanders spew fire that can easily incinerate an unprotected character. Your troll armor or plate mail won't protect you at all. If you are a wiz or thaum, or can find one to hunt with you, you may be able to use the PRFIRE spell to cut some of the damage. If you are a thaum, you can stun the salamander immediately and then try to kill it before it comes unstunned. But the best method, for any new character, is probably to take a longbow, wear a waterbreathing ring, and try to lure the salamander into following you to water. Then duck into the water yourself, and plink away with the bow until the salamander is dead. Take the corpse to the tailor, and he'll make you vest of sally scales, which offer pretty good fire protection.

Any way you look at it, getting fire protection on your own is very risky. Many older players will sell you a robe, F/I ring, or F/I amulet at a very low cost. The amulet is the second best fire protection in the game, and can be bought at the pawn shop for about 600 coins. The amulet in that it only has four charges; you may put it on and take it off up to four times before it wears out. Be sure "Protection From Fire and Cold" appears in your spellbox before you venture into fire! There is also a ring that offers the same protection as the amulet except it isn't limited by charges. The ring is a rare treasure. Fire and ice protection from clothing never add to the protection from the amulet or ring. Once you are wearing the amulet or ring you have the best protection you can get; fire and ice protection from clothing is ignored.

8.2: Battling The Critters

Once in the dungeon you will be attacked by a variety of different critters. Wyverns, trolls, kobolds, skeletons, wights and orcs are the usual critters you will find on -1. Once attacked you can fight it out, or you can run from them; the critters here move quite a bit little slower than you. Balm up, try to separate them again, and renew the battle. At this point you have to choose your fights carefully, since almost everything in the dungeon is going to be bigger, meaner, and tougher than you are. Before engaging the critter be sure to check the color of their names. (See section 5.2).

Depending on your class you can use either weapons or magic to fight the crits. To use a weapon hold it in your right hand and double click on the critter you want to attack. Make sure the crit you wish to attack is in your hex or you will attempt a jumpkick and most likely pull a muscle. In addition, a jumpkick will take you out of comission for an extra round and meantime you will be subject to attacks. To use the command to fight you would type, for example, "fight orc," "f orc" for short, or "throw axe at kobold" . You can shorten the crits names up to three letters like ske for skeleton, wyv for wyvern or hob for hobgoblin. Be careful that your hunting partners do not have the same three letters as the crit because you have a good chance of attacking them instead. You will attack the crit with the weapon in your right hand. If you are holding a bow, you must first "nock" the bow, then "shoot" the next round. You will be told the results of your swing. You may be blocked by the crit's armor, or by a defensive move on its part. You may miss. You may fumble, in which case you must "take" or pick up your weapon again to use it. Some times one of the crits your fighting will pick up your weapon if you're too slow. If the weapon is tied (more on this later) and the crit tries to use the weapon the crit will fumble it. Hopefully, you will hit, and do either light, moderate, heavy, severe or fatal damage to the crit. If you get the message "Swing hits with little effect" then you need to find a different weapon because the one you are using is ineffective against the crit you are fighting. Not all weapons will hurt all critters, however, all of the weapons will hurt all of the crits on -1. In addition to using weapons in combat, magic users (MUs) can fight the critters with magic. (Section 13 outlines how to use magic).

Meanwhile, the crit will also be attacking you. You will automatically respond to its attack and you will be told whether you or your armor blocked the crit, or, if the crit hits, you will see how much damage you took in your hit points indicator, the red meter. If you have taken more than 1/2 of your total hits it is time to move out and balm.

If the crit manages to slay you, it happens to the best, you will receive the "You have been SLAIN!" message and hear your first dreaded deathcry. You can do nothing except exit or talk to other players within sight as a ghost. If you exit constitution stat is high enough above 5, the ghods will resurrect you and you will re-enter the game at a relatively safe location.

Now for the bad news. Each time you die you will suffer lasting damage; loss of constitution and strength stats, loss of hit points, and skill deterioration. All of these can be repaired by potions and quests, but as a brand new player these potions will be difficult to obtain and are not worth drinking until you create your keeper character. If other players are within sight when you die and can come to pick up your corpse, they can take you to a priest or a thaumaturge with a working raise dead spell for resurrection, and the damage taken is usually substantially less. Skill loss after being raised by a priest or thaum is extremely rare.

If you die in front of a critter or one wanders by your corpse, they will strip you of your armor and all your possessions. If this happens, you may be able to get some things back by going back to the scene. It is best to get help for this, as you are now even less able to handle matters there. If you die in fire, you will lose all your possessions, but the ghods will immediately resurrect you in a safe place. If you're eaten by a crit such as a dragon, you will lose all your possessions and the ghods will send you to Praetosba also known as Under World (UW) where you must complete several quests to regain your physical body. The Under World is covered in detail later.

On the other hand, if you slay the critter, you get to do the looting! A loot pile will show up in the hex in which the crit died. Right click on the hex and then double click on the corpse or type "Search corpse". You can then rifle through the loot. You might find the crit was carrying gold or gems or rings or something else valuable to you. Pick up what you want (see "Dungeon Loot"), and carry on.

If there is more than one corpse in the hex and you are using the text command, "Search corpse" searches the top one. To search the others, you can type "Search <number> corpse". Each time a corpse is searched, it is moved to the top of the pile, so if you have a stack of 5 corpses you can type in SEARCH 5 CORPSE and for the next four rounds type in 'A'. 'A' is short for AGAIN, which repeats the previous command. Watch the change in your experience points when you finally manage a kill, you will gain anywhere from 200 to 900 experience points for a level -1 kill, depending on the type of crit you slay.

Until you get the hang of it, it is best to stay on level -1 for a while. The deeper you go in the Kesmai dungeons, the more dangerous it becomes. Fire is used on the next level down, as well as weapons and claws, and until you get good fire protection -2 can be very dangerous indeed. See the section on developing your character.

8.3: Strategy Hints (for the beginner)

1. Zoos are large groups of critters that have several different types of crits in them. Don't try tackling zoos all at once. If you come in sight of a zoo, retreat; not all the crits move at the same speed, so as they start to chase you, they will be drawn apart. When you have them drawn out so there are only a couple or so to deal with, slay them. Then head back slowly towards the zoo area, and repeat until you have killed all the monsters.

If you have a fireball staff or wand, or an icestorm wand, or a ball, you might want to throw a spell or two into the zoo while they are together. But be prepared to run immediately, as they probably won't all succumb to the spell.

2. Always keep a line of retreat open, and know what it is. You may not always be able to see three open hexes to your rear, but you should know where they are, so you can retreat at full speed (three hexes at a time) without danger of running into walls (stunning) or unknown areas.

3. Unless you are very confident of your area, never advance more than 2 hexes at a time. Try to advance in perpendicular lines, not an angle. This cuts down on the number of new hexes--potentially filled with crits--that you will encounter with each move.

4. Remember that you can be stunned in battle at any time. Balm or cast cure at 1/2 hits; much earlier if involved with very hard hitting crits. If you are fighting 4 hobgoblins at once (very dangerous) and you have 80 hits and one of the hobs hits for 20 while the other three miss, realize that means the hobs could potentially kill you in one round. Even if they only hit for 10 each and you are stunned in combat, they can still potentially kill you without giving you a chance to react. Be cautious in such situations; use a wand or staff to soften or break them up, or a distance weapon.

5. MOST crits cannot move as fast as you can. Even of those that can, few can move that fast and hit you in the same round. So constant moving is a good way to get out of trouble. If you are heavily encumbered or very badly wounded, you will lose stamina quickly, so this strategy can't work forever, but it is helpful. Some exceptions include gargoyles and dragons and some bears.

6. Don't hesitate to recall when in trouble. There is absolutely no shame in that.

7. If you have fire protection one way to take on crits is to lure them into fire. Most Crits are really dumb and will join you as you stand in fire. A wizard can cast a bonfire three hexes away and them jump into it. If any crits come into site as you are jumping into the fire they will most likely jump right in. You can also retreat to the fire if there are too many to fight. The other classes can use naphtha in place of a bonfire. Just open a bottle and throw it on the hex of your choice.

There are also different strategies for different critters in the different lands. You will also develop your own strategies as you progress through the game.

Section Nine: Back in Town

Once you have filled up your sack with loot, head back to Kesmai and sell your gains in any shop (see "Dealing with Shop Keepers"). This new wealth can be used in many ways:

9.1: Bank your gold

It is a good idea to bank some portion of your gold for the benefit of your "keeper" character later; this first character probably will not last. Gold can be deposited in and withdrawn from the bank. Money placed in any bank can be withdrawn from any other bank in the game. Just put the coins on the counter and type "<banker's name>, deposit". To withdraw cash, type "<banker's name>, withdraw <amount>". To see how much you have in your account, type "<banker's name>, show balance". Kesmain banks offer only safety, not interest, for your gold. Coins deposited remain in an account for your character. If you overwrite a character, the contents of the overwritten character's bank account will be available for your new character. Characters created with the New button have their own separate accounts.

9.2. Locker your items

There are lockers located in all lands except Praetoseba (UW). Using the locker is much like using your sack, but it holds forty eight (48) items of any size. Like the bank, items placed in your locker are available to your character only. Once in the locker room you will see on the west wall a bank of green doors. These are the lockers. To use the lockers, move to the hex directly in front of the lockers, double click on the green part of the wall. Once you get the close up view of the lockers you can move items from your sack, belt or ring box and store them in your locker. The locker room is the place where players new and old hang out. If you overwrite a character, the contents of the overwritten character's locker will be available for your new character.

Section Ten: Experience

Experience is gained by killing crits, casting spells, when you buy training from the trainers or when you buy experience from the Sage (near the pawn shop). The Sage sells experience points at around 2.5 per gold coin. Just drop the coins at his feet, and type SAGE, TRAIN ME. As your experience climbs and every time it doubles you will obtain more hit points, stamina and other bonuses. You need to be at full stamina and at full hit points to move up to the next level; this is commonly called leveling.

Level Advancement Chart: Experience Points, Hit Points, and Mana Points

Level Experience
Points Fighter
HPs Knight
(1st
Quest)
HPs Knight
(2nd
Quest)
HPs MA
HPs Thaum
HPs/Mana Thief
HPs/Mana Wizard
HPs/Mana

3 1,600 44 - - 44 42/8 38/8 36/8

4 3,200 54 - - 58 51/15 47/13 47/15

5 6,400 64 - - 72 60/22 56/18 54/22

6 12,800 74 - - 86 69/29 65/23 63/29

7 25,600 84 - - 100 78/36 74/28 72/36

8 51,200 94 131 147 114 87/43 83/33 81/43

9 102,400 104 141 157 128 96/50 92/38 90/50

10 204,800 114 151 167 142 105/57 101/43 99/57

11 409,600 124 161 177 156 114/64 110/48 108/64

12 819,200 134 171 187 170 123/71 119/53 117/71

13 1,638,400 144 181 197 184 132/78 128/58 126/78

14 3,276,800 154 191 207 198 141/85 137/63 135/85

15 6,553,600 164 201 217 212 150/92 146/68 144/92

16 13,107,200 174 211 227 226 159/99 155/73 153/99

17 26,214,400 184 221 237 240 168/106 164/78 162/106

18 52,428,800 194 231 247 254 177/113 173/83 171/113

19 104,857,600 204 241 257 268 186/120 182/88 180/120

10.1: Hit Points/Mana Points

Very seldom will you gain max hit or magic points each time you level. The amount of hit and magic points you get is random, just like throwing dice. It is said that if a magic user maxes intelligence and wisdom at creation they will have a better chance of gaining more mana points when they level. However, there is a permanent increase mana potion (PMP) that will increase your magic points. For each PMP you gain six (6) magic points. All is not lost for gaining hit points either, the ghods in their infinite wisdom have given us a way to gain missed hit points. They have provided us with Drake Potions (DPs). For each DP you will gain four (4) hit points.

Section Eleven: Skill (Risk)

To gain skill with a weapon, that weapon must be wielded in the right hand; to gain skill in the Martial Arts, the right hand must be empty. Weapons wielded in the left hand do not build skill level. In general, weapons held in the left hand are used for blocking only, although weapons in the left hand may be thrown at an opponent. For maximum effectiveness and skill gain with two-handed weapons, such as the greatsword, the weapon should be wielded in the right hand with the left hand empty.

The key factor in combat skill gain is the amount of risk that you face in combat. There is a small skill gain in practice, which is defined as fighting in a low-risk or zero-risk situation. Progress in a skill class beyond a certain point can be achieved only through actual life-and-death combat experience. However, too much risk can be almost as dampening on skill gain as too little risk. After all, when you are close to dying, you are too busy trying to survive to learn very much.

You do not necessarily have to land a major blow with your weapon to receive skill points. It is possible to learn something from missing, being blocked, or even fumbling. Skill is gained whenever you swing a weapon regardless of the outcome. If your are engaged in combat and take damage from your opponent's weapon, you will gain skill faster due to the risk, although you must swing your weapon within a few rounds of taking the damage. Finally, if you strike a fatal blow, you earn additional skill (kill bonus).

A fast way to gain weapon skills is to do what is commonly referred to as 'skill-cowing', where you round up a couple low level critters and an amoral demon to train with under controlled circumstances. The basic idea is to have the critters do 10 to 20 percent damage to you with each swing while you beat on the demon. If you have 80 HPs, you would want the critter(s) to hit you for at least 8 hits. This indicates to the game that you are in a real fight and activates what is referred to as a risk bonus for training. This bonus is typically four times what you would normally get for each swing. Since you can not hurt the amoral demon, you can spend hours of accelerated training in relative safety, only pausing for balms when your hit points get below 60 percent of max.

When developing combat skills, it is generally advisable to develop a core set of two or three complementing skills. For example, the combat-oriented player usually finds that both close range and distance weapons are desirable, as well as some means of blocking opponents' weapons. After selecting the desired weapon types (or hand-to-hand skills), the player can begin developing skills with his or her chosen weapons combination.

Two schools of thought exist on how weapons skills should be developed. The first is that weapons skills should be developed on a more or less even basis; the player concentrates on building skill levels in each chosen weapon at an even pace, keeping them all at approximately the same level and developing them at the same rate. Player skill levels progress more slowly, but skill levels are matched in the chosen weapons combination, providing a balanced set of skills.The second approach is to concentrate on building a high skill level in one weapon at a time. In this way, one could have a high skill level with one weapon, and lower skill levels in the complementary weapons. The advantage to this approach is that it gives the player the opportunity to try out various weapons, while building skill and offensive capability in one key weapon.

Either way, the player should remember that no single weapon type is suitable to all combat situations. Some creatures are resistant to certain types of weapons, and some tactical situations will render a particular weapon ineffective. For example, unless you have mastered the jump kick, hand-to-hand combat (martial arts) may prove ineffective against an archer plinking away at you from a distance.

Note that the shield is not considered a weapon in the skill system. You receive no skill advantage in carrying one, although a shield is effective in keeping damage down as a new player learns the combat ropes.

If your character carries a shield, you probably will want to consider replacing it at some point with a complementary offensive weapon that has good blocking characteristics; you can build your skill level in that weapon as well, and broaden your capabilities. Hand-to-hand combat skill (martial arts) is another choice for blocking attacks. Look to the abilities and future of your character as you develop combat skills. For example, thieves cannot wield larger weapons without sacrificing the ability to hide, so it probably would not be advantageous to spend a lot of time and effort in developing two-handed-weapon skills. Likewise, if you plan to obtain one of the magical staff weapons available, such as the fire staff, you may wish to develop some staff skills early on in preparation.

Skill Levels - All Classes and Skills

Weapons
Skill Level Martial Arts
Skill Level Thievery
Skill Level Thaum Magic
Skill Thaum Magic
Spell(s) Wizard Magic
Skill Wizard Magic
Spell(s) Thief Magic
Skill Thief Magic
Spell(s)

1 Awkward White Belt Clumsy Shaman Curse
Strength Aspirant Bonfire,
Magic Missile Skulker in
Shadows Hide
FSDoors

2 Mediocre Yel. Belt Mediocre Apprentice Fear Apprentice Codoor Master of
Mischief Codoor

3 Capable Green Belt Average Initiate Light
Blind
Pr. Fire Apprentice to
Fire Br. Water,
Light, Shield,
Pr. Fire Diviner of
Magics Identify,
Br. Water

4 Familiar Blue Belt Talented Acolyte Pr. Cold
Stun Apprentice to
Ice Darkness
Pr. Cold Knight of
Darkness Darkness,
RecallRing

5 Practiced Red Belt Practiced Healer Cure
Neutralize Apprentice to
Illusions FSDoor,
Web,
Portal Opener of
Ways Portal,
Neutralize

6 Competent Black Belt Deft Canon(ess) Turn Undead,
Lightning Shaper of Fire Fireball
Firewall Lurker in
Darkness Night Vision

7 Experienced 1st Dan Efficient Exorcist Banish,
Death Shaper of Ice Ice Storm Obscurer of
Ways Hide Door

8 Skillful 2nd Dan Graceful Priest(ess) Raise Dead Wizard Concussion Master of
Water Speed

9 Proficient 3rd Dan Professional Seer(ess) Resist Fear Shaper of
Illusions Illusion,
Dispel Master of
Air Feather Fall

10 Exceptional 4th Dan Dexterous Summoner
of Snakes Summon
Snake Illusionist Wizard Eye,
Disentegrate Master of
Secrets Wizard Eye

11 Brilliant 5th Dan Adroit Summoner
of Spirits Summon
Phantasm,
Resist Blind Master of
Earth Peek Master
Thief Venom

12 Expert 6th Dan Expert Summoner
of Demons Summon
Demon,
Pr. Fire/Ice Master of
Illusions Fire Bolt
Pr. Fire/Ice Shadow
Thief

13 Astonishing 7th Dan Astonishing Prophet
(ess) Resist
Lightning Master of
Air Whirlwind Shadow
Mage

14 Amazing 8th Dan Amazing (Mat)
Patriarch Poison
Cloud,
Pr. Poison Mage Ice Spear(!!!) Shadow
Stalker

15 Incredible 9th Dan Incredible High Priest
(ess) Resist Stun Lord of Fire Fire Storm Shadow
Lord

16 Master Wh. Sash Magician Master
of Demons Resist Death Lord of
Illusions Dragon Breath Thief of
Wands

17 Genius Red Sash Peerless Master
of Dead Pr. Blind/
Fear Lord of Air Lightning
Lance(!!!) Thief of
Cups

18 Unearthly Gold Sash Incomparable Master of
Earth
and Sky Lightning
Storn Archmage Lightning
Storm Thief of
Pentacles

19 Immortal Master Master Hierophant Pr. Stun/
Death Magis Create Lava Thief of
Souls

Section Twelve: Training

One of the most important investments you will make is in skill training. Your skill with a weapon is largely responsible for determining how much damage you can do with it, how often you will fumble, be blocked, or miss. Increasing skill is a constant endeavor. When you arrive on the dock, and "show skills", you will see that you are untrained in many areas, awkward in some, mediocre (a little better) in others, and maybe even capable in one or two. These are skill ratings for weapons; magic skills have different names, but follow the same pattern. But, capable is just beginning. You want to keep moving up to familiar, practiced, competent, etc., all the way up to immortal, which no one has yet attained.

12.1: Buying training

You can increase the rate at which skill is gained by undergoing training. Training is purchased from different trainers through out the lands. All trainers train different levels and most will train specific skills and classes. To train take your weapon to the weapon's trainer, and hold it in your right hand. Drop gold at the trainer's feet, or put it on the nearby counter if it is there, and type "<trainer's name>, train me". He will train you in the weapon, and you will gain some experience. Your skill will not immediately increase, but the rate at which it is gained will increase. After the Kesmai trainers will no longer train you then Oak is the next place to head for training.

12.2: Critiquing Your Skills

To see how quickly you are learning your skills, you can ask the trainer for a critique. Just type "<trainer's name>, critique <weapon> skill" on the command line, and press <Enter> . The trainer will tell you your present skill level and rank in that skill area. Each skill level is broken up into 10 ranks, with 1 the lowest and 10 the highest, enabling you to know how close you are to the next level. If no rank is given, you have not yet achieved the first rank. If a trainer is not qualified to critique you in a particular area, he or she will tell you so; you then will have to find a qualified trainer to critique you in that skill area. Only the following skill areas will be recognized:

Skill Weapons Tied Weaps
Bow Crossbow, Longbow, Shortbow Doom.Orc Bow

Dagger Dagger, Silver Dagger Miserycorde & rdagger

Flail Flail -

Halberd Halberd Gold Halberd

Mace Mace, Hammer, Axe Raxe, Rhammer

Rapier Rapier Black Rapier

Shuriken Shuriken, Thrown Dagger, Thrown Items Agate Gem, Rdagger

Staff Staff, Wand, Spear Stormhalter

Sword Longsword, Shortsword, Katana Hummingbird Sword

Greatsword Broadsword, Greatsword Black Broadsword, Silver Greataxe

Threestaff Three-sectioned Staff -

Martial Arts Hand, Fan, Gauntlets Crystal Gauntlets

Thievery Key -

12.3: The Rising Cost of Training (Written by Malachi)

The cost of training is equal for all weapons and magic alike. The cost of training for one level is expressed by the formula as follows:
(Skill level+1) x (2^level) x 25 = Gold required to fully train through level.

Skill Level - Cost Skill Level - Cost

0 - 25 10 - 281,600

1 - 100 11 - 614,400

2 - 300 12 - 1,331,200

3 - 800 13 - 2,867,200

4 - 2,000 14 - 6,144,000

5 - 4,800 15 - 13,107,200

6 - 11,200 16 - 27,852,400

7 - 25,600 17 - 58,982,400

8 - 57,600 18 - 124,518,400

9 - 128,000 19 - 262,144,000

Section Thirteen: Magic

In addition to using weapons in combat, MUs (magic users) have to learn to fight with magic as well. MUs include Wizards, Thaums, Thieves and to a limited extent knights. The principles are the same for each class:

Each class of MU except the Knight (knights don't have spell books) has some spells already in their spell books when they come off the dock. Spell books are tied to your character and cannot be used by another player. It is recommended that you put the spell book in your locker when you are not buying spells or training. You do not need it for casting spells. If you do lose your spell book you can purchase a new one from your magic trainer for 100 gold coins. The spells that are not in the spell books when a character is created have to be purchased from the appropriate magic trainer. To purchase spells from the magic trainers you have to advance to the level required for the spell, which is done by casting spells and training. When you go to the magic trainer for spells type, for example "Oskar, show spells". Oskar will then list the spells you are able to buy. Your spell book must be in your right hand when you purchase spells. Place the appropriate amount of gold in the same hex as Oskar and type "Oskar, teach <spell>". The spell will then be written into your spell book. After you have purchased a spell you should open your spell book and your spell palette. The spell palette button is located below the smaller window in the upper right corner. Once the spell book and palette are open then you may click and drag the spells from the book to the palette. There are five (5) pages available in your spell palette. When you fill one, click on the arrow below the palette to switch to the next page. When you have the spells moved from your book to the palette they are ready to use. If you should forget to transfer a spell from your book to your palette, no need to worry. Even if your book is in your locker, you may double click on the spell book in the spell palette window to view your spell book.

At the bottom of the Main screen on the left is a row 7 empty boxes. The two on the right end are for casting spells. The one on the far right end is the warmed spell rack. To cast a spell you have to have enough mana. Each spell uses a different amount of mana. A spell must be warmed before you can cast it. To warm a spell simply double click on the spell you want to cast. You will hear a chant and the spell icon will appear in the warmed spell rack. Double click on the spell icon from the warmed spell rack. Either the cursor will change to crosshairs or the spell will be cast depending on the type of spell you have warmed. If the spell is not cast automatically, you must use your cursor to cast the spell on a person or along a path. To cast directly (targeted spells) click on the crit or player you want to cast the spell on. To cast pathed spells either double click on the hex you are standing in or click out one hex at a time up to three hexes then double click on the final hex. The spell may only be cast once the arrows are yellow. You can change the intensity of some of the spells by adjusting the intensity bar on the right side of the spell palette before you warm the spell. Do not try to cast spells while standing in water. Water interferes with the spell and it will often reflect back at you with devastating effects. If you have a favorite spell you can click and drag it to the second box from the right next to the warmed spell rack. This is the ready spell rack. You have quick access to the spell in this box. Another way to warm and cast spells is to use the command line. To warm a spell using the command line type in the chat of the spell. The chant for each spell is located at the bottom of each spells page in the spell book. NOTE: everybody does not have the same chant for the same spell. Half of the spell is on the left page and the second part is on the right page. For example, "yu ya ninnme muxxisha" and "telal gidim alla zu". You would type the chant in the command line without the quotes. To cast the spell on yourself you would type cast or C in the command line. To cast it at another person or crit, type "C at <name>" or "cast at <name>". If you wish to cast a pathed spell with the command line, the command would be "cast <direction>" eg., "cast NE SE E". You may also set macros to save time warming spells. If you warm a spell and do not use it right away the spell will drain your mana, one point at a time, until all your mana is gone. There is no benefit to draining your mana in this manner. It is not wise to cast any area spells in -1 Kesmai because this dungeon is full of new characters, often without fire and ice protection.

13.1: Magic Training

Training is no less important for magic skill than for traditional weapons, however, unlike weapon use, risk is not a factor in advancing magic skill.

To train in magic, the magic user (MU) must go to the appropriate trainer of his class. In Kesmai, thaums go to Sven in the temple, wizards to Oskar near the pawn shop, and thieves to Lars in the thieves' guild. They take their personalized spell book in right hand and place their money on the counter or altar. Then, the command is "<trainer's name>, train me". If you get the message that the trainer is unable to train you, you will need to go to another land for training. Spells written in spell books will only work for the person to whom the book was issued; others will be unable to use the spells. If you have lost your spell book, the magic trainer will sell you another for 100 coins.

To check on your progress, type "<trainer's name>, critique magic skill". If you have gained a new skill level, new spells will be available. To view these spells, type "<trainer's name>, show spells". To purchase a spell, place the appropriate amount of gold on the altar, on the counter, or in the hex with the trainer and type, "<trainer's name>, teach <spell name>". Skill points are awarded each time a spell is cast. As a new player, there are three words you will want to remember. Cast, cast, and cast. Each and every spell you cast will bring you closer to gaining a new level of magic skill. Mana restore potions (MRPs) will replenish your mana points. Drinking these MRPs and casting spells repetitively will gain magic skill very quickly, especially through the first 6-7 magic levels, however MRPs can be difficult for a new player to aquire.

The sooner you can get a robe, the better off you will be. Robes have a property which causes your MPs to regenerate at twice the normal rate. A short discussion of each magic class can be found in the section "Developing Your Character".

13.2: Magic Skill Gain

Magic skill is gained by casting and training. Magic skill gain depends on your intelligence and wisdom stats, what spells you cast, and how big and powerful the crits you kill are. Your intelligence and wisdom stats should be maxed at creation. You get more skill gain casting spells that use higher amounts of mana. Casting directed spells like magic missile gives you better skill gain than an area spell such as fireball. Experience gain from killing crits with area spells is roughly 40% of that gained by killing the same crits using a targeted spell or traditional weapon. The bigger and stronger the crit, the harder they fall and the more skill gain you get. Training increases the rate at which you gain magic levels.

Section Fourteen: Developing Your Character

With fire protection and troll armor it is time to begin the development of your character's skills. Development paths vary according to character class; developing a fighter is quite different from developing a thief. Nonetheless, there are some basic techniques common to all classes. First, concentrate on building up offensive skills in as few areas as possible. There is little payoff for range of skills; what is important is degree of skill. Second, avoid taking risks with your character. Death comes all too easy. With death you lose hit points, skills, constitution points, and strength points. Upon dying, there is a good chance that your character will be "stripped," i.e., reincarnated without armor, rings, weapons, sack contents, and so forth. You will be stripped and sent to UW if your constitution points are too low or your eaten. Third, train, train and train some more. In the current version of the game, training is arguably more important than fancy weapons.

14.1: Developing a Fighter/Knight

After the acquisition of fire protection and troll armor, a fighter's next goal is knighthood. Knighthood will be granted to any lawful fighter of the eighth level in experience or higher. Stick to level -2 of the Kesmai dungeon until you cross this threshold. By then, your character's hit points should be in the mid 70s to low 80s. An occasional foray into level 3 is fine, but be wary of fast-hitting gargoyles and groups of hobgoblins. Use balm often.

Some fighters like to develop skills in two weapon categories: melee weapon and distance weapon. Melee weapons include swords, greatswords, hammers and axes. Most fighters tend to gravitate toward greatswords as their principal weapon. One of the most effective weapons in the game is the black broadsword (BBS), which requires greatsword skills. There are also several critters in Axe, Leng and Oakvael which can only be hurt by silver weapons. Since few people care to battle major critters with silver daggers, a greataxe is necessary and also requires greatsword skill to use. Quest weapons will be covered in detail later.

However, others like to concentrate on a single melee weapon, like a greatsword or halberd, and simply THROW the weapon when they need to drop a fleeing opponent. The halberd has the additonal advantage of being able to POKE critters in an adjoining hex, and knights can quest for a very powerful halberd.

The second weapon class of interest will be distance weapons like bows, daggers/shurikens, hammers and axes. For a beginning character, development of bow skills will be important. Bows are readily available, even ones that have combat adds, and can be used to kill fleeing critters. Even more important than killing fleeing critters, bows can allow you to challenge tougher critters from relative safety. A favorite technique of many players is to wear a ring with the spell of breathe water (WB) and lead critters to water. Most critters don't know how to swim, so a player with a bow can jump stand in water and shoot away without having to fear for his life.

Although bows are great for beginners, as you advance and can survive in tougher areas of the game, one item close to the top of your shopping list should be a returning hammer (rhammer) or returning axe (raxe). The primary benefit of these weapons is you can throw them every round instead of spending every other round loading an arrow. They also hit considerably harder than most bows.

When your character has reached the eighth level, it is time to pursue knighthood. Knighthood is granted to lawful eighth level fighters who have no karma points. This is done by one of several knight trainers. They are Hermann in the northeast corner of Kesmai, Aniet in Oakvael, and Rea in Leng.

Hermann (the hermit) was the very first knight trainer and can be found in the far northeast corner of the Kesmai surface. The trip there is very hazardous for an eighth level fighter. Look for an escort or be very cautious. Your character will need either a water breathe ring or crocodile boots.

The way to Hermann is populated with all sorts of animals. Crocodiles, boars, sharks, wolves, bears and last but not least, a pair of very nasty griffins will be encountered. It helps to have some (big) friends when you go to visit Hermann.

At this point, a more attractive alternative is to visit the Oakvael knight trainer, who can be found in the northeast corner of Oakvael. The big advantage here is there are not nearly as many critters to deal with and you can generally outrun anything you find on the surface of Oakvael. Another advantage is you can get the first knights quest from Cudyll while you're there.

At the knight trainers, empty your right hand and type "<name>, train me". The trainer will then place a knight's ring in your hand. While you wear the ring you can cast several spells: strength, cure, light, locate and enchant. These spells dramatically improve the effectiveness of your character.

The most commonly used spell will be cure, which will restore anywhere from 30% to 80% of maximum HP. This spell may be cast on your own character, or any other character or monster in your hex.

The next couple of spells are used about equally; the locate spell is used to locate critters you want to attack (or avoid) and light is used to disrupt darkness spells.. Strength is pretty self explanatory and comes in really useful when you have built up your character to the point where you can find 50K coins in a game session. This is a very realistic goal when you can play areas like the undead level (-280ft) in Oakvael.

The last spell available to a knight is to enchant weapons. The weapon in question must have no combat adds to begin with. With the availability of powerful quest weapons like the knight's halberd, the enchant spell is not nearly as important as it once was.

In addition to the above advantages, there is a special quest available to knights, which will be covered in detail later.

14.2: Developing a Martial Artist

For the first few levels of life, some people recommend that a martial artist (MA) wear a light armor, like the skin of a troll. However, many modern MAs recommend never wearing armor. The extra damage during combat will allow an MA to advance rapidly in skill because of the risk bonus. Be careful to avoid combat with multiple critters and to balm frequently. Hand blocking will soon become very effective and armor will detract from that ability.

Fire and ice protection should be by means of protective amulets or rings, or robes if available. Furs are also allowable if nothing else is available, but can be a bit encumbering.

Jumpkick starts to become an important weapon around red belt. Below that, frequent sprains and falls will occur that will inflict light damage on the MA. By 2nd dan, a 3 hex jumpkick can be executed by the unencumbered MA with total confidence. Kick and jumpkick should always be executed with a bare foot. Boots increase the likelyhood of being blocked by armor. Keep feather fall boots on the belt for easy access for those times you must leap off of cliffs.

Bare hand/bare foot damage is the same for all modes of attack: jumpkick, kick and fight. Blocking and damage ability will steadily increase with each new skill level. However, battle against heavily armored critters can be frustrating even up to high skill levels.

The MA should quest for crystaline gauntlets as soon as possible, since these gauntlets dramatically increase ability to penetrate armor, at a price of reducing the top end of damage inflicted. This quest will be covered in detail later.

14.3: Developing a Thaumaturge

Thaums start the game with 14 spells written into their spellbooks, and a magic skill level (usually) of 2 (Apprentice). At this skill level, the only spells that will work with any measure of reliability are Strength, Curse, and Fear.

Casting strength upon oneself will give a little bit of combat advantage, or help with carrying heavy objects.

Casting fear will cause the target to run in a random direction for approximately 10 rounds.

Casting curse at a crit will cause damage at roughly 2-4 times the thaum's magic skill level.

Thaums can, however, attempt to cast any of the spells written in their spellbooks; sometimes the spell will work if the thaum has enough mana even though the spell was designed for a higher skill level. This is a good way to gain skill because whether the spell succeeds or fails skill is awarded for the attempt.

Several advantages accompany attainment of the next magic skill level. First, the spells of light, blind and protection from fire (prfire) will become more reliable. Thaum spells are never totally reliable and tend to fail at the worst possible times. Light can be used in dark areas and to disrupt undead crits like wraiths and wights. Blind can be cast at crits or groups of crits and lasts several rounds, depending on the magic skill level of the thaum. Prfire will give the recepient a degree of protection against fire.

However, just as important as the new spells gained is that all spells become more potent. Curse, which at level 2 does about 6 points of damage, will now do between 9 and 12 points. Once magic skill level 10 (Summoner of Snakes) is reached curse will do nearly 40 points of damage, more than enough to slay most wraiths for example.

After the acquisition of troll armor and fire protection, thaums need to develop their magic skills. The secret to a steady advancement in magic skills is to constantly cast spells. The more magic points you burn up, the faster the process. As more powerful spells start functioning they should be used, mostly because they use more magic points. With frequent trips to the thaum trainer, you can see a steady increase in magic skills. The four most important thaum spells are: stun, lightning, death and phantasm. Stun comes first, becoming effective at magic level four. Stun will freeze an opponent or group of opponents for about four rounds depending on your character's skill. Thaums then wade into their frozen opponents with a melee weapon. The curse spell is used to bring down wounded opponents fleeing from such encounters after the stun spell lapses. As with fighters, because of the structure of the game, the melee weapon of choice is the greatsword. With the spells available to thaums, they do not need to rely nearly as much on distance weapons.

The lightning spell allows thaums to strike at groups of opponents. Care needs to be taken with this spell. More thaums have been killed by their own lightning then by critters. Cast it only at unmoving opponents, stunned groups or archers, or cast it at a hex rather than a crit on the hex. DO NOT cast lightning while in the water, or attempt to cast it over water. Lightning is also the only 'area' spell that is available to thaums, that is, a spell that affects groups of critters standing on one hex.

The death spell is the second best offensive spell in the game, second only to the wizard's ice spear. Death cannot be blocked, is not affected by armor, and cannot be effectively saved against by creatures. It hits for ten times the thaum's skill level. A stun and death combination is effective for all but the toughest critters.

The next and most important spell a thaum can aim for is the phantasm spell, obtained at level 11. This will allow the thaum to create djinn, magical characters that will obey certain of his commands. Djinn are useful in "baiting" critters; sent ahead of the thaum, zoos (or more commonly dragons) will focus on the djinn, and continue to try to slay it, and the thaum can fight them while the crits are thus engaged with little danger to himself.

Djinn can be commanded to follow, to stop, to attack crits, to take items from the ground or drop them to the ground, to climb up or down stairs or cliffs. Djinn wield spells themselves; casting icestorms or concussions at crits they have been commanded to fight, or advancing on them to attack with MA skills or held weapons. They make wonderful partners for thaums, even though they aren't very conversational. Once the thaum has this spell, there is little point in continuing rigorous magic training. Higher magical levels will continues to make present spells more potent, and earn the ability to learn new spells.

14.4: Developing a Wizard (By Fang..Zand)

How does one become the most powerful character in Legends of Kesmai? Be a Wizard of course! Who else can wipe out whole rooms of nasty creatures with one wave of the hand. Who else can cast a spell that will destroy all the super badies on the first four levels of the vampire tower. Who else can cast a "never fail" spell of at least 140 points damage.

So I have convinced you, you say? How do I become such a super power you ask? The formula is simple but the course of action requires determination and concentration. As per the other good advice, be a fighter first! Once you find that you don't really know anything it is time to do the following:

1. Download and read the FAQ's and maps.
2. Read the help files provided with LOK.
3. Keep playing a Fighter to build up cash reserve.
4. Now make your first Wizard.

Wizards when they arrive at the dock are almost useless. They have extremely low hit points and very low mana. They know only two spells, magic missile and bonfire, both of which are very useful at higher levels but neither of which can protect the wizard from the instant death awaiting him in the dungeons at the first wrong move. Now if you have followed my suggestion, you will have built up quite a nice nest egg for your "dock baby" wizard. Take the funds to the Sage and get your wizard enough experience to raise him to level 7 or 8. With these type of hit points the wizard now has a chance of dungeon survival. Don't forget to retain enough coins to buy a recall ring and lots of balms. You are ready for your first adventure. With the proper choice of homeland, (I prefer MU) your wizard will also have some weapon skills, and if you have ancestored from your fighter (highly recommended) then some good fighter knowledge may have been passed on. Personally I like to be able to use the mace skill (for the future when the procurement of an raxe/rhammer is possible) and martial arts skills for that all important time when close in combat is all that will work. Why an raxe or an rhammer rather than hand skills only? Throw either at a magic using opposition and fizzle their spells before they can get off a shot. It take 2 rounds to warm and cast a spell but only one to throw a hammer or axe. Good martial arts skill means that in close combat you are able to block the opposition while you are warming your all important spell. I usually carry the raxe in the left hand and use the right for close combat. However, you won't have to worry about this for a while unless your fighter was lucky enough to find and kill the Kwolf or you had a knight which did away with Daisy and went on to finish the ghouls in which case you probably don't need this advice anyway!

You are ready for that first all important step into the dungeon. On level -1 Kesmai, look for individual monsters to pick on first. You need to increase your magic skill levels. In order to do this you need to cast magic missile over and over again even though it may be tempting to use your fighter skills at this point since you will be taking damage. Use your balming technique learned as a fighter to keep your hit points built up and keep casting until you complete the mission. If you ancestored and or bought experience from the Sage, you will have enough points to keep alive on Kes -1 if you stay out of big zoos.

Since you are not yet ready to survive without armor, try to kill a troll and get it to the tanner. If you can't lift it push it. The effort is well worth it. Remember magic users can't use chain or plate as it interferes with spell casting, therefore your original fighting armor, unless it was scale, will not work. Fire is a problem. That is why I do not suggest using your bonfire at this point unless you are proficient at judging where a monster is going to move on its next turn. Skeletons are easy to predict. Put the bonfire between you and them and they will walk into it. Remember that you can run 3 squares where most monsters on this level can only move one. If you meet a pack of them, run! Next round warm a spell. Run again. Cast the spell at a monster. And repeat until all are gone. Don't however run though your own bonfire. You might not survive! Stay away from Kes -2 at this point as orcs cast fire there.

Once you have built up your magic skill levels so that you have shield and protection from fire, a wizard has it made. Cast shield first then cast protection from fire. You can judge when the protection from fire is about to expire since the shield goes first. Now you can cast bonfire on your own square. Monsters with you will take damage every round if they don't expire on the first hit. Protection and offense. Now that is what I call a spell!

The next most important spell a wizard obtains is fireball. Once he has this he can start wiping out zoos with one cast. This will make it possible to venture onto -3 Kesmai easily and even onto -4 Kesmai if cautious.

Use the stairs and water. Against other magic users on a lower floor, warm magic missile, go downstairs, cast and get back up fast. Once you hear the fizzle of the opposition's magic repeat the process. From a safe water hex use magic missile over and over again until you get the entire pack of monsters. They will stay close to you for the most part. Remember, fire doesn't work on docks in Kesmai and will not cast over water, although your fireball will cast onto adjacent land hexes and affect any monsters standing there.

Develop the friendship of a Knight or Thief. These individuals are the only ones who can help you get the all important tool of your trade; the night vision helm. Wizards cannot take on most lair monsters on their own. LOK is not IOK. The wizard, darkness and the NV helm, as it is affectionately known, make a powerful combination.

At level 14 of magic skill the Wizard obtains the all important ice spear spell and at level 15 the firestorm spell. Knights stand in awe at the destruction a wizard can cause with these.

Have fun and remember, cast and train. These are the mottoes of a Wizard.

14.5: Developing a Thief

Like wizards, thieves begin the game with only two spells; hide and fsdoor. Running a thief can be a frustrating experience at low levels and is not recommended as a first character. Aside from the hazards of the dungeons, thieves also have to cope with NPC knights in town like the sheriff, who will attack them on sight. They have only one (1) offensive magic spell, they don't receive many HPs, and they can only use a couple of the game's best weapons. Moreover, the steal command is not very effective unless at high thievery skill level, and only then when used in combination with hide and darkness.

Now for the fun part of operating thieves; the hide spell. Hide allows the thief to go unnoticed through the dungeon. A thief in or ajacent to the hex of another player or crit will always be seen. But from two or three hexes away, thieves can hide very effectively at the eigth magic level.

The effectiveness of the hide spell is determined by the thief's magic skill level versus the experience level of the player or crit from whom he/she is hiding. A thief with magic skill of 3 (Diviner of Magics) can rarely hide from a crit of high experience at any distance, however a thief with a magic skill of 10 (Master of Secrets) can successfully hide from anything in the game, from three hexes away.

A thief can only hide when he/she is in darkness, or in a hex adjacent to a wall, tree, mountain or ruin. Once cast the hide spell remains in effect until the thief moves into the open, takes damage, draws a large weapon, or holds a large object. There is always a chance, however slight, that a thief with hide active will be momentarily detected.

The thieves' fsdoor spell allows them to find and open secret doors. When this spell is cast, any secret door within sight will fly open and remain open for several rounds.

With troll armor and fire protection, thieves should work concurrently on pursuing magic skill and weapon skill. Stealing requires quite a bit of patience and technique to develop into an effective mode of play, so most thieves don't bother with it.

In magic skill, the key spells are darkness, venom and nightvision. Once your character has nightvision, he can go anywhere in the game save the lairs of drakes and dragons by casting darkness and hiding. Bigger crits can be fought in the darkness and the thief can remain unseen. Be warned that several crits can see in the dark, including ogres, rockworms, ghouls, dragons and drakes. Venom is the thief's only offensive spell. However, it is a very effective spell envied by the other classes. Venom is used to envenom daggers and shurikens. It's effectiveness is unmatched when used with the returning dagger. If a lawful character finds an envenomed weapon and throws it the lawful character will be turned neutral. Lawful characters are strictly forbidden from using poisoned weapons.

The speed spell is very useful to the thief when a quick retreat is necessary. A thief using the speed spell can walk or run twice as fast as normal.

Magic skill is accumulated by practice and training. Training is expensive and so is the purchase of most thief spells. Thievery may be the most expensive occupation in the game. The best place to train is in the thieves' guild at the 120 ft. level of Axe Glacier. If you do wish to train your character in thievery, you will need to go to Lockpick Town (above the 120 level) and acquire a lock pick from the general store.

Weapons require some early choices. Only small weapons can be held by thieves without compromising the hide spell. Daggers, return daggers, short swords, shurikens, crossbows, and the black rapier are preferred weapons for thieves. Large weapons like staves and greatswords cannot even be belted while remaining hidden. Melee weapons and long bows will compromise the hide spell when wielded. Also, no "lawful" weapons can be used by thieves at all.

Many thieves have chosen to develop MA skills and end up running mini-ninjas. A thief with high level MA skills will make up for most of the aggravations of getting one started. If you decide to run a MA type thief, most of the hints given in the MA section will apply here too.

There are three quality weapons that are available to thieves, namely the +4 crossbow carried by the Doom.Orc in Oakvael. +5 rdaggers carried by Carfel in the depths of UK, and the +4 Black Rapier carried by the Swordmaster in the lower dungeon in UK. The rapier and bow are blue glowing weapons, therefore can be used against several critters that are suceptible magic weapons only. Used from hiding, an envenomed return dagger and the crossbow are potent weapons.

Thieves are excellent characters for exploring new territory or going into dangerous areas other characters would not tackle. The downside is, that once there, thieves are limited in what they can do. But some valuable items have been picked up by thieves that much more powerful "lawful" characters don't dare attempt to retrieve.

Thieves are neutral, but have an inherent disguise spell (they never need to cast it, it is built in) that makes them appear to everyone but Knights or higher level thieves as lawful fighters.

Thieves have to break hide before they can deal with the shop keepers which leaves the thief susceptible to attacks by the sheriff. If you have hide activated the shop keepers will not see you and will not acknowledge you. Hiding makes it hard to do things like banking and training,

Robes are useful fire and ice protection and help to regenerate the limited magic points thieves get. Any variety of dragon scales is optional, unless MA skills are being developed.

Section Fifteen: Apparel

Armor -- You start out wearing leather armor. You can buy chain or plate in the armory for 25 or 100 coins respectively. But the best armor in the game is the hide of certain crits. Kill the following critters and drop the corpse on the hex of a tanner. Rating for armor is highest to lowest, ice dragon scales being the best.

1. Ice dragon scales - Concussion, Fire, Ice
2. Drake scales - Concussion, Fire, Ice
3. Dragon scales - Concussion, Fire, Ice
4. Salamander, troll, sal scales - Fire (sal scales only)
5. Plate - None
6. Wyvern, lizard, and snake scales - None
7. Chain - None
8. Leather, furs - Ice (furs only)

Beginning players should concentrate on skinning a troll and then a salamander. This will give them some protection to advance to the more dangerous areas of Kesmai.

A major disadvantage of armor is it encumbers your ability to block attacks with your weapon. At higher weapon skill levels, most players will remove all armor. The increase in weapon blocking typically far outweighs any loss in armor blocking. This must also be balanced against the risk of being stunned by a blow, spell or poison. When stunned, armor will continue to offer its protection, while you will be unable to block attacks with your weapon.

Most proponents of the martialarts believe one should never wear armor or scales of any kind at any level.

Scales -- wyvern, salamander, serpent, lizard, dragon, drake and ice dragon. Wyvern scales are equivalent to leather. Salamander scales reduce fire damage by 1/2. Lizard scales reduce ice damage by 1/3. Serpent scales are pretty, but seem otherwise useless. Dragon, drake and ice dragon scales all offer fair protection against weapon attacks of all types, but are most effective against blunt weapons. The also reduce fire damage by 1/2, and ice damage by 1/3.

Furs and feathers -- various creatures. The most important feathers are a vest from griffin feathers. This offers total immunity from blindness spells and is a favorite of martialartists and players with advanced weapon skills since feathers do not encumber attacks or hand blocks. Furs reduce fire damage by 1/2 and ice damage by 1/3, but are largely out of fashion. Players prefer the fire and ice protection of amulets and rings and find furs too encumbering.

Robes - Robes come in different colors and patterns. The black with red runes and white with scorpion are the most common. Red, blue, black with lions, yellow torn strips and the kimono are a few other robes that can be found through out the lands and lairs. All robes are equal, they all weigh the same, 1600 coins, with the exeption of the kimono, which is reported to weigh 1400 coins. All robes have the power to double the mana regeneration rate. The only thing that makes the rarer robes more desirable is to make a fashion statement.

Boots - soft leather, crocodile and featherfall. Soft leather boots are useless. Crocodile boots grant waterbreathing. Featherfall boots (rimmed with fur) allow a character to fall 5000 feet without taking damage. They are found only in the Axe Drake/Dragon/Yeti lairs, and in the Lich's lair in Oakvael.

Skulls & Helms - Ram skulls, tiger skulls, dragon skulls, griffin skulls, bear skulls and winged helms. Skulls offer additional protection against blows. The Dragon skull offers fire/ice protection. The griffin skull, the bear skull, and some winged helms are the coveted night vision skulls and helm which allows you to see in darkness. They also offer better odds against being stunned by a weapon attack.

Section Sixteen: Weapons

There are weapons, and then there are WEAPONS. Most of the common weapons in the game such as axes, hammers, greatswords, longswords, bows, daggers, etc. are random treasure or carried by critters. Some weapons are considerably better than others. The best are a special variety which contain extra combat adds. These weapons hit much harder than their normal counterparts, and many block better as well. They are not always easily discernible from the regular variety; i.e. a +4 hammer does not look any different than a regular hammer. Use your vermeil ring to ID weapons, or have them appraised. It would be very rare to find one of these special weapons on the first two dungeon levels.

Swords - The +4 hummingbird sword, iron short sword, longsword, katana, and +4 and +5 longsword. The katana hits hard and blocks well but there are no enhanced katanas. The +5 longsword is a good, balanced weapon. The regular longsword can be enchanted by knights. The +4 Hummingbird sword is found in the Troll King's lair and hits 2-3 times per round.

Maces - mace, +3 mace, axe, +4 axe, hammer, +4 hammer, returning hammer and returning axe. The +3 and +4 varieties are excellent one-handed weapons, all of which can be thrown effectively at fleeing opponents. The rhammer and raxe are magic weapons that return to your hand after throwing.

Returning Hammer (tied)- The rhammer is sometimes found in the crypt behind the lair of Daisy the Kesmai dragon, on the altar near the giant's throne room and in Ydnac's lair.

Returning Axe (tied) - The raxe is acquired from Vulcan for an obsidian egg. The raxe and rhammer are very close in terms of damage and blocking ability. The raxe is better at penetrating armor than the rhammer. In addition, some crits are only vulnerable to edged weapons.

Greatswords - iron greatsword, +3 iron greatsword, +4 steel greatsword, black broadsword, and greataxe. This category of weapons is the most popular in the game due to the magic weapons: the black broadsword and the silver greataxe. These weapons hit hard and except for the greataxe, they block well. The +4 steel greatsword is found on npc-s on Axe Glacier and in Leng, and in the Kesmai dragon's lair.

Black Broadsword (tied) - The +4 BBS is obtained from Ironbar, the blacksmith, in exchange for yttril and iron. It is considered one of the better knight weapons in the game for its hitting and blocking power.

Silver Greataxe (tied) - The SGA is obtained from Silvermoon, the Axe Glacier blacksmith, in exchange for yttril and iron. It can hit harder than the broadsword, but doesn't block at all. The SGA is the sole conventional weapon which can harm the Axe Dragon, which can not be hurt by any other weapon.

Rapiers - steel, +4 and +4 black rapier. This is a good offensive weapon which is seldom blocked. Its deficiency is defense, that is, it has none. Players using this weapon usually carry a shield or parrying weapon in the left hand. The +4 rapier can be found on -4 of the Kesmai dungeon, or in Axe Glacier. It is sometimes available in the pawn shop. The +4 black rapier is carried by the Swordmaster in the Underkingdom dungeon and is prized by the thief because it won't break the hide spell.

Staves - staff of blocking, wooden, +3 iron rod, fireball staff, cobra (snake) staff, raisedead staff, cure wounds staff, pine (fireball) wand, and glass (icestorm) wand. Not many players use staves as their weapon of choice. They are not good offensive weapons. The staff of blocking and the threestaff are the better defensive weapons. The +3 staff of slocking (Stormhalter or Overlord Staff) is a purely defensive weapon with the special property of increasing the rate of mana regeneration. The +3 iron rod is the best offensive staff. It is a black iron rod with a circle of glowing red stones at its center. The +3 iron staff can be found in lawful and chaotic varities, so be sure you have aquired an iron rod of the lawful kind before you try to use it in combat.

Daggers - steel, +2 silver, misericorde and returning dagger (Yasnaki dagger). Only the silver dagger, the misericorde dagger and the Rdagger are worth attention. The silver dagger and rdagger are the only daggers that can kill King Wolves. Thieves often carry several to throw at wolves from hiding. Silver daggers are found everywhere except level one and the surface of Kesmai. The silver dagger can be used to gain forgiveness from the confessor ghost if a normally lawful character has changed alignment to neutral. The Misericorde dagger carried by the Axe Yeti is used in the knight's quest. Rdaggers are highly prized by the thief because they return when thrown. Rdaggers are carried by Carfel in the UK dungeon. All daggers can be envenomed with a thief's venom spell.

Spears - wooden. The spear is a neglected weapon in the basic game. The weapon blocks and hits well, but does not hit as hard as most other weapons. It is also effective when thrown.

Halberds - There are two types of halberds, one can be purchased at some weapons shops and are readily available wherever ogres are found. The other halberd is obtained in the Knight's quest and is a +5 weapon and considered by many to be a top game weapon. They hit harder than spears and seem to block about as well, but don't hit as often as some other weapons. The advantage of the halberd is poking, which allows you to strike at opponents from one hex away. The big drawback with halberds is they can not be belted, which makes it difficult or impossible to ascend ropes while carrying.

Bows - shortbows, longbows, crossbows, +3 longbows, +3 and +4 crossbows. Crossbows are nice because they are an easily handled distance weapon that can be carried while loaded. Moreover, because they can be used while in hiding, crossbows are the weapon of choice among many thieves. The +4 crossbow is found on the Doom.Orc in Oakvael and is the creme de la creme of crossbows. The longbow hits harder and seems to be blocked less often. The +3 versions of each are found on level -4 of the Kesmai dungeon and at advanced locations in Axe Glacier and Leng. These are good distance weapons for fleeing opponents.

Shurikens - This is a distance weapon designed for martial artists or thieves who would otherwise be encumbered with a bow. It is blocked less than bow weapons. Shurikens can be found on many berserkers in Leng. Shurikens can be envenomed by the thieves venom spell.

Threestaff - All 3staves are +3. The threestaff blocks very well, even at low skill, but never hits very hard and is frequently blocked by armor. Some wizards like to wield a 3-staff to enhance blocking while they chant their spells. To a lesser extent, low skilled MAs may wield a 3staff in their left hand for blocking until their hand blocking skill improves. The threestaff can be found wherever martial arts NPCs are to be found.

Gauntlets/Fan - leather, +2 steel, +4 crystaline. These increase the hitting power of martial arts' hand blows. Leather gauntlets can be purchased in weapons shops. The +2 variety (thin steel plates) can be found in more advanced play areas. Strangly, gauntlets seem to hit neither as hard nor as frequently as the bare hand. The +4 crystaline gauntlets (CGs) are a quest item for MAs. CGs hit more frequently than either bare hand or other gauntlets, but they tend not to hit as hard as bare hand. Along the road on the quest for CGs, an MA will aquire a fan. These fans are tied weapons, horrible for both blocking and attacking. Because of this, their true value has been overlooked by many. Like gauntlets, fans are hand skill, which makes them superb for sparring at advanced hand skill without killing your partner in two hits, as is entirely possible with bare hand or gauntlet sparring.

Shields - wooden, wooden with steel plates, and steel. Steel is the best, wooden is worst. Steel shields are found on NPCs wielding short melee weapons. Steel shields with a lightning bolt (which has no special attributes) can be found as lair loot in some of the lairs. Shields are seldom carried by advanced players because their effectiveness is not sufficient to offset the hassle or weight of an extra object to carry.

16.1: Character Tied Weapons

Some weapons are character tied which means that the weapon can only be used by the player that first picks up the weapon or has the weapon made. To see if a weapon is tied to another player, hold the weapon in your right hand and try to use it. If the weapon leaps from your hand then it belongs to another player and you will not be able to use it. Tied weapons are often found in the dungeons, left by characters who have been killed by the relentless tide of crits. As a courtesy, take the weapon back to the locker room and place it on the altar. Most players will check the locker room to see if someone has brought it up from the dungeon.

16.2: Obtaining Special Weapons

The following is a brief summary of various special and quest weapons.

16.2.1: Black Broadsword (BBS) +4

The Black Broadsword (BBS for short) is considered by many to be the best weapon in the game. It hits hard and blocks well. In addition, the BBS is "lawful" so it gains one extra damage add against evil crits like dragons and drakes.

The Black Broadsword is obtained by taking yttril and iron ore to Ironbar, who will fashion one for you. Yttril is a "blue-grey stone with flecks of glowing metal", and is found as rare random treasure on Kesmai -3 and -4, although much more frequently in the other lands. Iron ore is a somewhat more common rock. Take these two rocks to Ironbar, who is located east southeast of town, drop them in his hex, and type, "Ironbar, train me". He will take them and forge them into a BBS. The BBS is a character tied (personalized) weapon; only the character for whom it was made can wield it. It uses greatsword skill, and it occupies a short slot on the belt.

16.2.2: Silver Greataxe (SGA) +4

The Silver Greataxe can hit much harder than the BBS, but can also hit much lighter, making it a frustrating weapon to use. Moreover, it never blocks. It is really only good for one thing - killing the Axe Dragon, Vlad the Vampire, and to a lesser extent, the King Wolf (more on that in a bit). It is a heavy weapon, and will add much to your encumbrance. It is lawful, personalized, and uses greatsword skill, much like the BBS, and it occupies the long belt slot.

The Greataxe is obtained by taking yttril and iron ore to Silvermoon, the blacksmith in Axe Glacier. The entrance to his shop is located partway down the corridor on the east side in a small alcove just south of the Axe portal area. To enter, you must stand in the entrance at night, holding or wearing a moonstone ring. Once you are inside, drop the rocks in his hex, and type "Silvermoon, train me". He will forge the fine weapon and leave it for you.

16.2.3: Returning Axe (Raxe) +5

The returning axe (raxe) is one of the most sought after weapons in the game. It is a lawful axe, using mace skill. It never hits extremely hard, even at high skill levels, but it is a fair blocker. When thrown, it will magically return to the thrower's hand. This makes it a very effective weapon for dealing with archers, spell casters, or crits that are running away. A combination of an raxe in the left hand and BBS in the right is a popular setup for traditional knights.

The raxe is obtained from Vulcan, high atop Axe Glacier, in return for an obsidian egg. This egg is obtained by killing the King Wolf in Axe Glacier. Vulcan is located in the upper levels of Axe, just before the drake lair. His home is hidden behind another night portal which requires a moonstone ring. There is one special challenge in dealing with Vulcan. When you finally stand before him, beware of his daughter, Alia. Given the opportunity, she will steal the egg before the Vulcan gives you the raxe. The best way to deal with her is to wait until she moves onto your hex and then STEAL from her. Unless you are the best of thieves (in which case you probably wouldn't need to read this guide), you will be caught and she will run away from you. Another way to deal with Alia is to scatter several coins between you and her, and deal with Vulcan while she is occupied. The Raxe is a character tied (personalized) weapon, only the character for whom it was made can wield it. It uses mace skill, and it occupies a short slot on the belt.

16.2.4: Returning Hammer (Rhammer) +4

The rhammer can be found in several areas of the game; the crypt behind the dragon's lair in Kesmai, Ydnac's lair in the east wilderness in Kesmai, and the Giant's castle in Axe. Overall, the easiest one to obtain may be in the Giant's castle, where it can be found on an altar next to the room the giant occupies. The only major hazards are the NPCs that inhabit the castle; you can get the rhammer without having to fight the giant. Damage is about the same as a raxe, as is its blocking, but it is less likely to penetrate armor. The rhammer is a character tied (personalized) weapon, only the character for whom it was made can wield it. It uses mace skill, and it occupies a short slot on the belt.

16.2.5: Crossbow (Doom Bow) +4

The +4 crossbow is carried by the Doom.Orc on the surface of Oakvael. This is one of the non-aligned blue glowing weapon in the game and is a favorite weapon of thieves, since it can be wielded while hiding. The only big hazard to obtaining this weapon is the zoo that usually keeps the Doom.Orc company. The critter that is hardest to deal with is the presence, which can continuously cast stuns. This makes it rather difficult to fight the rest of the critters. Doomy's lair is a night only lair, and wizards and thaums cannot enter the lair. The Doom bow uses bow skill, and it occupies a short slot on the belt.

16.2.6: Yasnaki Returning Dagger (Rdagger) +5

The +5 rdagger has fast become the weapon of choice among thieves. Combined with the thieves Venom spell there is no weapon more lethal. A thief with hide can pick off the critters at leisure. Once hit with an envenomed rdagger most critters have no chance and will succumb to the poison's deadly effects. Wielding and throwing the rdagger will not break a thief's hide. The rdagger is a difficult weapon to acquire. Carfel, The Master Assassin, must be defeated. The rdaggers (Carfel carries two) are character tied and must be picked up by the thief who intends to use them. To get to Carfel, a thief must find the secret door in the Underkingdom dungeon and get past the Yasnaki guards and Carfel's Giant Spider. If you are not a thief and happen across an rdagger laced with the green venom, do not throw the dagger. Lawful characters are prohibited from using envenomed weapons, and will change alignment to neutral upon sucessfully using an envenomed dagger or shuriken. A knight that uses one will not only turn neutral, but will be reduced to a fighter. Beware!

16.2.7: Hummingbird Sword (Hummer) +4

The +4 hummer is a character tied blue glow longsword made of an alloy of several metals, including silver. The sword allows the wielder to strike an opponent at lightning speed, getting up to three hits per round. It doesn't hit as hard as the BBS or block quite as well. The hummer is a character tied (personalized) weapon, only the character for whom it was made can wield it. It uses sword skill, and it occupies a short slot on the belt. See section 17.4 - The Hummingbird Sword Quest for additional information.

16.2.8: The Staff of Blocking (Stormhalter, Overlord Staff) +3

The +3 staff of blocking is a wizard/thaum only defensive weapon. Trying to hit anything with it is useless. The blocking effectiveness of the staff depends on your staff skill level. It also contains the power to increase the mana regeneration rate of rate an MU by an additional point per mana regeneration round. The staff is carried by The Overlord on the lowest dungeon level in the Underkingdom. Defeating him is quite the task; the Overlord is a very formidable opponent indeed. When he's not physically attacking you he is casting deadly ice spears and curses. The staff of blocking uses staff skill, and it occupies the long slot on the belt.

16.2.9: The Black Rapier +4

The +4 Rapier is a blue glow non-aligned weapon. It is another favorite weapon of the thief. Carrying, using and belting will not break the thieves' hide spell. The rapier is in the possession of the skeleton Swordmaster on the undead level of the Underkingdom dungeon. Acquiring the rapier from the Swordmaster is a real challange. He is surrounded by death casting banchees, spectors, ghouls, skeletons, and the occasional Yasnaki. The rapier uses rapier skill and occupies a short slot on the belt.

16.2.9: The Crystaline Gauntlets +4/Fan

The crystal gauntlets are blue glow lawful weapons. They are a must for any serious martial artist. While their top end of damage inflicted is not as severe as bare hands, crystal gauntlets have superior armor penetrating ability and are seldom blocked. Crystal gauntlets use hand skill and occupy a short slot on the belt. See section 17.3 - The Martial Artist Quest for additional information.

Section Seventeen: Quests

LOK is not without its quests. The following outlines the major quests in LOK.

17.1: First Knight Quest: (By Maggie)

Player Requirements: Knight, Level 8 and above
Recommendations: Mid-level escorts to Oakvael, Daisy and Harriette

The Questor-Knight must seek the Quest-Giver, Cudyll, on Oakvael. Cudyll can usually be found on Oak's surface east of the Portal Area. Questor must ask Cudyll for training: "Cudyll, train me." Cudyll will ask if the Quester wishes to quest for "greater glory and the causes of knighthood." Naturally, the Questor must answer: "Cudyll, yes." Cudyll will give the quest: "Slay the small dragon, then inquire of the hermit's sister."

Returning to Kesmai, the Questor must kill Daisy, the "small dragon," located in the northern part of the -4 dungeon. The Questor may have help with this part, but must deliver the killing blow. The Questor will search Daisy's corpse and take the blue-glowing agate gem, which will tie to him/her.

The Questor must take the agate gem to Harriette (the "hermit's sister") who dwells in Hermann's place to the far northeast on Kesmai's surface. The Questor lays the agate at Harriette's feet and asks for training. Harriette will take the gem, give a "special gift" of 37 health points and tells the Quester: "Now, off to the land of ice and snow for the thin-bladed bane of knights."

17.2: Second Knight Quest: (By Maggie)

Player Requirements: Knight, First-Quested (14 and above recommended)
Recommendations: Several high-level escorts for both hunt portions
Once begun, this quest should be completed uninterrupted by any trip to the UW, which will re-set the quest.

The Knight-Questor must first acquire a Yeti Dagger ("thin-bladed bane of knights") by killing the Yeti. The Yeti's lair is located on Axe Glacier ("the land of ice and snow") and can only be approached via the Ice Dragon's lair. The Questor must deliver the killing blow to the Yeti in order for Brych to accept the dagger.

The Questor must then travel to Oakvael and inquire of Brych, the Quest-Giver. Brych is located down a pit in the far northeast of Oak's surface. The Questor lays the Yeti Dagger at Brych's feet and asks for training. When Brych asks: "Do you wish to embark on another knightly quest?" the Questor must answer: "Brych, yes." Brych will take the Dagger, give a Knight's Halberd in return and tell the Questor to "Take this Halberd. Seek the one who dwells beyond the darkest pit." (Note that any number of Knights who have acquired the Dagger may do this quest at the same time.)

The "darkest pit" can be reached via the stairway leading down from the undead level of Oakvael. The area below the undead level is commonly known as the "Knight Quest Area" or the "WW Dragon area" and only Knights may gain entry. Once down the stairs, the Questor must pass a gate guarded by a knightess named Clwyd, who will grin wickedly and inquire if the Quester wants to be taught a "little lesson." The Questor should ask Clwyd to train them. They will be magically transported to the other side of the gate. Once through, Clwyd will wish them good luck and warn that "getting out is quite a chore." The major part of this "chore" is the Whirlwind Dragon located near the end of the path, along with numerous other dangerous critters along the way. Once the WW Dragon is disposed of, past the lair is Gorffwylltra, the "one who dwells beyond the darkest pit." The Quester must lay his Halberd at Gorff's feet and ask to be trained. Gorff will congratulate the Quester and give 16 health points to "make you more powerful, to better use your courage and valor."

17.3: Martial Artist Quest: (By Maggie)

Requirements: MA, any level (but 1st Dan highly recommended)
Recommendations: Mid-to-high level escorts for both hunt portions

The Martial-Artist Questor must first seek the Quest-Giver, Yuri, located in a shack southwest of the portal area on Oakvael, and ask for training. Yuri will ask if the Questor wishes "to quest for a powerful weapon." If so, the Questor should, of course, answer "yes." Yuri will give a three-staff and instruct the Quester to: "Rescue the lonely one, slay the Ninja Master, and seek the sensei in the desert town."

To affect the "rescue," the Quester must first locate Konran, "the lonely one," in the Troll Temple level of Oak. The Quester should take along plenty of help of whatever class he/she can find for this part of the quest. Once found, Konran will ask: "Can you get me back to town alive?" He must be told: "Konran, follow me." Konran will follow, but is rather wimpy and needs careful guarding. The Quester and party must lead Konran back to his room in Oak Town. Once inside the room, Konran will thank the Quester and give a red cloth, which ties to the Quester.

For the next part of the Quest, only Martial Artists may attend, and several high level ones are recommended. The Questor and party must travel to Leng, home of the "desert town", acquire portal gems, which can be found on dead sandwyrms, and proceed to the special entrance to the Quest area located through the Sand Portal west of the Leng Town stables. Holding the portal gems in their hands, the MAs may pass through the sand portal. Once they get through the dungeon area, they must find the special MA portal square to enter the lair proper. Once there, they must kill the nine resident ninjas and the Shidosha (the "Ninja Master"). The Questor must land the killing blow on Shidosha. The dead Shidosha will yield a fan (which will tie to the bearer), a lovely green kimono, and a Buddha. The Questor must take this Buddha, and the cloth that Konran gave, to the "sensei." Puck is the sensei, and can be found upstairs in a garden above Leng Town. The Questor must lay both items at Puck's feet. Puck will be very impressed with the Questor's "resourcefulness," he will bow and give the Questor a pair of crystal gauntlets.

17.4: Hummingbird Sword Quest

The hummingbird sword quest is one of the easier quests. The quest starts by killing the Troll King in his palace in the Underkingdom and taking his hummingbird amulet. The hummingbird amulet is a prize in itself, having the power of protection from stun and death. Take the amulet through the secret door in the southeast corner, where you will find a darkened hex. Hold or wear the amulet, step on the dark hex, and you will be teleported to a room with a circle of fire in the center. Stepping into the circle of fire will trigger a whirlwind, so have a balm ready and whatever you do, don't try to run from it. Once the whirlwind has passed, the hummer will be left on the ground. In order to gain the sword, the amulet must be from the most recent incarnation of the Troll King. Should you attempt to use an amulet gained through other means, you will be sorely dissapointed. To exit the room step back into the dark hex in the west wall.

17.5: Ianta Quest

This quest is a quite simple premise - all you need to do is find Ianta and lead her back to the throne room in Leng. It sounds easy but it is not. You will need a few other players to assist in the rescue. Your reward for successfully completing this quest is either a drake potion or wisdom potion; the time of day determines which potion you will receive. To get to Ianta climb the rope that is located on the eastern edge of the Griffin Ledge. Once up the rope, travel southeast across the water, then south. Follow the east wall south until you can go east again. Continue northeast until you get to the northern wall. Search the wall for a secret door. A wizard or thief's find secret doors spell may be useful here. Ianta is behind the secret door. Ask Ianta to follow you - "Ianta, follow me". Ianta is extremely fragile. Once she is wounded she has a tendency to get confused. Once you get to town take her to the throne room located southwest of Crazy.Derf, the Wizard trainer. You will be rewarded once Ianta is with her mother, the queen. Good Luck.

17.6: Princess (Permanent Increase Mana Potion) Quest

As with the Ianta quest all you have to do is lead the Princess from her prison cell in the Troll King's palace in the Underkingdom to King KooKoo on the lower level of Kobold City. The rescuer will receive a permanent increase mana potion (PiMP) which will permanently increase a MU's mana level by 6 points up to a maximum determined by experience level. It will take more than one player to accomplish this quest. To begin the quest you will need to get a key from GooGog. To find GooGog, first go to the air hexes northeast of town and jump into the center air hex. Make your way south to Googog who is located behind a secret door in the southeast corner of the -200 level. Buy a key from GooGog for 20,000 gold coins. Go to the Troll.King's palace and climb up the stairs. Go south, then enter the first room on the left. Find the secret door on the north wall of this room. Follow the stairs down to the dungeon, and proceed to the south end of the cell block. Before opening the cell, verify that the princess is in fact in her cell. To open her cell, hold the key in your right hand and step into the hex directly in front of the princess' cell. Type "princess, follow me". Lead her back to town along the following route: Proceed north back to the steps, climb the stairs, exit to the main hallway and continue north to the steps. Climb down either flight and proceed east along the path until you encounter three doors. Once through these doors, head immediately north and portal through the wall. Climb the stairs, proceed west until you come to another set of steps, ascend those steps and continue west again. The next flight of steps you will come to will bring you to the -100 level. Proceed south past the air hexes until you come to yet another set of steps leading up. Naturally, ascend this flight of steps, and head west again. Portal through the walls as necessary until you come to the final flight of steps along your journey. Climb these steps, move two hexes north, search west to reveal a secret door, and proceed west until you come to another wall. Search this wall to reveal another secret door, and head east until the hall takes a turn to the north. Continue north through two doors in succession, then slightly northwest, then northeast until you see that the floor has changed from green-tiled to brown. Proceed east and enter the first room to the north. Congratulations, you have reached GooGog's throne room. Double congratulations if you complete this quest on your first attempt. The princess will promptly dissapear, and a light blue porcelain bottle will appear in her stead. (Rumor has it that she actually turns into the bottle, although it is more likely that she is merely kidnapped again, as she appears in the cell back in the Troll King's palace shortly). You are now the proud owner of what is possibly the most coveted item among MUs.

Section Eighteen: The 'Critters'

The following is a list of dungeon creatures, listed alphabetically. The first group are the fighter types, magic users second and the lair critters last.

Bees - They are venomous and attack in swarms, but very weak fighters. Anyone who has more than +3 in shield rings will block 99% of their attacks.

Beetles - Same as bees but beetles travel solo.

Bears - Come in two varities indistinguishable by sight. Regular bears are less trouble than a common troll, but there is one variety, known as bigfoot, which is fairly common in Axe. Possessed of tremendous durability, and able to dish out damage in the area of 65 HP per round, this bear can do more damage than the Kesmai Dragon and is to be feared. Bigfoot will always greet you with a roar, while smaller bears will be content to growl at you. Bigfoot does have a big brother named Smoky who wanders the woods east of Kesmai. Smokey has a resistance to fire and hits harder than his Bigfoot siblings. Be sure to put out your camp fires before entering the east woods of Kesmai.

Boars - Usually travel in pairs or trios, they announce their presence with an 'angry squeal'. They are comparable to hobgoblins in damage potential and will either trample or gore you. Fighting boars will cause you to age at an accelerated rate. Note: skinning a boar will yeild a pigskin. Think we're kidding?

Centaurs - The great archers of the crit kingdom. These half horse half man crits have a real kick to them.

Ducks - This is more or less comic relief and to prove the ghods of Kesmai have a sense of humor. Anyone who gets killed by a duck had better find a different game to play.

Gargoyles - Fast and fierce, they can often move three hexes and hit in the same round. The Oakvael versions can only be hurt with blunt instruments. Gargoyles in the Underkingdom have the ability to poison. They rarely yeild more than several coins.

Ghouls - One of the most feared non-lair critters in the game, ghouls are very nasty fighters and have a venomous bite that can do severe poison damage. They are tougher to kill than the average minotaur and can be difficult for even experienced players to handle. They are found on the -4 level of Kesmai and the undead levels of Oakvael and the Underkingdom.

Goose - Only found in the Axe Giant's lair, the only thing of great interest with this critter is the golden egg she leaves when killed. Other than the fact the goose is guarded by the giant, it is not particularly dangerous.

Griffins -Griffins are a formidable opponent. These fine feathered friends stun with the best of them. Take a griff corpse to a tanner and you will get a feather vest of blind protection. Griffins can be found at Hermanns east of Kesmai and on the Griff level of Leng. Griffins yeild large ochre eggs which are worth roughly 100 coins.

Hobgoblins - These critters are found in the lower levels of the Kesmai dungeons. They are quite tough and have a habit of traveling in groups of three or four. Hobs in the -300' level of the Underkingdom cast lethal lightning spells.

Hyena - These critters inhabit the plains of Leng and are comparable to wolves in habits and damage potential. Unlike wolves, however, a hyena is smart enough to flee when badly wounded.

Kobold - The lowest level critter in any game segment, they are not particularly dangerous, except to the newest of new players.

Lizards - Cold cousins to the Kesmai salamanders, they cast ice storms, which are more damaging to most characters than are fireballs. Usually, the damage from ice does not amount to more than 15 hit points (with basic fire and ice protection), but should a player get caught in overlapping or double storms, the damage can increase quickly. Lizards are not difficult to kill, and will run when severely wounded.

Lurkers and Orugugras - These octopus like critters are found in the waters of The Underkingdom. Lurkers come in two sizes. The regular lurker and the much larger Orugugar. Orugugar's are found in the Blood river in the UD level of the dungeon. Lurkers hit fairly hard but are better at poisoning victims.

Manticoras - This is a cross between a winged lion with a scorpion's tail. The scorpion's tail is a good hint that these critters are venomous and will frequently sting. They are about as tough as minotaurs for simple fighting, but do not have nearly as many hit points and are easier to kill.

Minotaurs - These critters are hard hitting and tough to kill. They are blessed with loads of hit points and can take experienced players several rounds of intense fighting to subdue. Minotaurs also have an annoying habit of running (fast) when they are badly wounded, so in addition to the initial fight, you will have to run a foot race to finish them off. They typically use greatswords or staves. Some will be armed with iron gem staffs, which are among the hardest hitting weapons in the game.

Mummies - Found in the mummies crypt one level below the undead level in the Underkingdom dungeon. Mummies are good fighters and the touch of a mummy will age you. Blue-glow weapons or magic are required to wound these undead foes.

NPCs (Non-player characters) - These computer operated players come in the same varieties that are available to regular players. The ones to be especially careful of are the thaums, who can cast blindness, death, fear, and stun. Wizards cast fireball, concussion, and ice storms. A variety of fighters and MA types will be encountered. Most fighters carry +4 weapons; greatswords, longswords or axes, and hit hard and fast. MA NPCs have very effective jumpkicks and can hit you from three hexes away. They can average 15 to 40 hits with a punch and 20-65 hits with a good jumpkick. It is wise to try to handle NPCs from a distance.

Ogres - Tough cousins to the trolls, they hit somewhat harder and can be one of the most difficult non-lair critters to kill. They are usually armed with halberds, which can hit from one hex away. Ogres have night vision and are located on the mountains of Axe Glacier.

Orcs - The most commonly encountered critters in almost any game segment. In the upper levels of the Kesmai dungeon, they are slightly more dangerous than the kobolds. In the lower levels of the dungeon, they get considerably more powerful and in addition to the fighter types, you will start seeing spell casters. Their primary spells are magic missile, web, and fireball. Webs are nuisance spells, but without fire protection the fireballs can be are lethal.

Rats - Low level critters that can usually be found in Praetoseba and various parts of the Underkingdom. Beware of the rats in Praetoseba - remember that you are little more than a ghost yourself, and these rats will push you around like the Axe dragon.

Ravens - These are nuisance critters that will avoid fights most of the time; content to fly around and cry out a squawk periodically.

Rockworms - They are confined to two hexes of movement at a time, but can move and hit in the same round. They can see in the dark, and ram their way through walls. Most spells and weapons are effective against them. Rockworms hit for 15-35 HP. There is one breed of rockworm, indistinguishable from others by sight, that can hit for four times that amount of damage. This rockworm is only susceptible to pointed weapons, such as rapiers, halbreds, arrows, crystal gauntlets and the wizard's ice spear. They are unique to Axe.

Sandwyrms - As their name implies, these critters are restricted to sandy areas. They do not carry weapons and fight with claws and an occasional bite. They are found in Leng and Praetoseba and frequently carry a polished red gem that is required for several portals. They are not particularly dangerous and can usually be killed with one or two swings by all but the lowest of characters.

Sharks - Inhabit the waters around Kesmai and the lake at the east end of Leng. Watch yourself around sharks because you are their favorite dinner item. If you are eaten by a shark be prepared to visit Praetoseba. They can usually be avoided, unless you find yourself trapped between a zoo on the land and a shark in the water.

Skeletons - These are strictly fighter types. As with orcs, in the upper levels of the Kesmai dungeon, most are only a big problem for very new players. Beware of skeletons in the undead levels of the Underkingdom, however. They possess great skill at fighting, and each has more HP than an Ogre.

Snakes - There are a few chaotic snakes about, but most often any snake you might see will be from a snake staff or create snake spell from another player.

Stalkers - You can always tell when a stalker is approaching by 'the sound of many gnashing teeth'. They are very tough fighters that only experienced players should try to tackle.

Tigers - Not your run of the mill kitty. Tigers let you know they are around by their loud roar. Very ferocious and a real challenge for the seasoned player.

Trolls - Trolls can be found throughout all the lands. Depending on the location, they can be either slightly tougher than the orcs or considerably tougher than hobgoblins. In most areas, trolls are solitary critters, so it is unusual to see more than two at a time, which somewhat offsets the risks fighting them.

Troll Elite Guard - These beefed up trolls are found in the Troll Kings palace in the UK. They are quite a bit stronger than a regular troll and are skilled in the use of better weapons. They surround the Troll King and attack viciously when anyone enters the palace.

Wolves - Wolves come in three varieties. Ordinary wolves usually run in packs and they are easily killed. Although they typically do less than 15 points damage on average, if they all get a lucky bite in, start making plans to retreive your deathpile. The next two types of wolf are Prince Wolves and King Wolves (found in Axe). They usually run alone, and can only be killed by a wizards ice spear or a silver weapon. The Prince Wolf bites for between 10 and 35 points of damage. The King wolf, which is indistinguishable from the others by sight, is much harder to kill, and does damage for between 10 and 110 points! His attacks usually are in the 30-40 range, but can be much more severe, and he often will stun you with a blow. When killed, his corpse will yield an obsidian egg, necessary to obtain a returning axe. Wolves are fast, able to move three hexes at a time, but they cannot move those hexes and hit at the same time; a fact that is of great strategic value to a fighter who can run and balm at the same time.

Wyrms - These are distant cousins to the dragons and can be formidable foes. They are presently only found in Oakvael and the ones found on the wyrm level can be hurt with silver weapons only. There is a wyrm pack that can be found in the reptile pit (-310ft) in Oakvael and are the equal of most any dragon.

Wyverns - Wyverns are fast moving lizards that usually fight you with claws and an occasional bite. They are very tough critters for new players and must be treated with respect by even intermediate level players. The wyverns in the Underkingdom come in different colors, green, red, blue and gray. Red wyverns are immune to fire, blue to poison, and gray to ice. They travel in groups of three, but are usually no more than a nuisance to the traveler experienced enough to hunt the Underkingdom.

Yasnaki - A brotherhood of sorcerers and warriors. They are mainly found on the Carfel level of the Underkingdom dungeon guarding the secret entrances to Carfel's Spider and Carfels lair. They are very powerful magic casters and fighters.

18.1: Magic Using Critters

Banshees - They always announce their presence with a piercing shriek and will cast one of two spells. About 35 percent of banshees will cast darkness spells at you, so a night vision helm is necessary. Another 35 percent will cast curses at you EVERY round. While the curse may only do 20 to 30 hits per round, they can add up real fast. The remaining group will fight you, usually with axes. They are fairly easy for high level players to kill. The banshees found in the Underkingdom are considerably more deadly, possessing powerful death spells and curses.

Goblins, Hobgoblins and Orcs - In all the lands except The Underkingdom they are all fairly low level magic users, which can cast fireballs, magic missiles, and webs. They usually die with one or two blows from anyone with moderate weapon skills. These same crits in the underkingdom can cast a range of spells. Goblins usually cast potent fireballs while hobs and orcs tend to cast lightning.

Lich - Liches have a variety of spells. In Oakvael, they will cast Icestorms, except for the Lich Twins, who prefer Fireballs and aging. Other liches will cast Stuns and/or Death spells.

NPCs - Wizards and Thaums have the same choice of spells available to players. Wizards usually will use a concussion for the initial spell and then follow it with icestorms. Thaums can be considerably more dangerous with blind, death, fear and stun spells. Any thaum wearing a robe is a fairly high level magic user and can inflict serious damage.

Presence - Similar to spectres, these creatures inhabit four places; the Oakvael Doom.Orc lair, the Axe Drake lair, the region outside of Vulcan's home, and the Leng mausoleum. The presence in Oakvael will cast continuous stun spells. This gets rather awkward when there are several other critters around beating on you. The presence in Axe will cast icestorms at you. The presence in Leng casts Curse spells.

Salamanders - Noted for the continuous fire walls they cast, occasionally they will take a swing at you with a claw. Some salamanders in Oakvael also require blue glowing weapons to fight.

Shadows - Hiding in the shadows is this crits forte. Darkness is their spell of choice and they remain invisible until they are on the same hex as you.

Spectres - Spectres cast death, stun, and blind. They are permanently hidden and can only be seen when in the same or an adjacent hex.

Wights - Slightly less powerful than wraiths, they usually cast curses and often will be fighter types.

Wraiths - Their favorite spells are blindness and death. In the Oakvael undead level, there are many wraiths who are fairly high level MAs and can do considerable damage with punches and jumpkicks.

18.2: Lair Critters

Most lair critters require the use of magical (blue glowing) weapons. In addition to this, some may also require edged or pointy weapons, blunt weapons, silver weapons or in the case of the Axe icedragon, a silver greataxe.

If you start a fight and get a 'hits with little effect' message, it is time to beat a hasty retreat, since you are using the wrong weapon.

Hit point ranges are hits taken with icescale, robe, Griff skull and 4 +3 shielders. Difficulity rating (DR) is 1 - 10 with 10 being the most difficult.

18.2.1: The Kesmai Dragon (Daisy) DR = 4

Found in the -4 level of the Kesmai dungeon, this is the beginners version of a dragon. She usually hits in the 25 to 40 point range, with frequent knock downs. A Knight with 90 hit points can usually be successful in a fight with Daisy. The reason knights are interested in Daisy is she carries the gem necessary to complete the first knight's quest. She is not a foe to be taken lightly, however, and all players must exercise extreme caution with her, as with all lair crits. Liar items include the agate, dragon scales from her corpse, F/I ring, Dragon skull (F/I protection), a robe, a youth potion (YP), silver daggers, a +4 long sword, a +1 strength bracer, shields, gems, coins and a few other misc. items.

18.2.2: The Trog (Kesmai) DR = 2

The trog is one of the weaker lair critters, but can still do damage comparable to what an Ogre would do. He hits in the 10 to 20 point range with frequent knock downs. Lair items include a ram skull, +1 strength rings, shields, assorted gems and coins, +1 dex ring, +1 blind resist ring and a silver dagger.

18.2.3: Ydnac the Evil Thaum DR = 4

Southeast of Hermann's, Ydnac can be found in his little niche. He has the hardest hitting death spells of any NPC. His Death spells do roughly 100 points of damage without protection. He occasionally likes to move around and sometimes stops in to see how Hermann is doing. His Lair loot includes: an occasional rhammer, a wisdom potion (50% chance), a robe, a few gems, and a bit of gold.

18.2.4: The Axe Giant DR = 5

In Axe on the 60' level is the Giant's castle. The area surrounding his castle is often swarming with NPCs, as is the interior. An altar on the second floor of the castle often holds a returning hammer. The Giant can, kick you, stomp you and generally pulverize the unwary. He can hit in the 20-80 point range and connects for stuns often. He cannot (usually) move and hit in the same round, and some players have used that fact and the castle terrain to fight the giant; few stand toe-to-toe and slug it out with him. The Giant wears dragon scale armor.

18.2.5: The Axe Drake (Sparkles) DR = 7

The drake lives in a lair atop the 230' level. Coveted for the DP he carries and for the wealth in his lair, the drake is a fearsome foe. He strikes with lightning (to which he himself is immune) for as much as 100 HP, and often stuns for several rounds. His strikes with tooth and tail are no less furious, and he moves and hits in the same round. He hits in the 60 to 85 HP range, but hits for over 100 are not uncommon. When not fighting and cursing the presence, the Axe drake will fly up to see how Mama is doing. Lair items include a mana restore potion (MRP), FF boots, +3 shielder, +6 strength bracer, +2 dex ring, dragon skull, +3 black iron staff, drake potion (well it isn't named a drake potion for nothing), drake scales from corpse, and misc. items.

18.2.6: The Axe Ice Dragon (Mama) DR = 10

The ice dragon lives in a lair above the drake's lair. If the drake is a tough opponent, the ice dragon makes him look like a baby. Without top notch ice protection, you can expect 100+ HP ice storms. Hitting with tooth, horn, and claw, this dragon can do 120+ hits per round. Mama has a tendency to visit the yeti. The goodies in the hoard are nice too, with a magic restore potion (MRP), FF boots, Griffin skull, +3 shielder, Glower, Griffin Figurine, SD Brooch or Shield bracer coins, gems and other misc items.

18.2.7: The Axe Yeti (Yoric) DR = 9

This is a case where getting to the lair is harder than the actual battle with the critter. The Yeti is located in a lair past the Axe ice dragon. For a thief with a good hide spell, this is not a big handicap, but everyone else will have to deal with the drake and ice dragon. The Yeti can cast ice storms no less potent than those of Mama, but is more noted for the ferocious attack with tooth and claw. He averages 50 to 80 HP. The main items of interest in the Yeti's hoard include the dagger he carries, necessary for the second knight's quest, and the night vision helm (bear skull). The NV helm is essential for anyone who plays in the undead level, since one of the most frequently cast spells there is darkness. Other items include FF boots, a brown robe, mana restore potion (MRP), breathe water bracer, +3 black staff, +5 longsword, gems, coins, and other misc. items.

18.2.8: King Wolf/Kwolf (Fluffy) DR = 6

Kwolf is a critter without a lair. He wanders the mountians and caverns of Axe Glacier and is often hard to find. Kwolf hits hard and is difficult to defeat. Prince wolves are often mistaken for Kwolf because they too hit hard and are difficult to defeat. The prize for killing the Kwolf is an obsidian egg which is used to obtain a returning axe. The weapons that are effective against Kwolf are the silver great axe (SGA), the hummingbird sword, rdaggers, silver daggers, the ice spear spell, and the death spell. Concussion and stun spells are said to also have an effect on Kwolf.

18.2.9: The Leng Drake DR = 9

A beefed up version of the Axe drake, the Leng drake has more HP, harder hitting lightning, and has a venomous tail. The most notable feature with this lair critter is the company it keeps. The Leng drake lair area is loaded with Manticoras, Minotaurs, and death casting Liches. The critters regenerate so quickly that in the space of five minutes you can go from no crits at all to a full blown zoo. The Leng drake is seldom hunted because of his loot, or rather the lack thereof. His only loot is his hide, a DP, and 30% of the time, he will have the coveted lightning resist ring.

18.2.10: The Leng Dragon (The Great Kosh) DR = 8

Kosh is a fire dragon and, of course, casts fireballs. This dragon averages 70 HP per attack, occasionally doing 100+. Kosh is located atop a cliff, and by wearing feather fall boots, you can jump out of the lair to drink balm and regroup, although sometimes the dragon will follow you down. Searching the dragon corpse yields a drake or dex potion and death resist ring. Other lair items include a winged NV helm, a fear/blind protect bracer, a raise dead staff, a red robe, and other misc. items.

18.2.11: The Leng Ninjamaster (Shidosha) DR = 6

The Oakvael Serpent is considered to be a 'lair' critter without a lair. In this case, the Ninja lair is a lair without a critter. What it does have is swarms of ninja warriors who can dish out a severe beating. Due to variations in the generation of critters and NPCs, you can see remarkable differences in damage potential in this area. The ninja gaurds are roughly 6th dan in skill, and travel in groups of threes. Shidosha himself is roughly 7th dan, but the fan he weilds severely restricts his hitting and blocking potential. He is usually easily subdued by even a first dan MA. Woe if he drops his fan, as he does occasionally. Be prepared for a fearsome battle. The area is accessible only to thieves and MAs through two teleports. Anyone who enters this area should bring alot of balm; they will need it.

18.2.12: The Leng Sand Serpent DR = 4

This is another fairly weak critter, which most intermediate players should be able to handle fairly easy. It's hoard is not worth much, but does usually have one or two +3 shield rings in it, which does make the fight worthwhile.

18.2.13: The Leng Vampire (Vlad) DR = 10

The dark tower is the most feared area in the game. Like the drake lair, it has an unreal regeneration rate for the critters. There are four levels to the tower, with the vampire at the top. The vampire himself is a force not to be trifled with, and the zoo that keeps him company is unparalleled. There are always two very high powered griffins there, one high powered salamander, and a lich that likes to stun anything he can. All but the Lich are immune to fire and ice. The vampire and lich are completely invisible, unless standing on the same hex with you. Vlad can cast continuous deathspells and ages you with just a touch. The vampire also has a vicious bite and can punch for 100+. Overall, this is without a doubt the most hazardous area in Leng. Lair items include an untied SGA which is dropped by the lich, a bear skull, ff boots, f/i amulet, a +3 shielder, a torc, and other misc. items.

18.2.14: The Oakvael Doom.Orc (Doomy) DR = 5

While the Leng vampire is the most dangerous lair, the Doom.Orc may well be the easiest. The only serious trouble you can get into in the Doom.Orc lair is with the stun-casting presence. Most of the time, there will only be several archers in the area, but occasionally a griffin or bear will wander in. Cudyll the Knight trainer occasionally stops by for a visit. The Doom.Orc himself is a wimp, but a wimp carrying a +4 blue glowing steel crossbow. The crossbow is highly prized by thieves since they can use it from hiding and kill considerably tougher critters than they could otherwise handle. The entrance to the lair is a night portal and will not allow wizards or thaums to pass.

18.2.15: The Oakvael Lich Twins (Larry & Moe) DR = 8

Found in the southwest corner of the undead level in Oakvael, the biggest challenge is often just getting there alive. The undead level is possibly the toughest playing area in the game. The foyer to the Lich's lair usually has a couple banshees, two scorpions and occasionally an MA wraith or two. The biggest problem is dealing with the secret doors into the lair. As soon as you open the secret door to the inner lair, depending on what mood they're in, the lich twins will either cast a fireball at you or jumpkick you. The Lich twins are not particularly powerful. They punch in the neighborhood of 30 to 50, although with frequent knock downs. If there is no major zoo in the inner lair, the best thing to do is jump for the middle hexes and give them hell with your weapon of choice. There is usually at least one NPC spell caster in the lair. Loot includes a +3 strength bracelet, ff boots, a dex potion, a +3 crossbow, a mana restore potion, a f/i amulet, a dragon skull, a yellow robe, a cure wounds wand, an icestorm wand, and a few other misc. items.

18.2.16: The Oakvael Whirlwind Dragon (Wendy) DR = 6

This dragon is primarily the final part of the second knight's quest. This is another case where getting to the dragon is harder than the actual battle with the dragon (see section on knight's quest). Wendy's specialty is casting the whirlwind spell, which is usually cast only once during the battle. Once you get past the WW, this dragon is not much more difficult than Daisy. The lair, however, is guarded by a pair of wyrms, several serpents, a trio of spectres, three or four minotaurs, and a pair of stalkers. : )

18.2.17: The Oakvael Serpent (Cecil) DR = 7

This is a rather unique lair critter, since it doesn't have an actual lair. The serpent wanders the central portion of the Serpent Lake level in Oakvael among the black foetid fogs. This is a very tough critter who can stun you repeatedly with bites, and it can strike twice as fast as other crits. It also requires blue glowing weapons to kill it. However, the serpent moves relatively slow - two hexes at a time maximum, so a player armed with an rhammer, raxe, or halberd can run 3 hexes, poke or throw, then run three more hexes. The serpent will often be carrying a most coveted drake potion, although thieves often steal his potion, and, having no limbs to speak of, the serpent occasionally drops the potion when startled.

18.2.18: Carfel's Giant Spider DR = 9

The giant spider is the guardian to the entrance of Carfel's lair. Her lair is located on the Yasnaki level of the UK dungeon. You know you are close to her lair when you find yourself in a room with an alter and a secret door with a dagger on it. Only thieves can pass into her lair. (These thieves may not be carrying corpses, in case you've any mischevious ideas). Her lair is permanently webbed and has a few Yasnaki hanging around. She has a pretty good bite but is better at poisoning her opponents. The entrance to the passages leading to Carfel's lair is located in the north section of her lair. The only loot to be found in her lair is whatever the Yasnaki drop.

18.2.19: Carfel The Master Assassin DR = 7 (1?)

Carfel is a master thief, with a permanent hide spell and a pernanent speed spell that lets him attack more than once per round. His lair is located beyond that of his pet spider in the UK dungeon. It is difficult to keep track of Carfel due to his permanent hide and speed spells. Although he is a 6th+ dan, he is currently unable to see in the dark, which severely limits his effectiveness in battle. Beware: your darkness spell won't last through the battle. His main treasure are two (2) +5 silver returning daggers. Also in his lair can be found a charisma potion, glowers, whale gems, silver daggers, white robe, dragon skull, and coins.

18.2.20: Overlord (Ollie) DR = 10

Said to be the most feared lair critter in the game, the Overlord has his lair on the lowest level of the UK dungeon. Getting to him is as much of a challenge as fighting him. The last corridor leading to his lair is frought with extreme danger. You will have to the concussion traps that are placed in a diagnal pattern in the floor while walking in permanent darkness. Beware that casting a light spell may expose you to even more danger. Each safe hex is directly in front of a wraith casting fear (which it need not warm), and 100+ HP curse spells. If you're lucky enough you will get to the blood hex at the end of the corridor. This blood hex portals you into his lair. Once inside the fight begins. He casts ice spears which range in potency from 40-120 HP. The Overlord also has the ability to age you, and there is not a weapon made that will hurt him. Magic is the only thing that will harm him. It is said that figs are very useful here, but beware the bonfires in the four corners of his sanctuary. He carries the Staff of Blocking (Stormhalter, OL staff) which is the envy of all MU's. The staff has the special properity of increasing the MU's mana regen rate by one point. Added to the two points a robe gives, it will increase mana at a rate of three points per regen round. Other items in his lair are ice dragon scales, a purple robe, protection from stun and death bracer (oak leaf), bear NV skull, white robe, youth potions, a DP, three glowers, a +3 three staff, a +5 longsword, a +4 greatsword, silver daggers, a protection from poison amulet with 20 charges (small dagger on a chain), and coins. Be sure to bring lots of friend on this lair hunt.

18.2.21: The UK Wandering Drake (Rover) DR = 8

Another lairless critter. He is found (he finds you) roaming the Wyvern Plains east of town in the Underkingdom. The drake's blue color allows him to blend in with his surroundings. He's a hard hitter but doesn't cast lightning like his counterparts in Leng and Axe. The only item he carries is a DP.

18.2.22: The Skeleton Swordmaster DR = 7

The Swordmaster is found around the fountain of blood in the undead level of the Underkingdom. He is ually surrounded by banchees, spectors, ghouls and other undead crits. He doesn't have a lair so he doesn't have much loot. The only item of any value is the +4 steel rapier, which is a very hard hitting weapon. Thieves like this weapon because it doesn't break hide like most other weapons.

18.2.23: Troll King DR = 9

The Troll King is located in his palace in the Underkingdom. Surrounded by elite troll gaurds, TK hits hard and has plenty of HPs. Most weapons will harm Troll.King. He carries a hummingbird shaped amulet which contains 20 charges of protection from stun and death. The amulet is also used to acquire the hummingbird sword. Only other lair loot to be found is a +4 greatsword and whatever gold the guards drop.

18.3: Poison/Venom

Certain critters have the ability to poison you. These include ghouls, the scorpions, manticoras , UK gargoyles, lurkers, orugugras, and the leng drake. The ghouls, gargs, lurkers and orugugras bite, and the others use their tails for the poisonous attacks.

Poison has a delay period before it is activated. The ghouls', gargs', lurkers', orugugras', drakes', and serpents' poisons have a two round activation delay; the scorpions' and manticoras' have a one-round delay. Once activated, the poison will hit for several consecutive rounds in decreasing measure. The ghoul's poison, for example, will hit for 15 points damage two rounds after the bite. On the third round, it will hit for 14 points, on the fourth for 13, on the fifth for 12, and so on until it runs it's course. If one were to be bitten twice by the ghoul, the poison could be hitting for above 25 points in every round, coupled with any other damage being received. This can become quite serious very quickly.

There are several ways one can deal with poison. One is for a thief or thaum to cast neutralize upon you, eliminating the poison. Another is to buy some "sprigs" (sold in Kesmai outside the Apothecary shop and east of the stairs near the temple in Oakvael). Sprigs can be taken from the sack and eaten in one round, and will cut the poison damage by about 5 points. A neutralize poison amulet worn around the neck or held in the hand can be used by typing "cast neutralize" in the command line.

A very effective way to combat the effects of poison sounds a bit strange at first - that is to drink another poison, with a long activation delay. Wine, which can be bought at a tavern, is a mild poison (does 1 HP of damage) that has a 10 round delay. Since no poison is injected into the system until the delay period of the last received poison is finished, a poisoned player can drink some wine and get a 10 round respite from poison effects; enough time to locate a thief or thaum to come to the player's position with a neutralize spell, find a neutralize amulet, or to get a pile of balms together in anticipation of the coming damage.

Section Nineteen: Expanding Your Horizons: The Five basic game segments and Facets

The five (5) basic game segments are the five different lands: Kesmai, Leng, Axe Glacier, Oakvael and Underkingdom. The lands have six (6) different facets; Agate (where everyone new starts), Beryl, Corel, Diamond, Emerald, and Garnet. Think of each facet as a Monopoly board. If you have six (6) facets then you would have six (6) Monopoly boards side by side. You would have players in each facet playing but they could not play with each other unless they were in the same facet. Each facet is played separately from the others. If there are too many players in one facet then try another, commonly known as faceting.

19.1: Moving Between Lands

Movement between the lands of Kesmai, Leng, Oakvael, Axe Glacier and Underkingdom is accomplished via portals. To use most of the portals all you have to do is double click on the portal or, if you prefer, type "ashtug ninda anghizidda arrflug" in the command line. Each land has its own color for its portal:

Blue - Kesmai
Yellow - Leng
Gray - Axe Glacier
Green -- Oakvael
Purple-- Underkingdom

A general description of the portals in each land follows.

19.1.1: Leng

There are two portals from Kesmai to Leng; the first is in a room on -3 that is west of the pit rope, east of Ironbar's. This is a one way portal to Leng. At the other end of the portal you will arrive northeast of town standing in a bush. The second portal to Leng is in the far eastern section of the surface of Kesmai, which transports you to another portal in Stonehenge in Leng. The trio of portals you appear on will take you to various lands as per the color code described above. There is another portal in Leng which portals to the Serpent Lake level of Oak. This is a one way portal, protected by power troll who carries a key that opens the door to the portal. The troll isn't too hard to defeat and the key isn't really necessary to unlock the door; the door will open regardless.

19.1.2: Axe

The portal from Kesmai to Axe Glacier is inside the limestone cavern on -3. This portal will transport you to Axe Town proper. The trio of portals you appear on will take you to various lands as per the color code described above. Another portal in Axe is in the temple in Chaos Town. It is located at the top of the stairs in the ceiling. This is a manual portal which means you must type in the portal chant to activate the portal. It will portal you back to the eastern section of the temple in Kesmai. The return portal to Axe from the Underkingdom is located in UK town north of the town plaza.

19.1.3: Oakvael

The portal to Oakvael is in the garden on level -4 to the west of Daisy's lair. At the other end of the portal to Oakvael, you will find yourself next to the right of an altar. The trio of portals you appear on will take you to various lands as per the color code described above. The town in Oakvael is to the west of the portal and is located in the trees above the surface.

19.1.4: Underkingdom

The only portal to the Underkingdom is near Chaos Town in Axe Glacier. No other portal to the UK is available. NOTE: You will hear the voice of a singing woman as you near the portal. A siren's call?

19.2: Kesmai

Kesmai is the beginning scenario. It is advisable that you remain in Kesmai until you feel comfortable and confident of your skills and abilities. There is no set time or level when someone is ready to move on to the other lands.

The dungeon is made up of four underground levels; the top level is designated -1, the bottom one -4. Level -1 is the easiest level, and the best place for the new player to get accustomed to the game. Skeletons and kobolds are the easiest crits on this level, and they can only move one hex at a time. Kobolds will run from you when badly wounded. Orcs are archers and fighters. They are a bit harder to kill, but are worth 4 times the experience points of skeletons. Wyverns are tough opponents and fast flyers, able to move 2 hexes at once. Trolls are perhaps the toughest of all, although they are still confined to 2 hex movement. They are worth the most experience points, and will also run when badly wounded. An occasional wight may be encountered; wights stay away and cast curses, but do not do much damage.

Level -2 has much the same selection of crits, but they each hit a little harder than their -1 counterparts, and are tougher to kill. Some of the orcs on -2 can cast fire at you, which can do alot of damage to an unprotected character. Still, -2 fires are tame, and most characters will be able to get out of them alive, even without protection. Goblins are found on -2 in the form of archers and fighters.

Level -3 has a few changes. Few skeletons or kobolds will be encountered. Most orcs will be fighters, and more fierce than any previously encountered. The wights' curses hit harder. Trolls become very powerful. In addition, some new crits will be encountered: hobgoblins are larger and much more dangerous than the upper level goblins; wraiths are crits that stay away and cast spells. Death spells can do as much as 40 points of damage on this level.

Gargoyles are very fast, hard hitting pests that present great danger because they can do so much damage even when you are trying to run away from them. Salamanders will engulf you in intense flame. Some orcs will cast web spells at you, hindering your movement while they follow up with magic missiles. Webs can be burned, or simply escaped if you try long enough. One can also recall out of a web if necessary.

Level -4 presents some new challenges. All of the -3 crits are present in harder hitting varieties. They are joined by several others, making a wonderfully thrilling and dangerous package. NPCs (non player characters), ghouls, spectres, minotaurs, and of course, the dragon. NPCs are wizards, thaumaturges, and fighters. The wizards will surround you in storms of fire or ice, and the fighter attacks with a +4 rapier.

Ghouls are invisible, except from one hex away, and ferocious, they can hit and bite for 30 HP, often stunning you in the process, and their bites are poisonous (see the section on poison)! Spectres are invisible, except from one hex away, and cast blindness and death like wraiths. Minotaurs are fierce beasts swinging hard-hitting staves or greatswords, and they can absorb many hits before they will run. The dragon is the ultimate challenge in Kesmai, not to be fought until a great deal of experience and HP have been obtained.

The eastern islands are not usually hunted, unless a fighter is travelling to Hermann for knighthood, or a player is travelling to Leng. The islands are home to boars, wolves, bears and a couple of centaurs that are mostly equivalent to -2 or -3 beasts in danger. There exists, however, one bear second only to the dragon in ferocity. Called Bigfoot or Smokey by the players, this bear announces his presence with a low roar. He is fire-resistant, hard hitting (as much as 65 HP), fast, and extremely durable. The griffins guarding the approach to Hermann's make the gargoyles of the dungeons seem tame. A tiger or two roam the area with the HP and attacking skill of a minotaur.

19.3: Leng - What to expect (By Malachi)

Leng is historically one of the most overlooked provinces of the realm. Back in the old days, Leng was only hunted when one wanted to finish the Gauntlet Quest (when the Leng Dragon was the keeper of the Buddha), or when someone was just so bored with the same old routine that they needed something different. Leng is actually a very colorful segment, and has a potential that has not been fully realized. To give the novice adventurer an idea of what to expect, I have put together this traveler's guide to Leng. It is broken up into several key sections.

LENG TOWN, THE RIFT, PORTAL, AND STABLES
Leng starts out in a valley, where the city is located. The city contains the usual amenities of trainers, merchants, and vendors. The trainers of Leng are capable of training the highest skilled adventurers of the land. That alone should be reason enough to make the trip to Leng Town. Also, located above the Gym, is Puck. Puck is the NPC that many aspiring MA's will meet, as he is the final part of the Crystal Gauntlet quest. Traveling though the sandy deserts that surround the town one will encounter a majority of sandwyrms with the occasional manticora, hyena, or centaur roaming the desert plains. The manticora is the deadliest foe, as it has a sting that can stun the unwary adventurer, and can inject a lethal poison that will slowly kill the victim. From Leng Town to the east is a great rift which is spanned by a bridge. The troll that guards the bridge is mainly a nuisance, though he can knock one off of the bridge. The rift area is divided into four parts. Two of the parts are accessed via ropes from the surface, and decend 100'. The northern section is generally lifeless, and mainly just a stopping point. The southern section is usually guarded by a group of centaurs, and can give a moderate level character a real challenge. The level 150' below the surface is also deserted, and has but a single rope that leads to the level 200' below the surface. On the -200' level is a single troll. This troll is much tougher than the usual troll and has been nicknamed the Power Troll. Killing this troll will yield a key that unlocks a door on that level. Behind this door is a portal to the Oakvael Province (historically the original Portal to that land). This portal will deposit the unaware adventurer in the far southern edge of the Serpent Lake level of Oakvael. Continuing on the surface of Leng across the bridge to the southeast, there is a climb up to the portal area. The portal area is generally deserted, though one can occasionally find a wight that guards the portals. This wight is not a real challenge. The portal area has portals that lead to the other segments, and is where most portals from the other segments deposit you upon entry to Leng. The one exception to this is the Leng portal from the -2 Kesmai dungeon, to be discussed below. Heading northwest from the bridge, the land climbs through a sandy hill, and there is a pit at the top that leads to the temple. Thaums have always been feared and mistrusted in Leng, and they were forced many years ago to hide their presence. Near the Temple entrance is a small foyer of darkness that leads to the Amber Stairwell. The Amber Stairwell, named for the Ghodess in the days when she roamed the lands as a mortal, is the place where adventurers from Kesmai are deposited when they use the Portal located in the Kesmai dungeon. From the Amber Stairwell, an adventurer may climb down a rope to the Lac de Leng, climb down a set of stairs to the serpent's passage, or simply jump down to an area just west of the Dark Tower on the mausoleum level. There is a magical air about the Amber Stairwell, as it is otherwise geographically displaced from the areas that it borders. Heading west from the town, there is a veil of magic in the western cliff face. To activate this veil, one must hold a red pulsating gem in either hand. Moving through this veil, the adventurer will find the old Leng stables. Many creatures inhabit this area. From the stables, through a secret passage to the west, can be found a long hallway. Midway along that hall is a portal through which only MAs can pass, and this teleport will lead the MA to a set of stairs. Descending these stairs, the MA will eventually find his self in a corridor just outside the dojo of Shidosha. In the stables there is also a set of stairs leading up to a passage. This passage connects the stables to a small room behind the mausoleum of Leng. Northwest of town is another climb up, which leads to a passage in the northeast corner of the Mausoleum level.

LENG MAUSOLEUM, THE SANDSERPENT, AND THE DARK TOWER
There are many ways to get to this level, but eventually all paths lead to the Leng mausoleum level. The primary inhabitants of this level are groups of berserker NPC fighters, though there are many other inhabitants. At the eastern end of the level is the mausoleum and the Long Hallway. Here you will find many of the berserkers, along with plenty of skeleton warriors, weak wizard NPCs (mostly male), a few hobgoblins with thaum type spells, and in the mausoleum itself is a statue and a fear casting presence. The presence is easiest for wizards to take out, in that a well placed fireball or icestorm will quickly subdue the fearsome creature. Other classes have a much tougher time, particularly if the presence lands that fear spell. The long north-south corridor is ideal for a wizard to place a whirlwind (or a Thaum Poison Cloud). Just be very careful that you don't nail other players with the spell. South of the mausoleum and corridor is a long east-west stretch, again ideal for WW/PC spells, that is inhabited by more of the same. This long range extends from the mausoleum to just south of the Dark Tower. The climb up to the Griffin Ledge is located in this area. Just west of the mausoleum is the area of the Dark Tower. The base of the tower is shrouded in darkness, requiring night vision in order to see where you are going. In this area are tougher wizard NPCs, mostly females this time, and Wraiths. The Dark Tower itself has 5 levels. The lowest level is mostly berserkers and wizards. The next level up is mainly trolls and wizards. The next level up from there is a death spell level, with many wraiths and liches. These wraiths and liches are invisible unless they are next to you or on top of you. A thief can come in very handy here (as will a wizard's fireball/ice storm). The next level has hidden archers, wizards, and thaums. And the top level is the penthouse, home of Vlad the Impaler, a vampire of nasty disposition. Along with Vlad are two griffins, a firebreathing salamander, and an archer or two. The entire Dark Tower is probably one of the toughest areas to hunt. West of the Dark Tower is the jump point from the Amber Stairwell, and the Lac de Leng. Here you will find a zoo of berserkers, wraiths, wizards, hobs, and skeletons. And the waters of the Lake are infested with man-eating sharks (yes, these sharks will eat you sending you straight to the UW). North of the Dark Tower, separate from the rest of the level, is the serpent's passage. Here you will find a few skeletons and wraiths, and maybe a spectre or two. At the far eastern end of this passage is the lair of the sand serpent. Sandy, as she is named, is rather a wimpy creature, easily handled by anyone that can make his or her way there.

GRIFFIN LEVEL, KOSH, AND THE LENG DUNGEON
Up from the mausoleum level is the griffin's rookery. Here you will find still more of the NPCs that like to haunt the area, along with more hobgoblins, trolls, gargoyles, a scorpion or two, and the main feature of the level; griffins. These griffins are nasty, and hit very hard. The best bet for attacking this level is judicious use of wizard area spells, although a fighter or MA can use the pond on this level for balming purposes as many of the inhabitants are unable to swim. Just make sure you have WB active before taking a dip. Going east along the main path an adventurer will eventually find him or herself at the bottom of a rope. This rope leads to the lair of Kosh, the Leng dragon. Do not climb this rope unprepared. Kosh is a very mean and very hungry dragon. The rope is such that it requires both hands in order to be able to climb it. Kosh has powerful attacks, hitting almost as hard as Mama, breathes fire, and, being hungry, he will eat anyone that he manages to kill (except those killed by his flame). His lair has many unique items, making him worth the effort of killing. Following the Amber River to its source leads to a waterfall with a rope hanging next to it. This rope leads to the upper level of Leng which includes the Nocha Glacier and the Leng drake's lair. In the far southwest corner of the level Nocha has established the Leng chapter of the thieves guild. Being very isolated, it have very little to offer the aspiring thief, other than one thing. In the SE corner of the guild is a veil, similar to the one that separates the Stables from the Main level of the town. By holding a red pulsing gem a thief can gain direct access to the corridor outside of Shidosha's dojo. Several places on the Griffin Level have air drops, all of which lead to the Leng dungeons. The dungeons may also be accessed by a stairway in the far southeast corner of the level. Follow a passage through the caves on the south side of the level. The dungeons are very difficult and contain many creatures of the undead realm, as well as trolls, hobs, and NPCs. At full power, this area can rival the undead level of Oakvael in terms of toughness, experience, and treasure.

IANTA LEVEL, NOCHA GLAICIER, AND THE LENG DRAKE
The topmost level of the Cliffs of Leng is a vast forest. A tiger will most likely greet you upon arrival. After getting through this hazard, you will find many different creatures, including hobs, trolls, bears, ducks(!), and other such creatures. The MA trainer and a knight trainer are located on this level. Following a path along the north side of this level, you will eventually find your way blocked by a wall. In the wall is a secret door, behind which the Princess Ianta is held captive. The successful adventurer that leads Ianta home to the throne room in Leng Town will receive either a DP or a wisdom potion, and a couple of diamonds. Be forewarned that the princess is very frail after her long time in bondage, and the road home is very treacherous. In the northwest corner of the level is a small glacier that leads to a rope. At the top of this rope is a small area which is connected to a larger area by a suspended bridge. The larger area is the foyer of the Leng drake's lair. The foyer area is inhabited by manticores, minotaurs, liches, and is very hazardous on its own. Going through the foyer, you eventually find yourself in front of a secret door on the eastern wall. Well, it is supposed to be secret, but it stands out rather nicely, so it is not too hard to locate. Behind this door is a long passage that leads to another door. Behind this door is the lair of the Leng drake. His disposition is nastier than Kosh, and his appetite is even more voracious. He enjoys frying his guests with a lightning bolt, then finishing them off with a large gulp of his powerful jaws. His loot is also very poor, having at most a DP and a lightning resist ring. From the foyer area, by jumping down some of the airdrops, an adventurer can find himself in a small area that is filled with more minotaurs, manticores, and other such creatures, but it is mainly for those seeking a thrill, and generally avoided.

SHIDOSHA'S DOJO
Shidosha is the Ninja Master, and holder of the Buddha necessary for completion of the MA's gauntlet quest. In the Dojo with Shidosha are several ninja. Each of the ninja is a quite capable MA that can land some serious punches against the unwary. Of course, if anyone is already here, then it is doubtful that they are unwary. But the biggest danger is that the Ninja travel in packs of three. Shidosha himself is quite skilled in the martial arts, and would be a more formidable opponent if he would just drop the fan that he carries, and he does drop it occasionally. From the hallway outside of the dojo, which is only accessible by MA's and thieves to begin with, are 2 separate entrances. One entrance at the very south end of the hall is for thieves, the other, about halfway along the hall, is for MA's. Each class may enter the dojo at their own risk, and take on the hazards that lie inside.

19.4: Axe Glacier - What to expect (By Malachi)

Axe glacier, in and of itself, is not the most hunted land of most players. It should be, in my opinion, but most players prefer the Lengian plains and the hunting areas of Oakvael to the icy regions of Axe for standard hunting. Still, there is a high population of hunting in Axe for 3 reasons. Those reasons are Sparky, Mama, and Yoric. Yes, the Axe Trio, as they have been known for many years, is the main reason anyone even bothers with Axe. This is undoubtedly the toughest lair complex in the game, and Mama is arguably the toughest beast in the game. To get to them, one must travel through most of the other areas of Axe, and that is no easy adventure. The overall treasure selection in Axe is actually very good, with such items as glowers, +3 shield rings, f&i rings, +3 strength bracelets, and youth potions in Green bottles being more common than in some other areas. The gold intake is better than -3 though not as good as the other segments listed. The monsters are as tough as any found in -3 or -4 of Kesmai with good experience for the taking especially among the various NPCs. The trainers in Axe are almost as good as the ones in Oakvael, and easier to get to. Overall, Axe is a well-suited area for the mid-level adventurer, and has a few perks for the most advanced.

CREATURES AND TREASURES ENCOUNTERED IN AXE
Unlike most of the other segments, where there are particular creatures that will be encountered in particular areas, most of Axe is populated by the same variety of creatures. In terms of critters found, one area is about the same as any other, both in terms of density as well as selection. For this reason, I will not make any comments about the various creatures encountered in a particular area except for the Lairs, which I will discuss. Orcs, goblins, trolls, and hobgoblins can be found everywhere, and are not much tougher than their Kesmain counterparts of the -3 variety. Kobolds and skeletons also roam the 0' cavern region, though are not found anywhere else. Ogres, larger cousins to the trolls, can be found in most places as well. One feature of Ogres is that they wield halberds and will poke players from one hex away if you let them. Ogres can also see in the dark. Another featured critter of Axe is the rockworm. These come in two indistinguishable varieties. The small rockworms can be hit with most weapons, and don't hit very hard. The other rock worms require sharp weapons in order to injure them, and they hit much harder. All rockworms can move two squares at a time, and can move and hit on the same turn. Killing a rockworm will give the adventurer a small amount of gold and two lumps of iron ore. Rockworms can also see in the dark. Wolves also wander the various parts of the Glacier. The normal wolves tend to run in packs, and can be easily killed by any means. There are also 2 varieties of glacial wolves which are indistinguishable until you encounter them. The glacial wolves tend to stay to the glacial areas of Axe. All glacial wolves require a silver weapon to hurt them. In addition, only a few spells will hurt the King Glacial Wolf (notably stun and ice spear). Glacial wolves tend to be solitary creatures. You'll know you've killed a King Wolf when you search its corpse, as these wolves carry a special egg which is useful for obtaining the returning axe (see later notes for details). Also roaming the glacial areas are lizards. These lizards are cousins to the salamanders that roam the other segments, except that the lizard will cast ice storm rather than fire wall. And trust me, being caught by multiple Lizards is no laughing matter. Other than the ice storm and an unusual immunity to cold, these lizards are no tougher than the salamander. Of the undead family, wraiths and spectres are common, and are much more powerful than their Kesmain counterparts. Also, there are undead called shadows that will cast darkness over their victim. An NV helm, while not mandatory, is quite useful when encountering these creatures. One can also find plenty of NPCs in Axe. There are wizard NPCs that tend to cast ice, thaum NPCs who lead off with a stun and follow with some fairly potent death spells, though not in the range that one might find with Ydnac. Fighters generally wield either axe or longsword, and MAs will start with a jumpkick then start beating on you with either a dagger or a threestaff. As for treasure, again the distribution is fairly even above the 60' Level. Diligent searching will yield items like glowers, +3 shielders, +3 strength bracelets, DPs, permanent strength and dexterity potions, youth potions, and a wide assortment of gems. Gold is plentiful as well, and a person can do well at finding cash in Axe. Iron ore is common, since all of the rockworms produce two pieces each. Fire & ice rings are also more common here. The lairs that belong to the trio contain the rarer items, and this will be discussed in more detail when that section is presented.

AXE ENTRY PORTAL, TOWN, AND LOWER CAVERNS
Players appear in the northeast corner of the land just outside the main temple. Mother Phyllis, the Axe priestess, greets all newcomers warmly so long as they appear lawful. Non-lawfuls receive a stronger greeting, and Mother Phyllis is not one to trifle with. Phredick holds services constantly in the temple. When he is not involved with services he will gladly train the mid-to-high level thaums in the the more advanced ways of priestly prayer. Heading south along the path from the portal, one will find a small niche in the western wall, with a silver moon on the wall. This is the secret entrance to Silvermoon's smith shop, and it requires a moonstone ring and nighttime to enter. If you choose to visit Silvermoon take your iron ore and yttril with you and present them to the old smith. He will honor you with one of his famous silver greataxes, a weapon that I would not want to be without on the glacier. The town's western boundary is a river that runs from the northwest towards the southeast. In the northern part of town is the general store, bank, and wizard trainer. East of the wizard trainer is the locker room. Heading south in town, one will find the MA's dojo which boasts of both low and high level MA trainers, a gym, the pawnshop, recall and balm vendors. Far to the south is the tanner, likely one of the busiest and best skilled tanners in all the lands. One prominent feature of Axe Town is the complete lack of law enforcement officials. There is no sheriff to maintain order in the land. Instead, located in key places around town, are statues that keep the riff raff under control. They will tolerate anything that appears lawful, including thieves, but woe to the non-lawful that appear in town. These statues deal out instant death to any that they see as non-lawful. Southwest of town, across the river, is the graveyard, a very small thing really, and a small group of caverns. This group of caverns is home to a band of various weak chaotics not much tougher than Kes -2. Following the river to the northwest one can find the confessor ghost centrally located at a place where the river forks. There are several ropes up the cliff to the north. Three of these lead to various points on the 60' level, but the westernmost rope up leads to the 80' level. Knights leave your halberds at home because all of these ropes require the use of both hands to scale, as do many of the climbs throughout the land.

60' LEVEL AND GIANT'S CASTLE
The 60' level of Axe is the lower part of the glacier which dominates the eastern half of the level. Any part of the glacier is not to be traveled lightly as the cold is very bitter and will constantly damage the unprotected. Very few creatures will be found on the glacier itself, except for ice lizards and an occasional glacial wolf. Somewhere in the center of the glacier area is a rope up to the Lightning Mesa. NPCs, trolls, and ogres will chase the unwary onto the ice, but don't actually wander there themselves. Most of the other monsters will not even set foot on the glacier. This is true of all the glacier areas. The western half of the level is dominated by a large structure. Asmodeus himself once built himself this structure, or so the legend goes. However, Poraph, the King of Giants, currently occupies it. Poraph is actually located on the upper level of the castle, with the rest of the castle being occupied by his minions. The minions are mostly NPCs of all classes, though one can also find an occasional hob or troll in his service. Poraph is a tough giant who can hit for as much as 90, though his average is closer to 65, with frequent stuns. He does not hit on the move, but he moves three hexes at a time, so it is very difficult to catch a breather in a heated battle with the big guy. Loot from the giant is limited to dragon armor and a bear coat similar to what you get from tanning the Yeti. Also in the castle is the goose that lays the golden egg (kill the goose to get the egg), and an rhammer may be found on the altar just outside of the giant's throne room. To the far west can be found the entrance to a set of caverns. Stairs leading up to the 80' level can be found deep in the caverns.

80' LEVEL, LIGHTNING MESA, AND POR'S PUB
The 80' Level, reached from the surface by rope and the 60' Level by stairs, is much like the area surrounding the outside of the giant's castle. Mostly wooded with a narrow pass leading to the north along the west side, this provides a very scenic route to the upper levels. A lawful griffin guards the eastern part of the 80' Level. This griffin does not take kindly to Wizards and their area spells, so be careful where you cast that fireball when in the presence of the griffin. The south part of the 80' level is another cavern complex which contains the stairs down to the 60' level. Looking out across the chasm you can admire the beauty of the outside part of the giant's castle though you can not see inside of it. In the northwest part of the level is a one-handed climb up to the 120' level. Along the path from the rope to the surface and the rope to the 120' level is another rope. This rope leads to one of the finest pubs in the land. Por, a well renowned knight of the realm, likes his drinks nice and cold and this pub has always served him the best. In the pub you can sell any loot gathered along the way, replenish balm supplies, and even bank your gold. And make sure you find the marker honoring the great knight Porphyry of that which is C.U.R.E. The plaque is located in the southwest corner of the pub, right near the table that has 2 peculiar looking boots sticking out from underneath. The Lightning Mesa is reached via a climb up from the glacier on the 60' level. There is nothing special about the area, other than a few NPCs that keep a watch over the area.

120' CAVERNS, THIEVES GUILD, AND LOCKPICK TOWN
The 120' level consists of two cavern complexes seperated by a large glacier. The western complex is the larger of the two, and has a set of stairs that lead to the basement of the Chaotic Temple in the west part of the complex. The north part of the complex also contains a rope up to the 180' level. The glacier that separates the two complexes is barren of most life with only an occasional lizard or wolf wandering the icy parts. The very north part of the glacier has two rope climbs to the 230' level. The eastern complex is much the same as the west except for the exit points. To the north is a stairway which will lead the adventurer to an empty hall, and then up to the 230' level, for use by those with unbeltable weapons. To the south is another stairway leading down to the 100' level. Just north of the stairway to the 100' level is a rope climb to Lockpick Town. Established many years ago by a band of thieves longing to escape from the usual problems associated with city dwelling, this town has grown to support all of the usual amenities found in the other cities. There are trainers for all the classes there with the exception of the thief trainer who has a residence elsewhere, though not far, and these trainers are among the more advanced trainers, equivalent to the Oakvael trainers. This level also has balm, a bank, a recall seller, a general store, and a tanner, and is a very complete town with the exception that there is no locker access. One of the main reasons that people travel to Lockpick, aside from its being close to the Trio, is that the general store here is the only known source of the lockpick. The lockpicks are free for the asking, but you must go there to pick them up. A little farther north, about midway between the climb to lockpick and the stairs to the 230' level, is a hidden chute known only to thieves. This chute will allow a thief to gain admittance to the Axe thieves guild and the trainer that resides there. This trainer, like the other trainers in Lockpick, will assist the more advanced thieves in their art.

100' CAVERNS
The 100' Level caverns are a small complex of rooms that house the usual variety of chaotics found in other regions of Axe. There is nothing unusual about this complex.

180' LEVEL, CHAOTIC TEMPLE/TOWN, AND PORTALS
The stairs from the 120' level western caverns will place the adventurer in the basement of the Chaotic Temple. This is a small complex, generally occupied by trolls, orcs, and the like, though occasionally a lizard, bear, or even a glacial wolf may be hiding out here. A stairway on the north end of the basement will lead on up to the 180' level, which is the main level. On the 180' level is the small remnants of a town. Some say that the Yasnaki once lived here, but the town is deserted, except for a small bank and a general store, and the chaotics that live in this town generally make life miserable for anyone trying to transact business there. Also, in a fountain in the center of this village, there is a water elemental that will attack any that come near the water. The NW part of the level is covered in some very peculiar trees. These trees have grown very recently and are from the Underkingdom. In the center of the trees is an ancient portal, which has only recently been reopened through the efforts of lawful kobolds. Back in the temple itself are more stairs leading up to higher floors of the temple. There are two floors above the main level, and suspended above the stairs on the top level is a compass rose portal that will lead back to Kesmai. As this portal is suspended, it must be activated manually, ie, you actually have to type in the chant. Most of the inhabitants of the 180' level and above are various NPCs.

230' LEVEL AND VULCAN
The uppermost level of Axe is mostly glacier. Stairs and rope climbs from the 120' level bring you up to south end of the level. By following the glacier north, there are pockets of trees and snow, where the chaotics dwell. A little way north, and on the east side of the glacier, a confessor ghost may be found. This was rumored to have been placed there by the ghods to allow those that were travelling on to the trio to receive their last rites, as most that traveled on to the dragon's lair never returned. Farther north, there is a fork in the glacier. The western fork leads directly to one of the two climbs up to the drake lair, and the beginning of the Trio. The eastern fork also leads up to a different climb to the drake lair, but there is a pocket of forest east of the glacier here as well. In the very south end of this pocket is a special moonstone portal. Adventurers that arrive at this portal at night holding a moonstone ring can use this portal to enter the secret workshop of Vulcan, the most renowned smith in the lands. Vulcan greatly desires to have King Wolf eggs, and will trade his most prized possession, the returning axe, in exchange for this bauble.

THE TRIO
The trio, what more needs to be said? This is a complex of three lairs, each inhabited by a very nasty beast. This entire complex is the toughest group to be encountered in the known lands.

From the climbs up from the 230' level, one will arrive in the lair of the Axe drake, commonly referred to as Sparky or Sparkles. Sparky is not quite as powerful as her Lengian cousin, but she still deals a potent lightning breath which does hits for around 70 points if you don't save, not to mention the stunning potential of the lightning. Her attacks with tooth, wing, and claw are also in the same damage range. Only edged weapons with a blue glow can hurt Sparky. In Sparky's lair, one will usually find a +3 shield ring, an f&i Dragon Skull, a +6 strength bracer, a +2 dexterity ring, and a variety of gems and lesser treasure. Sparky himself has a DP and either a blue robe or a stun resistance bracelet. If Sparky does manage to kill you, he does not eat, but is the only one of the trio that does not eat victims. Climbing up a rope from Sparky's lair, one will arrive on the level with Mama, the ice dragon. Mama is the toughest creature in the game, with ice that does significant damage and physical attacks that can hit for as much as 130. Mama is always hungry and she will eat her victims except those that fall to her ice attacks. She doesn't like frozen food. To hit Mama, there is one weapon and one spell. The silver greataxe, being the only aligned silver weapon in the game, is the only weapon capable of hitting the ice dragon, and the wizard's ice spear is the only spell potent enough to penetrate the ice dragon's armor. Beyond these two things, Mama cannot be hit. Mama's loot is very rich, with around 10K of coins, the griffin's NV skull, an MRP, a glower, a +3 shield ring, a griffin figurine, and many expensive gems. Mama's corpse usually carries either a shield bracelet or a booch with the spell of protection from stun and death. And, of course, skinning Mama will yield ice dragon scale armor, which is the best armor available in the game. If you get past Mama, either by killing her or just simply sprinting, there is a climb just east of her treasure that leads to the Yeti's level. Usually a few goblins, a Bigfoot bear, and a lizard or two are found on this level, and of course the Yeti known as Yoric. Yoric breathes ice, like Mama, and hits for about the same damage. In fact, except for the fact that most blue-glow weapons will hit him, he is as tough as Mama herself. And he is as hungry as Mama if not hungrier, since many people don't bother with Yoric after dealing with Mama. His loot consists of the bear NV skull, an MRP, a water breathing bracelet, a saffron robe, and of course the Misericorde Dagger (part of the second knight's quest). Also, there is another good assortment of gems and items available for the picking.
One final note on the Trio. It is actually a foursome, because somewhere in the vicinity of the Trio is the Axe presence. The presence is an undead creature that is invisible until it is on top of you, casts nasty ice, and can only be hit by magic or blue-glowing weapons. If you encounter the presence at the same time as one of the Trio, you are in big trouble.

19.5: Oakvael - What to expect (By Malachi)

Oakvael is probably the most popular of the segments for players to hunt. It has some of the most challenging general hunting areas available to the players, and grants very good experience, treasure, and sheer enjoyment. A little history on Oakvael may be in order. Of the original Island of Kesmai segments, Oakvael was the last segment to come online, and has always been the favorite of the players. The treasure selection for random treasure is very good and the monsters are tough enough to provide some challenge even to higher level characters while still offering a few areas that are easy enough for a lower level character. The knight trainer is slightly more accessible in Oak making her the more popular choice to attain knighthood. Oakvael is the home of the quests. The knight's quests and the MA crystal gauntlet quest start in Oakvael, the MA quest for the cloth takes place in Oakvael, and the final part of the second knight quest occurs in Oakvael. Unfortunately, the original portal to Oakvael was moved to a less convenient location. Those who remember IoK, or the web open beta, will recall that the original oak portal was just north of the Sage's shack in Kesmai. Still, many players make their way to Oak at the first opportunity, and it is still among the most hunted of the segments.

OAKVAEL SURFACE
Players appear just about in the center of the Oakvael surface. The surface area is heavily forested and is home to many wild animals. A player can usually expect to find a bear, packs of three boars, and maybe even a griffin during their adventure on the surface. Also roaming the surface are several orc sentries stationed to keep the lawfuls at bay. Fortunately for the players, these orcs don't do a very good job. Heading northwest from the portal area a player will find a couple of ropes leading up to Oakvael Township. In the far northwest corner of the realm lies the thieves guild, where Iamoni holds thief training sessions. Iamoni is an advanced trainer, and is the favorite of thieves that are ready to receive their training in the final spells or skills available to them. South of the portals is the Oakvael graveyard where past heroes were laid to rest and where players can gain admittance to the Underworld. West of the graveyard is the MA dojo of Tombo and Yuri. Yuri is the master of the gauntlet quest and is the person to seek when one wants to start the process to receive a set of CGs. East of the graveyard is an open pit that drops down to the Spider City level of the Oakvael realm. Continuing east from there one can find the entrance to the Doom.Orc lair. Doom.Orc is a vaguely humanoid creature that holds the one weapon that all thieves seek. The Doom.Orc bow is the best non-aligned magical weapon in existence. Of course, only thieves, MAs, and knights can enter the Doom.Orc lair. Furthermore, the lair may only be entered at night when the moon is other than new. Continuing east from the Doom.Orc area, there is a large open pit. Depending on where you decide to jump, you can end up in any of several places. However, one will generally end up in the altar room on the undead level. Many years ago, when this passage was first discovered, it was nicknamed the "Express Elevator to Hell" because of the landing points on the UD Level. Since then it has since done everything it can to live up to that name. In the far northeast corner of the area is a partially hidden path. Following this path leads to a pit down. At the bottom of the pit reside Brych and Aniet. Aniet is the knight trainer of Oakvael. Brych is the granter of the halberd, and all knights will end up visiting him in the course of their journey, as he also sends players on the very final leg of the second knight's quest. South of the entrance to the knights' abode is a small air drop. The western half of the drop lands one in the courtyard area of the Troll Temple level. The eastern half of the drop lands one in a small secret room on the Serpent Lake level. Wandering the surface is of Oak is Cudyll. Cudyll is another of the knight's quest people, and all knights start their first quest by visiting him. Heading farther east, the woods become sparser, mainly because they were destroyed by some cataclysmic fire many years ago, until the far eastern edge is reached. From the far eastern edge one can either climb or jump down to the eastern ledge.

OAKVAEL TOWNSHIP
Residing high above the surface of Oakvael is Oakvael Township. This city was built many years ago as a defense against the evil that came forth from below the surface, much of it due to the Yasnaki influence at the time. Many great trees support the city, with large walkways suspended amongst them to allow people to travel from city to city. For the longest time, Oakvael was considered to be the home of the greatest trainers in all the lands. Of course, this was many years ago. Still, the trainers in Oak are very capable of training all but the most advanced of players in many of the arts. The western half of the city is primarily shops and the merchant area. The bank and the locker area are also located nearby. Just to the southeast of the climb up to town, there is an MA trainer who will train those just starting in the arts. The temple, where Tveckie trains thaums in the priestly arts, is located in the northeast part of town. Far to the east is the tanner, the sage, and the Bull & Falcon, the local pub. Just northeast of the climb up to town, southwest of the temple, is an empty hut. This is the home of Konran the Wimp, and it is here where he must be lead when a rescue is attempted. Going up the staircase near the temple takes one to a small platform. The Confessor Ghost resides here. From this platform are two more climbs up. The one to the northeast leads to the hut of Ozkin, the wizard trainer. The other leads far into the trees to a small lookout point. From the main level of the city, on the north side, is a small climb down to the gym of Grizlad where one may be trained in the ways of the sword. He is also the person that all non-MA's seek when no other MA trainer will teach them, as he can train to a slightly higher level of MA skill.

SPIDER CITY
The Spider City level of Oak is really rather uninteresting, being little more than a long, narrow maze of passages that lead from the surface to the levels below. There are a few kobolds and maybe a troll or an orc which live on this level. But mostly what one finds are rats, spiders, vipers, and scorpions. A neutralize poison amulet would be recommended for the lower level players that come here, but once a person has sufficient defenses there is not much that will bother him. Spider City is good for advancing levels quickly though, as the creatures there, even the kobolds, give much more experience than the same creatures in the other segments. On the far eastern end of Spider City, one can see the "Express Elevator" as it passes through on it's way to the ground floor. A staircase near the elevator leads down to the Hob Caverns.

HOB CAVERNS
The Hob Caverns are a maze of rooms with short interconnecting passages. Scattered about the level are several small pools of water. These pools are very important for the low to mid level player as they afford a place to balm, throw rhammers, shoot bows, or cast spells. Inhabiting this level are many trolls, hobgoblins, orcs, and goblins. These are at least as tough as their counterparts in the depths of Kesmai. There are usually a couple of annoying spectres. These spectres will cast blindness on you, then hit you with several death spells in succession. Again, one can find the express elevator as it makes its way down through the levels to its final destination on the UD level. This is in the southwest part of the level. From the Hob level there are three other exits. A climb up in the southeast corner of the level leads up to the eastern ledge. An air jump in the far east side of the area jumps down to the Wyrm Wilderness, and a climb down in the northwest corner of the level leads to the Serpent Lake level. Make sure you examine the corpses of the critters. This particular set of critters is known for carrying many strange bottles, including DPs, MRPs, strength potions, dexterity potions, and even charisma potions. One never knows what one will find, so be alert.

EASTERN LEDGE AND WYRM WILDERNESS
The eastern ledge is a fairly vacant level on the far east side of Oakvael. Generally, one will only find a patrol of kobolds and occasionally a squad of orcs. Its main purpose is to connect the surface of Oakvael to the lower levels. There is a climb down to the Hob Caves in the southwest corner of the area, and another climb down to the Wyrm Wilderness in the far northern section. To both the north and south are air drops that all lead to the Wyrm Wilderness. The Wyrm wilderness is another vacant area connecting the surface to the lower levels. The area is wandered by special wyrms. These wyrms are not too terribly tough, but they have one very unique feature; only silver weapons will hurt them. The climb down from the eastern ledge is along the east side of the level, and fairly centrally located. Stairways leading down to the Serpent Lake are located just north and a little south of the climb from the eastern ledge.

SERPENT'S LAKE
The Serpent Lake level is around 210' below the surface. The level is inhabited by a variety of creatures. There are many trolls, hobgoblins, and orcs just waiting to rend their victims. There are gargoyles that can apply a variety of attacks, and be hit with only blunt weapons or magic. There are wizard and thaum NPCs that can hit you with a variety of magic spells. But, the main feature of the Serpent Lake level is Cecil the serpent. Cecil lives in the central fog-filled chamber. Cecil enjoys the company of the various denizens of the level, and relishes the opportunity to send packing those that come calling on him. Cecil may only be hit with blue glowing weapons. Anyone that would fight with Cecil should be cautioned: many a person has been known to die from being stunned repeatedly by the serpent. Patrolling the water of the level is a sea nymph by the name of Pescalanor. This nymph takes great joy in sniping her targets with a crossbow from the safety of the water, and can move more quickly than anyone that would try to catch her. The area surrounding Serpent Lake has a very magical nature. The area is very symmetrical, and a fetid black fog moves through it. At any time, a player (or anything else there, for that matter) can be engulfed in the fog. When this happens, the player is teleported to a slightly different location in the fog area, and it may take a couple of rounds to figure out where you are. This can be especially dangerous should the fog deposit you into the midst of a large zoo. Centrally located in the level is a large room hidden by secret doors on all sides. This room is important, in that it is the desired spot to actually fight Cecil. In the southwest corner of the level, the Express Elevator continues its decent toward the undead level. The northwest corner has a small secret room in which people who jump from the surface are deposited. Also in the northwest section is a stairway that leads to the Troll Temple. The northeast and southeast corners of the level have stairs that lead up to the Wyrm Wilderness.

TROLL TEMPLE
Below the Serpent Lake is an ancient demon temple that has been taken over by a large group of trolls. The troll temple has many trolls, squadrons of orc archers, and a few thaums and wizards. The sheriff of the troll city, Glamuzu, wanders around to ensure that chaos is maintained. He has the assistance in this job from Drizilu. Both Glamuzu and Drizilu are good archers, and are quite willing to stand off and fill you full of arrows. In the far northwest corner of the level is an abandoned archery range behind a secret door. If one is lucky, they can find Konran the Wimp here. Konran got lost and was captured by trolls and locked away. It is the job of aspiring MAs to lead Konran through Oakvael until he reaches his Hut up in Oak Town. The stairs down from the Serpent Lake are on the east side of the level, near the courtyard. The jump from the surface also deposits the adventurer here as well. On the west side of the level is a stairway down to the undead level.

UNDEAD REALM
What can you say about the undead level? It is by far the most difficult, and therefore the most fun, of the hunting areas in any of the lands, save the Underkingdom. Here spectres can hit you with a stun spell followed by death spells. The thaums here cast fear and death. Wizards cast concussion spells. Liches will hit you with powerful ice storms. Wights, stalkers, and ghouls will attack with sword and claw. Banshees can cast web, darkness, and curse without the need to warm these spells. And there is no such thing as a solitary creature on the undead level. In the far south, by following a passage along the west side of the level, one can find hidden behind two secret doors the infamous Lich Twins. These two super liches are well versed in the martial arts and can cast fireballs. In the very center of the level is a great room with three altars and wooden bridges evenly spaced around the room. It has very much the appearance of a portal complex without the portal. This is the Central Altar room of the undead level, and the final stopping point of the Express Elevator. If you are lucky (or unlucky, depending on your point of view), you will find this room completely filled with all sorts of creatures. This can be one of the toughest single rooms in the game. Near the stairs down from the Troll Temple is another set of stairs that lead to the Reptile Pit.

REPTILE PIT
The lowest level of Oakvael is a place where only knights can go, except for a small anteroom. This level is the final part of the second knight's quest, and it is not for the faint of heart. A knight begins by having the Clwyd, the Knightess Guardian, grant them entry to the maze. The first obstacle is two traps, the first causes concussion, the second casts a fireball. The first person to trigger the trap will set a self defense flag on anyone hit by the concussion. The trap is triggered anytime it is stepped on, so carelessness by the people entering the area can lead to some serious consequences. After the traps is a secret door that leads to four robed minotaurs. Beyond the minotaurs are rooms full of stalkers, another room with spectres that cast concussion and ice storm, a watery room with a couple of wyrms, each wyrm at least as nasty as Daisy. Serpents are randomly encountered throughout the level, and are each at least as tough as Cecil. But the grand finale of the level is the central room that contains Wendy, the whirlwind dragon. Wendy is a relatively weak dragon, but for one feature. When she first encounters you, she will let loose a whirlwind breath that can kill the highest level knight if they aren't prepared. Once past her WW, she is not much worse than Daisy, though since she doesn't breathe on you again, she is hitting with wing/tooth/claw on every round. The goal of this level is to survive through all of the hazards until one reaches the knight trainer at the end, an old fellow by the name of Gorfwyltra. Successful knights who are properly quested can, by dropping their halberd on Gorf's hex, receive the final few hit points they are allowed. The entire level beyond the anteroom is a no-recall/no-quit zone.

19.6: Underkingdom (UK) - What to Expect (By Malachi)

Many years ago, the Yasnaki brotherhood was very powerful and held much of the land under its control. But because of their desire to destroy the Grand Order of Thaums in Mu, they attempted to summon a dragon, and were defeated. Or so it was believed.

But after the disaster, a few of the brotherhood managed to escape and establish a colony in the Underkingdom. To ensure that their base of power was not disturbed, they destroyed the portal to the Underkingdom. Once this was done, the Yasnaki began to rebuild, terrorizing the inhabitants of the realm, and doing what they do best, which is to destroy.

In recent times, the kobolds of the Underkingdom, a lawful race that has managed to hold out for many years against the Yasnaki, have reopened the portal to the Underkingdom. They sent a desperate plea to the warriors and wizards of Kesmai so that they may have protection from the ravages of the evils that the brotherhood has brought to their land.

The problems that beset the Kobolds are many. First, there is the older order of the Yasnaki, led by the Overlord. They are as powerful as ever, and their leader holds much of the former power of the group. Some say that the Overlord is not living at all, but is of the undead order; others say that he is magic incarnate. Either way, The Overlord (along with many of the older forces of the Yasnaki) have forgone their mortal bodies and wander the realm as evil spirits. This may be the last known remnant of the older order.

Of course, not all of the older Yasnaki were sorcerers, as was once believed. The Yasnaki were never so single-minded that they ignored the physical powers of sword and hand. In fact, some of the finest warriors in the land served the Brotherhood. Those that stayed with the Overlord suffered similar fates as the Sorcerers, becoming evil spirits and skeletons. The Master of the Sword for the Yasnaki himself is rumored to have survived as a Skeleton Swordmaster, ruling over many minions of the undead and guarding the entrance to the secret area of the Overlord.

Not all of the Yasnaki chose to follow in the footsteps of the Overlord. A group of younger Yasnaki, led by the powerful assassin Carfel, decided to take off on their own course. They devoted themselves to more normal disciplines of magic and might, and have probably some of the finest warriors and wizards around. In fact, many of the younger Yasnaki are the equals to the finest that have wandered the known realms. The younger Yasnaki moved away from the Overlord, and established a separate complex in the Underkingdom.

Besides the two factions of the Yasnaki, there is also a group of trolls, orcs, and hobgoblins that have taken residence in the upper realms of the Underkingdom, led by the Troll King. He holds sway over all of these chaotic forces, and makes sure that they are very well trained. He has a special, elite unit of trolls that serve as his personal bodyguards.

The Troll king, in his ambition to rule over all of the Underkingdom, has kidnapped the princess of the Kobold King, Kookoo. His demand is that all rule be turned over to him before he will set the princess free. Rather than allow the Troll King to rule, King Kookoo sought the reopening of the portal to Axe, and offers a very valuable and rare potion to any that would dare tread the Troll King's palace to rescue his daughter.

The Kobold city is an island amid the chaotic rampages of the surface and the underground realms. Inhabited by lawful kobolds, a race that has withstood the test of time and the ravages of both the Yasnaki and the Troll King, Kobold City offers many of the same amenities as Kesmai and the other known realms.

The upper level of the town has a special gate that leads to the surface. This gate was built to keep the wyverns of Wyvern Plains out, thereby protecting the inhabitants. To the west of the gate is the entrance to the Underkingdom thieves' guild.

The upper level of town itself has the usual MA and wizard trainers (among the finest to be found), Chap's Bar and Grill, the pawnshop, the tanner, the bank, and the locker room. Venders for balm and recalls can be found in the plaza around the pool.

The lower level of the town houses the temple, the throne room of King Kookoo, the merchants' shops, and the rest of the city. In fact, the lower level city is a virtual maze of rooms that have been carved out of the rocks. Of great importance are the two entrances to the vast realms of the Underkingdom, one to the east that leads towards the palace of the Troll King, and the other to the west that leads through some other areas controlled by minions of the Troll King.

Wandering on the Wyvern Plains, one can find wyverns of many different colors and varieties. Some are just plain wyverns, while others area resistant to fire or ice. All are deadly, particularly when they attack as a pack. But even more deadly to the careless wanderer is the Drake. His attacks are like that of the Leng or Axe Drake, except that he has not been known to breathe lightning. However, what he lacks in breath he more than makes up for in sheer speed, as his attacks are lightning fast. He is otherwise as durable as his Leng counterpart, and requires the same weapon selection to bring down.

Orc Caverns -50'
In times past, when the fighting between the kobolds and the trolls was fierce, the trolls had advanced up very close to Kobold City. The caverns on the -50' level mark the high point of the advancement of the Troll King's army before they were turned back. This area is sparsely populated, but occasionally orc and goblin sentries patrol the area to ensure that the Kobolds do not try to reclaim the area.

Goblin Jungle -100'E
In order to prepare his troops for an attack on Kobold Town from the surface, the Troll King established two training grounds with a jungle atmosphere that would help prepare his units for the sniping ability of the Kobolds from the trees.

The first of these areas is easily accessible via stairs that link the -50' caverns, through the jungle, to a set of corridors that lead to the courtyard of the Troll King's palace. This area is heavily patrolled by minotaurs, packs of goblin wizards, orc archers, trolls, and the meanest of the bunch, single goblin MAs. The Goblin MAs are the most vicious that have been encountered, and make the ninja of Shidosha look like amateurs.

Centrally located on the level is a set of air drops. The northwest air hex leads to the other training level, and is the only known entrance to that level. The remaining drops lead to the pond in the courtyard of the Troll King.

Googog's Jungle -200'E
Fearing that the Kobolds would discover some of their plans, the Troll King set up a second jungle setting. This area has no noticeable means of entrance, except by jumping down, either from the surface or from the Goblin Jungle. The activity here is very dense, and just entering the area can be fatal.

Hidden in the far southeast corner of the level, Googog resides. Googog is a lawful Goblin thief that has long held out against the activity of the Troll King, and managed to take one item of great value. Googog stole a magic key from the Troll King. This key will open a cell in the jail of the palace, and though he fears to try to use it himself, Googog will gladly sell the key to any that ask, for a price that proves Googog's thiefly nature.

Connecting the Goblin Jungle to the courtyard are two long and empty corridors accessed via long staircases. On very rare occasions, sentries from either the jungle or the courtyard will follow the careless adventurer into the corridors, but most of the critters avoid these areas.

Troll King's Courtyard -300'
The Troll King's Palace dominates the western half of this level. His courtyard is filled with troll sentries who wield rhammers and staves, and hobgoblins capable of casting lightning on the unsuspecting adventurer.

But as the Yasnaki rebuilt their power they grew bold and started to attack the forces of the Troll King. In order to prevent the Yasnaki from gaining any further power, the Troll King sealed off the Yasnaki area. However, recent events have forced a small area of the access between the 2 realms to be reopened via a set of stairs in the eastern section.

Troll King's Palace -240'
Guarding the Troll King's palace is a unit of Elite Troll Guards, equipped with very strong weapons and the skill to use them. These Elite guards are hand selected by the Troll King himself and are extensively trained to provide for his protection.

The Troll King is located in his throne area in the far south part of the palace. He is a very mean fighter with a great amount of hit points. It is rumored that on his body is a talisman that will grant access to a secret area, and also provides protection against death spells and magical stuns. Hidden within this secret area is the famed sword, hummingbird, which was originally wrought by Vulcan and then stolen by the Yasnaki before they came to the Underkingdom. It is also rumored that unseen forces will batter any that enter the secret area to claim the sword.

Below the Troll King's palace are the jail and the library. Both of these areas are well guarded by more of the Troll Elite Guard. Buried deep within the jail the Troll king holds the Kobold Princess captive. She is being held for ransom which King Kookoo of the Kobolds refuses to pay. Instead, the King offers a reward to the brave adventurer who can lead the princess back to safety. Other cells in the jail contain either other prisoners, or more likely Troll Elite that are being disciplined.

The library contains very few books of real worth, though much of the history of the Underkingdom resides there. Unfortunately, most of the books are very fragile, and the few interesting books have been covered with ale from careless handling by trolls with no regard for history, making them difficult to read.

Connecting level from Troll King realm to undead -280
As the Yasnaki rebuilt their power, the Troll King became rightfully wary of the power of the brotherhood. So he sealed off the main access to the Yasnaki area that he had granted them and built a small dungeon to connect the areas.

The main reason was that the smaller area would be more defensible, or so he believed. But, by leaving a small opening he could perhaps avail himself of their power on his own behalf. Of course, trying to deal with the Yasnaki was at best a hazardous proposition. Roaming this area are more of the usual orc, troll, and hobgoblin sentries.

Lightning Caverns -80'
To the West, beneath the Kobold City, the Troll King had many of his units housed in caverns, and fed with fresh water. The housing area was divided into three levels, though the Yasnaki claimed one of those levels for their own when they increased their power.

Orcs and trolls inhabit the upper level. Of particular note are the trolls and orcs that managed to learn some of the thaum powers, in particular the power to summon lightning. To walk unawares into a room in this area is very likely going to lead to an instant demise as the orcs hit with lightning bolt after lightning bolt. Many of the trolls in this area carry rhammers that have been changed to a chaotic alignment, making them particularly deadly.

Realm of the Speedy Hobs -100'W
The lower level of the housing is populated by much of the same as the lightning caverns. But in addition, there are hobgoblins that have learned tactics (by normal or magical means) that allow them to attack at 2 times the normal attack rate, making them very deadly opponents. These Hobs can truly dance like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

In the far SE corner of the level is the entrance to the lowest level of the housing facility, which was taken over by the younger Yasnaki after they parted ways with the older order.

Yasnaki Complex and Carfel's Lair -200'W
Many years passed and the members of the Yasnaki brotherhood that survived the debacle of Kesmai slowly grew to match their former power. But as they grew, they again contemplated methods for wreaking revenge on the Grand Order of Thaums. Carfel, the Master Assassin of the Yasnaki, counseled against this, constantly reminding the older order of the previous disasters that had struck the brotherhood. The Overlord refused to listen to such counsel, being bent on the total destruction of the thaums.

So Carfel gathered to himself those members of the Brotherhood that felt as he did. These were mostly younger members who were mere apprentices during the summoning of the dragon, though they had come to be of greater power in the time that had passed since their arrival. Carfel then set about clearing out one of the old troll levels to set up his own complex.

The Yasnaki complex now houses many of the finest younger Yasnaki warriors and wizards. But Carfel did not trust even his own people, and sectioned off an area on the level that was accessible only by a trusted few. At the entrance to the area, he placed his pet spider, Shelob, to serve as a guardian.

Of course, one thing that Carfel did not reckon when he made his area was that thieves would be able to penetrate past the outer defenses. But as only thieves can activate the teleport leading to his inner area, he felt secure. When Carfel left the older Order of Yasnaki, he took with him a pair of daggers the likes of which have not been seen for some time. Very finely balanced throwing daggers, made of silver and emblazoned with the Yasnaki symbol, legend has it that the daggers will return to the hand that throws them.

Older Yasnaki Complex (a.k.a. Undead Level) -300'
After the departure of Carfel and the younger Yasnaki, the older order became desperate to achieve greater power. The Overlord, remembering many of the ways of the Brotherhood, called upon all of the remaining members to abandon their mortal bodies in order that they might come into closer contact with the magic that surrounds all creatures. And so, one by one, each of the older Yasnaki succumbed and gave up their mortality. The sorcerers became ghouls and banshees, while the warriors became skeletons. The Overlord and High Council of the Brotherhood moved even farther into the Underkingdom to rest and plan, while the Swordmaster ordered the remaining people into a semblance of a guard for the area. The Swordmaster himself patrols the area surrounding the pool of blood (thought to have been created when the Yasnaki gave up their bodies).

The Swordmaster was a master of many weapons, and the weapon that best suited him was a very narrow black rapier. The blade of this weapon is so narrow that it can hardly be seen, and yet it is so strong that it is able to hit for significant damage, even in an apprentice's hand. Legend has it that the blade was passed down from a thief of ages past, and that it may even be wielded by an unseen thief, though how this may be is beyond the reckoning of this historian.

Beware the lurker in the river of blood.

Mummy's Crypt -350'
Some of the High Council of the Brotherhood, when they performed the ceremony to abandon their mortal bodies, didn't quite get the incantation correct. Instead of totally abandoning their body, they instead became mummies, animated yet without any life of their own. Their consciences were lost, diminishing the power of the Brotherhood considerably.

The Overlord, quick to take a corrective action against this mistake, quickly set up these mummies as special guardians to his secret lair. These mummies are better than average fighters, but beware their touch, as it can drain the youth from a baby. They may only be hit by blue glowing weapons and magic, although they are very resistant to all forms of attack.

Exploding Corridor & the Overlord -400'
As a final defense against intrusion by outsiders, the Overlord set the High Council in separate cells. He feared that once they gave up their bodies they might turn on one another further diminishing his power. Along the path from the Mummies Crypt to his secret lair, the Overlord set concussion mines. All of this was planned to deter any foe from reaching the Overlord alive. To further confuse any would be trespassers, the entire corridor was set under a spell of permanent Darkness.

The Overlord himself underwent a radical change. His body became diffuse, though was not totally abandoned. However, the change to his body was such that no known weapon will touch him. The Overlord will attack with hand, foot, and spell. His favored spell is the ice spear. And being made of pure magic, the overlord need not chant in order to cast his spells. His power is such that any attack, aside from the physical damage, will also drain the vitality and youth from a person.

In his possession is one true artifact from the glory days of the Brotherhood. A great staff is held that will grant more power to any mage who dares wield it. It is a powerful blocking weapon, protecting a mage against physical attacks. The staff also aids in the restoration of magical ability to the possessor of the staff, so long as the staff is wielded in the right hand. Other powers of the staff are unknown, having been lost when the rest of the history of the Yasnaki Brotherhood was destroyed.

Section Twenty: Loot - Things you may find in the dungeons

When you look at the loot piles, you can find most anything: weapons, armor, rings, bottles, gold, and even dried up toads. The following information may give you some help understanding what you have found.

20.1: Amulets

There are several amulets available in the game. One is diamond with a ruby, and provides excellent fire and ice protection when worn. Another useful item is the jade pendant, which allows the wearer to "cast locate at " and determine where a certain player or crit is. Another is a silver chain with an onyx scorpion, which allows the wearer to "cast neutralize" thus neutralize the ill effects of any poison. To cast an amulet spell you can wear the amulet or hold the amulet in your hand. The most highly prized amulets are the hummingbird amulets worn by the Troll King. These contain 20 charges of stun/death protection and are used in obtaining the Hummingbird Sword. The dagger amulet worn by the Overlord contains 20 charges of protection from poison. The brooch occasionally found on Mama's corpse has four charges and provides stun and death protection. Another highly prized amulet is the Torc which is sometimes found in Vlad's lair. It has two protection from stun/death charges. One charge is defined as one cycle of donning and removing an item.

20.2: Bottles and Potions

Look at a bottle to see what is in it. Some of the bottles and potions in the game include:

Cloudy white liquid - Balm of Gilead.

Clear liquid - Either nitro or water. If it is nitro, you can use it by first opening then throwing the bottle. This will set off an explosion three hexes in diameter. Nitro can be useful with crits that are keeping their distance, but dangerous to throw at specific crits as the crit may suddenly approach you. Should this occur, you too will be affected by the devastating explosion that follows.

NOTE: Opening a bottle while in the water will cause the contents of the bottle to be exchanged with water.

Black ceramic bottle - These contain naphtha. Throwing an open bottle of naptha will create a single hex bonfire.

Clear red liquid - This a potion of temporary increased strength. These spells are non-cumulative; drinking two or more will yeild no greater effects than drinking one.

Red clay bottle with three concentric circles - This bottle is a potion of permanent strength increase. Drinking it will permanently raise your strength by one point up to a maximum of seventeen. Note that this potion will cause the consumer to be stunned for several rounds, so drink with caution.

Black ceramic bottle with gold whorls - Potion of increase dexterity or increase charisma. This potion will permanently raise your dexterity or charisma by one point up to a maximum of seventeen. Increase dexterity potions will stun and blind the consumer for several rounds, so drink with caution.

Large silver bottle encrusted with sapphires & blue liquid with tiny bubbles - This is a youth potion (YP) , and is needed by players who are approaching very old age. Every 24000 rounds a character will age. The increments are very young, young, middle aged, and old. Before the introduction of Praetoseba, youth potions where essential to keep characters from aging and suffering a permanent death. Most players drank a youth potion at old age, which reduces age by 24000 rounds. Some deterioration of abilities begins when old age is reached.

Small porcelain vial -- This is the rare and highly prized drake potion (DP). This potion will add two points to of constitution up to eighteen, add four points to stamina, and add four hit points.

Heavy glass bottle mounted on a gold base with emeralds - Wisdom potion which raises wisdom by one to a max of seventeen points.

Porcelain bottle with a gold sun - Intellegence potion which raises intelligence by one to a max of seventeen points.

Silvery glass bottle with blue waves / White porcelain bottle with red lotus blossoms - Mana restore potion which restores magic points to maximum in the same manner as a balm restores hit points.

Blue and white streaked bottle - This is a stamina restore potion which restores stamina points in the same manner as a balm restores hit points.

Round porcelain bottle with small irises - Charisma potion which raises charisma by one point up to seventeen points. NOTE: Charisma is not currently used in the game.

Sky blue porcelain bottle - Permanent increase mana potion (PiMP) permanently increases mana points by six.

Wine comes in various containers, usually a clay bottle with a thin, tapering neck. Used mainly to delay the effects of poison.

Ale comes in various containers, usually a blue enamel flask. Worthless.

There are also some interesting variations of many potions. For example, in Oakvael, some temporary strength and dexterity potions come in steel bottles stamped with icons of a bull or falcon, respectively. Balm in particular has been known to come in many different types of bottles, most being transparent. There are other various potions and drinks; use your ID ring or have bottles appraised if you are curious about one you find.

20.3: Bracelets (Bracers)

All bracelets contain some type of protection spell and can be found through out all the lands. There are a few found in various lairs which are more desirable. On the undead level in Oakvael are bracelets of sparkling silver scale which provide +3 shield. In Kosh's lair can is a fear/blind protect bracer. A death resist bracer can be found in the Leng tower. A +1 protection from stun/death bracer is located in the Overlord's lair. There are several other bracelets that are random treasure which usually contain the spell of +1 strength or +1 stun. The Axe Glacier Yeti has a silver bracelet with tiny dolphins, which has the spell of water breathe. These are useful for freeing up fingers for more strength or shield rings.

20.4: Figurines

There are gold and yellow figurines in the shape of a snarling tiger available as treasure. These figurines serve two uses:

1. If a player has taken a karma point, the figurine can be taken to a confessor ghost to remove the the karma point.

2. Figurines, when thrown in sight of creatures of a different alignment than the thrower, will "activate" and become allied with their thrower. For example, if a lawful player is in sight of a hobgoblin, he can throw the figurine and it will turn into a lawful tiger. The tiger will attack the hobgoblin, and fight until either the hobgoblin to the death, and continue to fight all non-lawful characters and crits it sees. When it no longer sees anything to attack, it will "deactivate" within a few rounds, reverting to a figurine. Figurines make fairly powerful and durable allies. Each time a tiger makes a kill, it gains experience and becomes more powerful. You can determine the experience of your figurine by having it appraised or using a vermeil (ID) ring.

There is a down side. Each time a figurine is thrown there is a chance, say 5%, that it will shatter. Also, a figurine throw by a non-lawful player will assume the alignment of the thrower. If a thief throws a figurine then the figurine will turn neutral and will attack lawful players, incurring a both a karma point and a mark on one's account if the player is killed. Figurines do not work in Axe. In addition to tiger figurines, there exist griffin figurines. Griffins tend to hit harder than tigers, but lack the bountiful amount of hit points of their tiger counterparts.

20.5: Gems

Purple - Amethyst, almost without value.

Yellow - Topaz, 40-60 coins.

Red - Ruby, 100-300+ coins.

Tiger eye - Low in monetary value, but required for the wizard spell of peek.

Blue - Sapphire, quite a range of prices, most in the 250-500 coins range.

Green - Emerald, found in many varieties, the best being the simple "large green" version. Prices range from 600 to 2000 coins.

Clear - Diamond, also found in many forms; generally worth more than emeralds.

Stalking panther or whale - Carved sapphires worth a considerable sum of gold, 2000-12000 coins.

Pear cut diamond - a rare gem worth roughly twice as much as average diamonds found in the same land.

There are a few other gems floating around the game, such as the salamander eye ruby. These have no purpose, but they are valuable. The value of gems depends on where you find them. A gem from Oakvael looks just like one found in Kesmai, but may be worth twice as much.

20.6: Rings

The following are some rings that can be found in dungeons:

Vermeil - This ring contains the spell of identify, and can help you determine the nature of objects you find. Hold the ring in the left hand or wear it, and place the object you want to identify in your right hand. Double left click on the vermeil ring or type "cast identify". You will be told the properties of what you hold, but not its cash value.

Strength - These provide a spell that increases the strength of the wearer. Strength affects how much a character can carry, and to a much lesser extent, how hard a character hits. Strength rings are gold with red gems. If the gem is small, the spell has a power of 1. Each +1 strength ring allows a character to carry 4000 coins. If the gem is larger, the spell is the power of 3. Each +3 strength ring allows a character to carry 12000 coins. If the gem glows (often called a "glower"), the spell is power 6. Each +6 strength ring allows a character to carry 24000 coins. All strength rings are cumulative; i.e., wearing a +1, a +3, and a +6 strength ring will enable a character to carry an additional 40000 coins. Strength rings are also cumulative when combined with strength bracers.

Shield - These are iron rings with black gems, and provide protection against archers, and some protection against weapons. Their spell power is either 1 or 3, but you can only discriminate between spell power by using the spell of identify or appraising. Shield rings are also cumulative, however, unlike strength rings, shielders have to be doubled before an appreciable difference is noticed. For example, if a character is wearing a +3 shielder, an additional +3 shielder would provide a noticeable increase in effectiveness. As with strength rings, shield rings and shield bracers are cumulative.

Water breathe - These are silver rings with shiny black stones. These rings allow the wearer to stand submerged in water without fear of drowning.

Moonstone - Worth between 300 and 400 gps. Some players believe that the 400 gp moonstone ring will increase the odds of receiving a better roll in hit points if worn as an experience level is gained. This has started many an argument over the years, but the only thing to sure of is that you need a moonstone ring to get into the night portals of Axe.

Rings with emeralds - Worth 800-1200 coins.

Diamonds in a rosette of rubies - Contain the spell of fire and ice protection. These rings do not have a cumulative effect.

Interwoven gold wire - Contian the spell of +1 increase dexterity. These rings have a cumulative effect.

Ring of Tiny Green Feathers - Provide the spell of resist blindness. These rings have a cumulative effect.

Brass Ring - Worth one gold coin.

Gold with a blue glow -- A recall ring. When removed from the finger, this ring will transport the bearer to wherever he was when the ring was placed on the finger. These rings will not work in many lairs.

Triangular cut jade mounted with diamonds - A knight ring, worn by knights (much as the name implies) to allow them to cast their knightly spells. WARNING: All attempts to use this ring by non-knights will result in an explosion.

Rosewood Ring - An ornamental ring found largely in Axe with no special properties. Worth 10 coins.

Heavy lead - Found mainly in the Underkingdom. Worthless.

Dragon (ring) - In the shape of a dragon biting it's own tail, this ring has the property of resist ligntning. They are found only in the lair of the Leng drake. These rings have a cumulative effect.

Gold ring with a black beetle - Found in the lair of Kosh, this ring contains the spell of resist death. These rings have a cumulative effect.

To wear a ring, select the ring you want to wear, open your ring box and drag the ring to a slot in your ring box. Removing rings is opposite. You can also use text commands to remove rings by typing "take <ring number> off <hand>" or "take ring off <hand>" eg, "take 1 off left". Character must have an empty hand to remove a ring in this manner.

20.7: Miscellaneous

Balls - darkness (black), light (white), web (milky), fire (red), ice (blue) and concussion (green metal). Balls contain spells which are released when thrown. The strengths of the spells vary. It seems to be best to throw them at areas rather than directly at opponents.

Berries - Red berries reduce hits when eaten, yellow are poisonous.

Books - Include character-tied spell books and a few general information books. Keep your personal spell book; replacement costs a hundred coins. General books are worth persuing once, but no book offers really valuable information.

Eggs - golden, obsidian and ochre. The gold eggs are simply treasure, with the exception of the obsidian egg, which is key in the quest for the returning axe of Vulcan.

Rocks - Iron ore, gold nuggets, and yttril. The nuggets are treasure, usually worth 425 coins. The ore and yttril are components for magical weapons.

Scrolls - Similar to books, scrolls were designed to pass useful information to new players. There is not much use for them now, as currently they contain outdated information.

Section Twenty One: Ancestoring

GrannyMaggie's Guide to Ancestoring

Before you decide to ancestor your character, think carefully, my child! Listen to your Granny!! There are advantages and disadvantages and each situation is different. It is a decision not to be taken lightly. I have written here complete details on the ancestoring process, including step-by-step instructions for the two ceremonies involved. First, the advantages:

Experience: Ancestoring immediately returns to the descendant HALF of the ancestor's experience. In Legends of Kesmai, remember, each new experience level is exactly twice as many points as the last level. So, if your ancestor was level 12, your descendent will be level 11.

In addition, if you have lost a lot of hit points (HPs) through numerous deaths or had very bad luck on your rolls (rolls are the number of HPs and magic points you gain each time you level up... sometimes you are lucky and get the full number for your class; most times, however, you will not), ancestoring will eliminate the "death loss" of your HPs and will give you another chance at getting better rolls. The same is true of magic points if you are a magic user, although with magic, it is pure luck since you do not lose MPs when you die. The only statistical factors which affect your HP and MP rolls are constitution for HPs; intelligence and wisdom for MPs for wizards and thaums, and intelligence only for thieves. While it is still a matter of luck, your luck is likely to be better if the appropriate stats are maxed for your character. Lastly, since you are now a more experienced player, your descendant will probably not die so often, so chances are you won't suffer nearly so much death-loss of HPs.

Skills: Ancestoring will bestow upon your descendant the potential to swiftly achieve skill to within two or three levels of your ancestor's skill. Please note that, unlike experience gain, skill gain is not immediate; it is potential only. The skills must be practiced in order to be regained. A trip to Praetoseba can hasten this process - each trip will restore two skill levels, so depending on your ancestor's skill, it may take a few trips to the UW wil regain the total available to you via the ancestoring process. If your ancestor was level 12.1 (expert) in mace, for instance, you may only regain skill to level 9.0 (proficient).

Ancestoring is also the only way to "get around" the restriction on martial arts training for classes other than MAs. Since only MAs can train hand skill beyond black belt, ancestoring a high-level MA is one way to give a non-MA descendant an immediate advantage in his hand skill.

Tied Weapons and Other Items: Your ancestor will "bless" one tied weapon of your choice which will then re-tie to the descendant. So, you won't have to go out and do another dangerous quest to receive a pair of crystal gauntlets, a doom bow, or returning axe. In addition, the contents of your locker and your bank account will automatically be transferred to your descendant. Note that CGs will not transfer to other classes.

The disadvantages:

Experience: Why give up your current level when a simple dose of drake potion will restore your hit points? If you are Level 12 you worked hard to get there, twice as hard as you did to get to level 11. Don't give up your level! Get creative! DPs may seem hard to come by, but they can be had! Make yourself a thief character. Thieves are particularly good at sniping away at the drake and one thief can often keep a player's other characters stocked with DPs. Or start a wizard or MA, both of which can earn you tons of money! Drake potions can be found in Leng and Oak with fairly high frequency. Rescue the Leng princess; kill the Oak serpent! Fun and profitable! High level players also often sell DPs at pretty reasonable prices.

Once you've got that first character to level 14, it's time to start a new character anyway, and experience the thrills to be had by trying a different class. You're better at the game now; you won't die as often because you forgot to balm or recall. You know where you're going; you won't get lost and you'll know where it's safe to hunt.

Skill: Even if ancestoring restores half of your ancestor's experience, it does not restore half of the skill. You only come to within two or three levels of your ancestor's old skill level. In addition, the amount of skill regenerated is measured by the skill level of your ancestor at the time of the Ceremony of Death. If your ancestor previously lost skill levels through death and did not regain his/her peak skill levels through practice or a trip to the Underworld, your descendant's max skill regeneration will be measured from the lower skill level, not the peak. So, if you ancestored a level 12 character, you've now got a Level 11 body with skills up to three or more levels below what they should be. This is dangerous since you can go places you think may be safe because of your HPs, but your skills are not commensurate with your experience and you may get into trouble!

WARNING WARNING WARNING: Magic skill cannot be transferred across classes! So if you regret starting that wizard and really want to be a thaum and think, "Well, I'll just ancestor to a thaum," think again. You cannot transfer your magic skill to any descendant of a different class. Magic can only be transferred to the same class. All other skills (except theft) will transfer to any other class as long as the descendant is the same alignment as the ancestor. Theft can only be transferred between thieves.

Remember, too, that any karma points accumulated by the ancestor will pass to the descendant. So, if wish your descendant to be free of this karmic burden, I suggest you get rid of those karma points before embarking on the Ceremony of Ancestors. Find as many tiger figurines as you have karma points and get each point forgiven by the Confessor Ghost.

Okay, if you have decided to go ahead and ancestor your character, here are the instructions:

1. Ceremony of Death. This rite is performed at the Shrine of Tranquility. The Shrine is located in the very northwest corner of Kesmai's surface. Either go naked or take along some throw-away armor and weapons, a recall ring and some balms (exactly as if you were going to the UW). It can sometimes be dangerous, so get an escort if you need one. Stand in front of the altar and contemplate your death! Be very certain you wish to continue - this Ceremony guarantees you a one-way ticket to the Underworld. If you are determined to go through with this, in command mode, type the chant "ashak ashtug nushi ilani". Presto! You have given up your mortal existence forever. You are now in the Underworld, irrevocably and forever. Until your spirit is called forth by your descendant, that is.

2.Create your descendant. Now you must exit to the conference room and create your descendant character. Remember, you must use the overwrite function for this part. If you do not use overwrite, my dear, you are sunk. Also remember that if you are ancestoring a magic user and you wish your magic skill to be transferred, then your descendant must be of the same class as your Ancestor. And, lastly, remember that your descendant must be of the same alignment as your ancestor. So ancestoring a lawful MA to a descendant thief would require turning your MA neutral before the Ceremony of Death, and this may involve incurring karma. Once created, you can outfit your descendant with your ancestor's lockered possessions. If your ancestor had a tied weapon you wish to pass on, equip your descendant with this weapon. If you want it to be re-tied, it must be present at the Ceremony of Ancestors.

3.Ceremony of Ancestors. This part of the rite is performed at the Shrine of Bones in the same land and facet where your ancestor performed the Ceremony of Death. The Shrine of Bones is located on the -2 level of the Kesmai dungeon, not far from the rope to Trog. Since right now your descendant is a level 3 docker baby, I highly recommend that you get an escort for this part of the process! Running around -2 with a docker can be dangerous to your health, so please remember to wear your galoshes or a WB ring, and don't forget some fire protection.

Once you arrive at the Shrine of Bones, stand before the altar and summon your ancestor's spirit with the chant "ina khitim nushi ilani". Your ancestor will appear in ghost form before you. If, for some reason, you are interrupted (like you die or get disconnected) at this point, all is not lost. You may summon your ancestor a second time and proceed with the ceremony. However, after a spirit has been summoned twice from the Underworld, its ancestral duties are fulfilled, and it may not be summoned again. If you fail to complete the ceremony after two summons, your ancestral spirit will be lost to you forever.

After your ancestor's spirit has appeared, you must type "meditate" in the command line. If your ancestor considers your alignment harmonious and finds you worthy, the spirit will immediately convey its experience to you. The knowledge of his/her skills will not be immediate, but will come upon you swiftly thereafter, especially if you visit Praetoseba.

Now is the time to ask your ancestor to bestow his or her special weapon upon you. Hold this weapon in your right hand and type "<ancestor's name>, bless this weapon". If your ancestor finds you worthy, the use of the weapon will be instantly transferred to you.

Congratulations and well done! Your new character is pumped and ready to go! You may leave the Shrine of Bones immediately if you wish. Your ancestor's spirit will remain behind, perhaps contemplating its future seeking the higher planes of existence. At this writing, no ancestor's spirit has ever made it back from the Higher Plains, so I have no report on what it's like, although it is rumored to contain at least one Drifter.

Section Twenty Two: Praetoseba, The Underworld

MaggieGhost's Guide to the UnderWorld

Welcome to lovely Praetoseba! You're in for a treat: Meet the beautiful Cleopatra, get a riverfront view of the Underworld's exotic wildlife, tiptoe past demons, outwit the wicked Archer, and much more! For those of you in a hurry, what follows directly below is a "cheat sheet" for each quest. For those of you here for the first time, read my in-depth coverage of each quest, including directions, following the cheat sheet.

UW Quest Cheat-Sheet:

Stomach: Quest-Giver: Osiris

Tiger: Find lawful tiger in forest of east UW; take tiger to Horus; tiger drops tiger-gem; give gem to Horus; Horus gives amulet; take amulet to Isis; give amulet to Isis; go to Imhotep; get stomach.
Anhk: Go to Tiy; get ankh; go to Nepherteri; give ankh to Neph; go to Imhotep; get stomach.
Key: Get key from Khenty; take key to Thutmose; open door by double-clicking with key in hand; give key to Thumose; go to Imhotep; get stomach.

Intestines: Quest-Giver: Anubis

Bow: Get bow from Archer; take bow to Neith; get intestines.
Croc: Find lawful croc in swamp; take croc to Sobek; croc drops skull; give skull to Sobek; go to West River Nymph or East River Nymph; Nymph gives gem; take gem to Nehebku; get intestines

Lungs: Quest-Giver: Khnumeri Go to Cleopatra and get FF boots, then:

Pekhet: Get Portal Gem; find secret entrance (east of Cleo) on north riverbank; enter tomb, find secret doors; take sand portal; take first stairs up; take second stairs up; jump into west air hex; find Pekhet; give FF boots; get lungs.
Montu: Same as Pekhet until stairway; don't take stairway; jump into south air hex; go west, then east, find Montu; give FF boots; take wand; get past demon in NW UW; find Khepri there; get lungs.

Liver: Quest-giver: Sekhmet will send to Ra or Nefertem, then:

Ptah: Climb down rope on island in east end of river; head east and slightly south; enter cavern; find Ptah; go to Thoth at rear of main temple; get liver.
Cobra: Get cobra in Ra's chamber; climb down rope NE of Sekhmet's building; go northwest, then north; find Re.Harakhti; cobra drops scales; take scales to Re.H; get liver.

Going Home: Find and follow Yellow Brick Road (just east of Neith's alcove); use portal to return to Kesmai.

In-Depth Coverage For the More Leisurely Traveler: If you aren't here yet, but trying to decide whether to brave it, go ahead! The Underworld grants many boons: Eight constitution points are earned and two full skill-levels are regained. So if your constitution is low or you have lost any skill-levels through deaths in the lands of Kesmai, come join us! Unless, of course, you have karma points. Do not enter the UW with karma points. But, if you must (because you got eaten by a lair critter before you could get rid of your karma), see the portion at the end of this document called "The Karma Quest." Before you leave Kesmai, put all your treasured possessions in your locker! They will do you no good down here and you will only lose them on your way if you try to bring them. You must enter Praetoseba as naked as a newborn babe. If possible, get someone to escort you to the Underworld portal (located in the graveyard) It's a dangerous journey when you are naked. Bring a few balms, a recall ring, some throw away armor and weapons. Stand on the portal, (it's unmistakable... a yawning black square) and say the chant "urruku ya zi xul".

Ah ha! You made it! You brave soul! Now you're in for it! (Just kidding). Your task here is four-fold: You must re-acquire various vital body parts: your stomach, intestines, liver and lungs. (Type "show stats" on the command line to see the status of your organs. Click the history button (tiny scroll icon on far left of command line) which will scroll back to where your organs (or lack thereof) are listed.) You need these body parts! You can't go home without them! Each organ requires a quest, so you have four quests to complete. Each quest has a quest giver; a non-player character (NPC) who will assign a specific task or series of tasks for you to complete in order to earn your missing organ. The quest givers are:

Osiris: Stomach
Anubis: Intestines
Khnumeri: Lungs
Sekhmet: Liver

The quest givers are easy to talk to. Ask them to teach you, answer them politely, and they will assign your specific organ quest. For instance if you want a stomach, approach Osiris and type, "Osiris, teach me". He will ask if you are serious about your intent to quest for a stomach. Answer him, "Osiris, yes". He will explain your quest to you. Listen carefully! If necessary, use your dialog box or history button to scroll back and get the specifics on the quest. There are more than one type of quest for each organ, so you must make sure you understand the one given to you. All NPCs you encounter in the Underworld are approached in the same way; ask them to teach you. Only the quest givers will require an answer from you.

I recommend that you do the UW quests in the order given for the simple reason that the later (and harder) quests of liver and lungs will not be assigned until you have a stomach and intestines! It is important not to "mix up" the quests. this will result in your quest being "erased." Don't ask for a new quest before completing the last one.

A map of the UW is also highly recommended. I shall give descriptions of where you need to go for each quest, but having a good map is much the best solution.

UPON FINDING YOURSELF IN THE UNDERWORLD

Your first task upon entering the UW is to find the Main Temple. You will be in a yellow grassy area with a path through the tall grass leading south. Take that path. Near end of the path is Seker. Seker is a sweet guy with a fondness for discussing the weather. He will tell you that you need to find Osiris. Good advice! Keep going south through the temple door. Inside that door you'll find some nasty sandwyrms and a pit. The easiest thing to do is die. That's right, die! One of the nicest features of the UW is that death does not count! In fact, it's the easiest way to travel since every time you die you wind up in the Main Temple, which is a safe and comfy place to be. There is a pretty little fountain filled with healing potion and plenty of friendly kitty cats to play with. These kitties will take an instant liking to you, rubbing and purring in an effort to get your attention. Don't be fooled by their sweet appearance, the temple cats can be fierce in battle. Their job is to keep the temple free of rats and other vermin (i.e., players who enter the UW with karma points).

So, jump right into the pit, or let the sandwyrms kill you. You will die quickly in the UW since you have only 25 hit points and 10 stamina points. This is normal and everyone is treated the same. You have no magic, no sack, no belt, no weapons, no items of any kind to help you. On the bright side., you don't need any to complete your quests. Your fists are good enough to fight with, though it's much easier and faster to simply run away from any hostile critters. Not all of the chaotic creatures in the UW will want to fight. The hippos and crocs, for instance, won't attack you unless you attack them first. Other creatures, like the sandwyrms, wafts and spirits, will attack. Run away from them!

So now you're in the Main Temple. You see a fountain to the east and Osiris to the west. Time to start questing!!!

STOMACH

Ask Osiris to teach you, "Osiris, teach me", then answer him politely, "Osiris, yes". He will give one of three quests: TIGER QUEST; ANKH QUEST; or KEY QUEST.

1. Tiger Quest. Osiris will tell you to take a suitable pet to his son. The "pet" is a lawful tiger; his son is Horus.

To find a tiger, go east out through the Main Temple doors and down the stairs to the main playing level. At the stairs you will see the large river to the east. The river is your main landmark in Praetoseba and I will be referring to it often. All your quests will either be on the south side of the river or the north side. The river runs east-west through the whole middle of the Underworld, starting at the Main Temple (the west end).

Travel east along the north riverbank. It's a long way; keep going until you run out of river. You will see an NPC called Neith in a grassy alcove near the end. Go east past Neith. Instead of river water on the bank, you will now see sky. Just a little further is a wooden bridge crossing the sky to the southeast. Take the bridge into a forest area. The lawful tigers usually hang out right there. If there are no tigers near the bridge, go east and search through the forest. If all the tigers are gone (other players have used them up), don't worry. Either wait for ten minutes (the quest critters in the UW take about ten minutes to regenerate) or switch to another facet. If you encounter the archer, avoid him! He will try to kill you. If you can't avoid him, kill him and get his bow. This bow may be useful to you later. However, remember that you have no belt, so you might want to leave it on the ground for later retrieval. Once you find a tiger, command him to follow you, "Tiger, follow me". Protecting the tiger (don't let him get out of your sight and be killed by chaotic critters), take him back to the Main Temple. To get the tiger upstairs, command him, "Tiger, climb up". Just southeast of Osiris is his son, Horus. Take the tiger to the square just in front of Horus. The tiger will bow its head and drop a tiger-shaped gem. Pick up the gem and go to Horus's square. Drop the gem and say, "Horus, teach me." Horus will drop an amulet and tell you to take it to his mother. Isis is his mom and she is located directly north across the temple from Horus. Take the amulet to Isis, drop it at her feet, and ask her to teach you. She will send you to Imhotep. Imhotep is located just a little east of Isis. Go to her, ask her to teach you. Imhotep will give you a tummy! CONGRATULATIONS!!

2. Ankh Quest. Osiris will tell you to get an ankh from one who was a queen. Your first stop is Tiy. Tiy is a pretty lady located on the north side of the river. Go east along the riverbank until you come to the end of the first building. Between the first and second buildings is a pathway going north. Go north on that path until you come to the second door on the east. Through the first door is Cleopatra; you will be seeing her later so you might as well say hello. Tiy is in the second room. Go to her and ask her to teach you. She will drop the ankh and tell you to give it to Nepherteri. Nepherteri is directly north of Tiy, but kind of tricky to get to. Leave Tiy's room and go north until you come to a one-hex stream going east-west. Go east until the stream turns north. Swim north. Always use your GUI (mouse) to swim in the UW, and keep moving, otherwise you'll drown. There will be trees on the west and yellow grass on the east. You will see an obscured opening in a wall to the west. Nepherteri is through that opening. Drop the ankh at her feet. She will send you to Imhotep back at Main Temple. To get there quickly, just drown yourself in the nearby water. Ask Imhotep to teach you and she will give you a stomach. CONGRATULATIONS!!

3. Key Quest. Osiris will tell you to take a key to the ancient magician. You must get the key from Khenty, the locksmith, and take it to Thutmose, the magician. Khenty is located in the first building going east on the south side of the river. Ask him to teach you and pick up the key. Take the key to Thutmose. Go back to the Main Temple but, pass it and head around to the north side of the temple and then head west. To the north, you'll see a one-hex stream going east-west. Follow it going west until the stream turns northward. Follow it directly north (you must swim this part). Once you hit land again go a couple of hexes north, then east. You'll see a locked door. With the key in your hand, double-click on the door. Thutmose is inside. Drop the key on his square and ask him to teach you. He will send you to Imhotep back at Main Temple. To get there quickly, just drown yourself in the nearby water. Ask Imhotep to teach you and she will give you a tummy! CONGRATULATIONS!!

INTESTINES

Find Anubis. He is located in the first building going east along the north riverbank after you leave the Main Temple. His doorway is near the eastern end of the building. Ask him to teach you and answer him politely. He will give one of two quests: BOW QUEST or CROCODILE QUEST.

1. Bow Quest. Anubis will tell you to take a special bow to the goddess of the hunt. This is Neith, who is located in a grassy alcove way east on the north side of the river. First, you must find a bow. Go to the forest area where the lawful tigers are found (see Tiger Quest under Stomach). Find the archer in the forest and kill him. It's usually not necessary to actually kill the Archer, however, because you can often find the bow laying on the ground in the forest area, especially near the southern end. But beware! An ice dragon lives in the south end of the tiger forest. Don't get too close to the lair. You will know you are getting to the lair when you start seeing patches of ice on the ground. Take the bow to Neith, lay it at her feet, and ask her to teach you. Neith will grant you your guts! CONGRATULATIONS!!

2. Crocodile Quest. Anubis commands that you must lead a lawful croc to the god of the river. Most of the lawful crocs are located in the swamp on the south side of the river. After leaving Anubis's room, to the southeast you'll see a bridge crossing the river. It's a magic bridge. Just keep going south on it. Once on the south side of the river, go east. You'll be heading through a grassy area into the swamp. The lawful crocodiles normally hang out in the southeastern area of the swamp. If none are there, try heading north through the swamp on its eastern edge. You will see a river nymph in a grassy alcove surrounded by impassable trees here. Go north into the river. To the northeast are two little islands. Sometimes the lawful crocs hang out on the islands. Once you find a lawful crocodile, tell him, "Croc, follow me". You need to take the crocodile to Sobek, the river god. Sobek's temple is located on a large island in the river. It is directly north of where the swamp begins, but you must enter it from its western side. Lead the croc there. You'll have to swim part of the way but, don't worry the croc can swim. On the square just before Sobek, the crocodile will bow its head and drop a skull. Take the skull to Sobek, drop it on his square, and ask him to teach you. Listen carefully to what he says! He will tell you to get your soul cleansed by either the east or west River Nymph. The West Nymph is easier to get to; she is directly southwest of the entrance to Sobek's temple (actually a little more west than south) right on the southern riverbank. You must enter her alcove from the water. The East Nymph is located near the far eastern edge of the swamp, about four hexes south of the southern riverbank. You must enter her alcove from the north. Go to the Nymph's square and ask her to teach you. She cleanses your soul, drops a blue whale gem, and tells you to give the gem to Nehebku. The gem is sometimes hard to see; try using your command line "get gem". Once you have the gem, die (just drown). Once back at the Main Temple, find Nehebku in the southeastern corner of the Temple. Lay the gem at his feet and ask him to teach you. Congratulations!! You have your intestines!

LUNGS

You need to find Khnumeri for the Lung Quest. Go east from the Main Temple along the north riverbank until you come to Neith's grassy alcove. Then dive into the river and swim southeast. There are a couple of little islands in the river; the larger one has a rope going down. Climb down this rope. You'll find yourself in the UW's lower level on a landing square in the river. Swim directly north across the river until you come to the north bank. From there, head northwest. If it's dark, you may want to bring along a light wand. You can find light wands by killing a spirit or find one lying around. To use it, type "cast light ". If you don't have a wand, don't worry. Just keep heading northwest until you bump into a north wall. From the north shore landing square, it's about five or six hexes directly northwest. Search for a secret door. Head north through the door and you will be in Khnumeri's temple and in the light again. Head north. The passage turns east where you'll find another secret door. Double-click, and voila, Khnumeri. Ask her to teach you and answer her. She will send you to "the most beautiful woman." Naturally, this is Cleopatra. Khnumeri's temple is conveniently equipped with a couple of fire squares Jump into one, die, and return to the Main Temple. Cleopatra is located in the next building east from Anubis's building (which is the first building east along the north riverbank). Head north up the pathway just east of Anubis. Cleo is in the first room on the east. Ask Cleopatra to teach you. She will give you a pair of feather fall boots and send you to find either Pekhet or Montu in the tomb.

1. Pekhet Quest. Heave a sigh of relief, friend. You will be breathing much easier very soon. First, put on the FF boots that Cleo gave you - very important! Next find a portal gem. This is a red, round gem given by dead sandwyrms. If you can't find a sandwyrm to kill, look around on the ground; the gems can often be found just lying around. Next, find the secret entrance in the building east of Cleo. The secret door is right on the riverbank. Double-click and you are inside. It is sometimes dark in here, so bring a light wand. But, if you don't have a wand, don't worry. The next door you need is in the northeast corner of this room, about nine squares north and two squares east of the entrance. It is a secret door going east. Once through that door, you will be in a small open courtyard. Directly east is another building and another secret door. Double-click on the wall and open the secret door. You will be inside a two-hex room. The south hex is the sand portal so don't forget your portal gem. Step into the sand portal and presto, you're in the tomb. You'll be in an east-bound corridor. Go east until you come to a stairway going up. Take the stairs up. Go a few hexes west, then north to another stairway. Take the stairs up. At the top you'll see an air hex to the west. Jump in. At the bottom is Pekhet. Go to her, drop the FF boots on her square and ask her teach you. She will grant lungs! Jump in a fire and toast your toes to get back to the temple. CONGRATULATIONS!!

2. Montu Quest. Ack! You got the toughest organ quest in the game, my friend! But push on! Thousands have gone before you! The first part is identical to Pekhet's Quest until you get to the first stairway. Don't take the stairs; instead, jump into the air hex to the south (FF Boots on? <g>). Once in the lower level, head west and a little south until you come to the fire squares. Then swing south and take the eastbound corridor all the way east until you see a door on the north wall of the corridor. Through that door is Montu. Take off the FF boots and lay them at Montu's feet. Ask him to teach you. He will give you a blindness wand, tell you seek the master at the headwaters, and warn you to beware of the demon. Thanks a lot, Montu! The master is Khepri. Take the wand, go back to the fire squares,and die to return to the Main Temple. Go out the Main Temple, head north, then west. You'll be going west along the north side of the Temple. There is a one-hex stream about four or five squares north of the Temple. Follow that stream west until it turns north. Follow it north (you'll have to swim). When you hit land, continue to follow the path of the stream until it goes west. You'll be at the entrance of the Demon's Alcove. Now things get hairy. The Demon is particularly hostile. First he'll blind you, then he'll cast a death spell at you. Nasty fellow, that demon, and he can't be killed. However, the instant you see him, have your "cast blind at demon" ready to enter on the command line. If it works, great! If not, you'll have to make a run for it. This spell has a greater chance of succeeding if you are standing on dry land. (Remember, you can still run when blind. Alas, you cannot run when dead). When the stream turns west, just north of it are land squares. Get on to these land squares quickly and run west. At the western edge of the Demon's alcove you'll have to go back into the water again. Just keep following the stream. It's not that far. Khepri is at the end. Now, you don't have to get all the way up to Khepri. As soon as you see him (especially if the Demon is chasing you), you can give your "Khepri, teach me" command. So, it's a good idea to have the command ready to enter the instant you see him. Even if the Demon catches up with you, Khepri will hear your command and give your lungs. This is so, even if you die immediately thereafter. This quest is easier to do with two or more people: The first person acts as "demon bait" and sacrifices him/herself while you go racing by. Then you do the same for them. By the way, WELL DONE AND CONGRATULATIONS! Breathe easy, my friend, the rest is a piece of cake!

LIVER

You need to find Sekhmet, the quest giver for your Liver Quest. He is in the third building going east along the south riverbank. Go down the stairs in the third temple. There is Sekhmet. Ask him to teach you and answer him and he will send you to either the Sun God (Ra, located up the stairs in the Main Temple near Osiris) or his brother Nefertum (next building to the west of Sekhmet). Ra and Nefertem give one of these two quests: COBRA QUEST or PTAH QUEST.

1. Cobra Quest. You must "take a cobra to Re.Harakhti." Sigh. This quest is easy, but slow. There is a lawful cobra in Ra's chamber. If you can't find one there, sometimes a lawful cobra can be found in the area north of Neith, or you can always just wait ten minutes or facet. Tell the cobra, "Cobra, follow me". To get him to go down the stairs or rope type, "Cobra, climb down". Be careful with your cobra; he is slow. Don't let him get out of your sight. He could wander off or get killed by hostile critters. Head out the Main Temple and go east along the south riverbank. Pass all the buildings on the south side of the river and enter the grassy area just before the swamp, just past Sekhmet's temple. Stay as close as you can to the riverbank. About eight or nine hexes east of Sekhmet's temple you will see a wooden hex with a rope leading down. Tell the cobra to climb down and then you do the same. You'll be in a cavern. It may be dark, so bring a light wand if you have one. If you don't, it's okay. Cobras can see in the dark. Head northwest. If you can't go west, go north, and vice versa. It's not very far. You'll come to a square of permanent darkness. Just north of that it's light again. If it's dark, and you hear yourself plunk into water, that's good. Go north, you'll be in the open again. Head north on land until you can go no further, then swim north in the stream until you hit land again. Re.Harakhti is at the northernmost edge of the land area. On the square just in front of Re.H, the cobra will bow its head and drop a set of scales. Pick up the scales, go to Re.H, and drop the scales at his feet. Ask him to teach you and he will grant your liver! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

2. Ptah Quest. You must "seek the wisdom of Ptah." Ptah is a nice enough fellow, but he has a bit of a speech impediment. To find him, go down the same rope you climbed to find Khnumeri (see Lung Quest). From the rope landing head east southeast. You'll come to a cavern at the east end of the forest. Ptah is at the east end of the cavern. Ask him to teach you. Ptah will send you to Thoth. Head back to the rope landing area and drown yourself to return to the Main Temple. Head out of the Temple, then go north and swing back west along the northern side of the Main Temple. Keep following it until you get around to the back side of the Temple. There is a rear entrance and Thoth is there. Ask him to teach you. He grants a liver! CONGRATULATIONS!!

GOING HOME

Before you leave us, make sure you have all your organs. On the command line, type "Show stats" and use your history button to scroll back. Verify that all your organs are in their proper place. If so, great! You're ready to head home. Leave the Main Temple and head east along the north riverbank. When you get to Neith's grassy alcove, head east and slightly north until you see the beginning of a golden pathway. This is the road to the portal back to Kesmai. All you have to do is follow the yellow brick road. Yes, the folks at Kes Corp. do have a sense of humor. Follow the Yellow Brick Road. It gets a little tricky through a bushy area; just keep following it. You will come to an open grassy area with a pretty NPC called Uajyt hanging out. She's the portal guardian. You don't have to speak with her, just jump onto the portal square, double-click and voila. Back home in good old Kes Town - naked and shivering - but home, with your constitution and skill levels back where they should be! Well done!!!

THE KARMA QUEST

First of all, bad boy or girl! Why folks insist on going around killing perfectly innocent lawful people and NPCs, I'll never know. Anyone who does so deliberately certainly deserves his/her coming torture in the UW. If, however, the killing was accidental or you are ready to atone for your deed, read on. If you do have karma, try to get rid it of topside before coming here. Take a tiger figurine to the Confessor Ghost in the temple. Lay it at his feet and say, "Ghost, forgive me." This will remove one karma point. If you have more than one point, bring more than one figurine. Beg, borrow or steal a figurine to eliminate your karma. Do the UW Karma Quest only as a last resort It's long, arduous and very very difficult. If you have karma and get eaten by a carnivorous lair critter, you will have no choice. Read carefully. Each phase may take more than one try, and very often does. In addition, if you have more than one karma point, you will have to do the quest for each point.

Please note that if you have karma, upon your arrival in the UW your alignment will be evil (red) and you will be attacked by all the critters down here, including the temple cats who are fierce warriors. You enter the UW as usual but you cannot start on your organ quests until Set has forgiven each of your Karma points. This is because the lawful critters will not follow you. So, time to find Set and be forgiven.

Set is located down the same rope as Khnumeri (see Lung Quest above). Once down the rope, go directly north across the river until you hit the north riverbank. From there, head directly northeast, about 13 squares in a diagonal line until you come to a secret door on the east wall of the cavern. It gets dark inside Set's cavern, so take a light wand but, as with the other quests, if you know where you are going, you can do without a wand. The most dangerous aspect of this journey are the demons. If you are lucky, they won't see you. Your chances of not being seen are better if you don't use a light wand and move very very quickly. Set is directly east through a series of secrets doors, all on the east walls. From the first secret door, there are three more, all in a straight line. The first chamber is only one square; the rest are two squares each. Move quickly! Once through the last door, keep running east in a straight line. There are fires to the north and south, so stay in the middle. Set is at the end, about 10 squares from the last secret door. I recommend that you have your "Set, teach me" command ready to enter the instant you see him. Set will forgive you and send you to the pit. As of this writing (January, 1998), the proper treatment of evil-doers upon their arrival in the UW is broken. As it stands, once Set sends you to the Pit, you can simply jump into one of the fire squares conveniently located there, die, and you will return to the main temple and are ready to complete your organ quests as usual. However, in a later incarnation of the game when this bug is fixed, evil-doers will be dumped directly and inescapably into the Pit upon their arrival in the UW, and have to find Set's "back door." The path is long and arduous. Following are the directions.

In the Pit, there is an amoral dragon and amoral demon. They won't hurt you unless you attack them, so don't attack them. Find the rope leading up. Climb up. You will be in the Pits of Darkness. You can't see but, right-clicking on the terrain hexes will reveal their nature. There are four Pits of Darkness. Using right-click, find the rope up in each one, and climb up. The last rope will land you on a ground square surrounded by air and water. Use right-click to check your surroundings. You are now in the Sea of Darkness. Move into the water one square to the southeast. You can't move into the rocky-water squares and you definitely don't want to move into the air hexes. You should only move onto clear water hexes, and you must be quick about your right-clicking or you'll drown. Go south a few hexes until you run into a wall. Head west. You'll run into another wall (about a half-dozen squares). Go northwest two; then two north. You'll be on a land square. Whew! Take a rest. From the land square, go two northwest, then one west. You'll be on another land hex. There is a rope on the west wall here. Climb up. You're now on the Air Ledge (still in darkness). Go north until you run into a wall. To the east is an opening in the wall. Go through the opening then head northwest. It's important to be in the west corridor because the eastern one is a dead end. Then head straight north. You're in a corridor with a wall on each side. In just a couple of squares, look for another eastern opening. Go east through the opening then head straight north quite a distance (about 10 or 11 squares) until you run into a wall. Go northwest one square then north one. By right clicking, you should find that there is a rope on this square leading into an air hex to the west of you. Climb down. You are now in Set's Back Chamber. Good going! But you're still in darkness and you gotta get past demons, so move quickly. Head straight south until you run into a wall (six hexes). Go directly west from there a few squares until you run into a wall, which is actually a secret door. Your path from here will be directly west, through two more secret doors (altogether about seven squares). Through the last secret door is Set! Well done!

The Underworld - Summary

Some people have an extreme dislike for the Underworld, but I have found these are the people who usually make things harder than they have to. When you consider the alternatives which were available before the Underworld was created, namely permanent death if you got eaten or too old, the Underworld does not look too bad.

The secret to breezing through the Underworld is doing it a few times. By the time you have seen the quests once or twice, you should be able to get through the whole works in one to two hours. This is not a bad price to pay to preserve all your stats and skill levels, plus when you are reborn you start out with a very young character. Even with a youth potion, the best you could do is go back to middle aged.

Section Twenty Three: The Janitor

There is a "janitor" always on duty in Kesmai. Most players refer it as the evil janitor since they have lost valuable property. The reference here is to a continual sweeping of dropped items in the database. If this were not done, the dungeon would soon be waist deep in unwanted swords, shields, suits of leather armor, etc. from the slain crits. Every hex would have a loot pile on it, and searching for valuable loot would soon become very difficult and tedious. Hence, the janitor.

But, there is a downside. Items you drop on the ground for retrieval later may not be there when you come back. Your deathpile (items stripped from you at death) may be raided by the janitor before you get back to it. Be very careful leaving valuable items on the ground for any length of time. Apparently, counters and tables are not in the janitor's contract, and are not cleaned.

Section Tewnty Four: Note About Guilds

Guilds are groups of players who band together for such purposes as friendship, hunting, glory, etc. Guilds are a great implement of social play, and can further aid players, especially beginners. Guild members almost always have a guild tag after their name - a small set of letters representing the guild to which the particular person belongs. For example: <JohnDoePlayer>....<guild tag>

Guilds consist of members chosen by the guild master or members. Each of the many different existing guilds in the game have different membership requirements. Some guilds might require you to hunt with and become friends with current guild members and/or the guild master. Some might ask that you reach a certain level of power, such as the ability to solo the Kesmai dragon. Still others might require something as little as asking for membership. The guild master is the person who is in charge of the guild and makes all guild decisions. He/she is the one who chooses members and organizes guild group hunts, functions, and handles all other guild matters. In order to join a guild, it is often wise to acquaint yourself with the guild master and ask for information about it before you decide to let the guild master know that you are interested in joining the organization. Oftentimes, you will find that a particular guild is not the one for you. There are many guilds to choose from - you have to find the one that best suits your needs. Some of the guilds have their own guild web sites that have information on membership and other information about their guild.

Guilds function on an extremely simple basis - to offer members companionship, protection, and many times weapons/armor/items and gold as well as other services. Guilds will often be closely knit and will often go on group hunts and organize group meetings.

As a final word on guilds: It is highly advised that you make it a major concern to join a guild sometime in your LoK playing career. Oftentimes, a new player will be greatly aided by guilds and their members, even if he is not a guild member himself. So get to know guildmembers and the guildmasters, and don't be afraid to be social: the decision to join a fine guild could be the wisest choice you will ever make in the game!

Section Twenty Five: Legends Vernacular: Commonly Used Slang Terms and Their Meanings

There are numerous slang words, terms, and symbols used in chatting and conversing with fellow LoK players. Understanding the meaning of each is very useful in a conversation, as is being able to apply the terms oneself. The following is a list of frequently used terms and abbreviations:

AFK - "Away from keyboard," the term used when you are not sitting in front of your keyboard.

Booted - term used when you have lost connection with the game.

BRB - "Be right back," the term used in chat to convey the meaning that one has a minor interruption, such as a coffee break from the game, and will return shortly.

Crit - Short for "critter," the term used to refer to monsters in the game

Crt - Short for "character," one's player character.

Discoed - term used when you have lost connection with your Internet Service Provider. (ISP)

Dockbaby (Docker for short) - A new or inexperienced player. Often a term used by advanced players. The term has its origin in the dock of Kesmai, where all new players begin their lives.

GA - "Go Ahead," term used when acknowledging a request for assistance with a question.

ISP - Internet Service Provider. The service you use to access the internet.

Newbie - Same as dockbaby, someone who is new to either the Internet or to LoK. Slightly lower in status than is "docker" or "dockbaby."

Lag - when you freeze up in the game. Its usually due to slow connections and other traffic problems on the internet.

Lag out - When you have been disconnected from the game due to lag.

Log - to quit the game.

LoK - Short for "Legends of Kesmai."

LOL - term used for "laughing out loud".

NPC - non-player-character, a person, not monster, in the game, that is not controlled by a human player.

PC - any player-character, a human player

ROFL - "Rolling on Floor Laughing"

: ) or :-) or :^) - Euphemistically known as the "smiley," this horizontally-positioned happy face is used to express many emotions. This particular example says that one is happy. Others express sadness, greater joy, depression, boredom, etc., depending usually upon the position of the eyes and/or mouth of the face.

:-p - Sticking tongue out.

;-) - Wink

<G> - Short for "grin." This grin is used to express happiness or more often the onset of a joke or response to a clever joke.

<VBG> - short for "very big grin"

<VEG> - short for "very evil grin"

Appendix A - Text Commands

Movement Text Commands

Changing levels of the dungeon is usually done by going up and down stairs. To ascend or descend a staircase, move to the staircase hex and use the following commands: "up" and "down". This can be shortened to "u" and "d." Moving up and down cannot be mixed with horizontal motion.

Climbing
In addition to staircases, you can attempt to climb up and down pits, cliffs and walls. A character's climbing ability depends on strength, encumbrance, character class and luck. Martial artists and thieves receive special training in climbing, so they have a strong advantage in this area.

Anyone can climb down a pit; however, to climb up, you must have reasonable strength and climbing ability or you will fall. Climbing requires at least one hand to be empty, and most pits require two empty hands. Note: Using the "down" command in a pit will most likely cause you to fall. Instead, use: "climb down"
To climb up a pit, use: "climb up"

Crawl
From time to time, you will find yourself in a situation where you can't see where you are going, and you do not want to risk running into or falling off of something. The "crawl" command will allow you to move one hex in any of the eight directions without fear of falling. This command is much slower than normal movement. To safely move one hex to the northwest you would use: "crawl nw"

Swimming
It is possible to swim across bodies of water if your encumbrance is lower than moderate. Even if you are moderately encumbered, you might be able to swim. The "swim to" default command is associated with any water hex. Because of swift and treacherous currents, it takes longer to cover distances by swimming than by walking; you can move only one hex at a time when swimming. These limitations do not apply to sea creatures; sharks can swim much faster than you can. When you reach the shore, you can leave the water by double left clicking on an adjacent land hex, which will activate the default "move to" command for that hex.

Diving
While swimming, you may dive and spend a short period on the bottom, then return to the surface for air. To do so, type and enter the text command: "dive". Unless you are under the influence of the Breathe Water spell, you must swim or dive constantly otherwise you will drown within a few moments after you stop swimming or diving.

Pushing
If an item is too heavy to lift and you want to move it somewhere, you can push it along the ground -- and, if you are strong enough, up and down stairs. "Push corpse north" will move a corpse in your hex one hex to the north. "Push 2 bottle north" will move the second bottle north. Important note: You will move along with the item you are pushing, so think twice before you push that dead critter off a cliff!

Text Command Summary

Text Command Syntax:
[name], [message]
Syntax for addressing a message or command to a non-player character: "sven, train me"

[name], [path]
Tells a controlled creature to move:"salamander, n n w"

Text Command Definitions

act "[action phrase]" Role-playing command.
If your name is Lancelot, and you enter the command: 'act "is giving a thumbs-up sign"' , you and the players around you will see the message: "(Lancelot is giving a thumbs-up sign)". Note that the [action phrase] must be contained within double quotes. The parentheses around the displayed message indicate that it is an "act" message coming from the named character.

again
Repeat previous command; abbreviation "a" achieves same result.

all, [command]
When multiple controlled creatures are present, "all" can be used as a valid name variable: "all, attack dragon"

angry
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you look angry.

applaud
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are applauding.

appraise [item]
Request a detailed appraisal of the specified item from a shopkeeper: "lloyd, appraise ring"

attack
[creature], attack [target]
Direct a controlled creature to attack specified target character: "salamander, attack griffin"

beam
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are beaming.

begone
[creature], begone
Direct a controlled creature to return to place of origin: "salamander, begone"

belt [weapon name]
Put specified weapon back on your belt: "belt greatsword"

bless
[ancestor], bless this weapon
Enables you to use an attuned weapon inherited from your ancestor: "[ancestor name], bless this weapon"

blush
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are blushing.

burp
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are burping.

buy
[shopkeeper], buy [item]
Ask a shopkeeper to purchase something you have placed on his counter: "dik, buy gem"

[shopkeeper], buy all
Ask a shopkeeper to buy everything on the shopkeeper's counter:

"rolf, buy all"

chase [name]
Pursue a fleeing individual or group. The "chase" text command results in only one movement. By repeating the "chase" text command, or using the "again" command, you can follow a fleeing creature or rapidly moving group through successive moves. For example: "chase goblins", "a", "a"

climb up
Scale the sides of a pit, ladder, cliff, etc.

close [item]
Close an open book, scroll or container: "close bottle"

close door [direction]
Shuts a door in an adjacent hex in the specified direction (cannot be diagonal direction): "close door n"

confused
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you look confused.

crawl [direction]
Move one hex without fear of running into a wall or falling off a cliff, stepping into fire etc.: "crawl e"

critique
[trainer], critique [skill area] Seek a statement of your proficiency in a particular skill area from a qualified trainer. "olaf, critique greatsword skill"

cry
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are crying.

deposit
[teller], deposit Instruct teller to take gold from the bank counter and deposit it in your account:: "marlis, deposit"

dive
When in the water, this command takes you to the bottom for a brief period.

down
Move down a staircase; abbreviation "d" achieves same result.

draw [weapon name]
Take specified weapon from your belt: "draw greatsword"

drink
Drink from an open bottle or container held in your hand.

drop
drop [item]
Put something on the ground from your hands; will not damage item, e.g: "drop bottle"

[creature], drop [item]
Direct a controlled creature to drop specified item; if multiple items are being carried, using "all" as the item variable will cause the creature to drop everything: "djinn, drop gem"

dump [item]
Dump all of a particular item in your sack onto the ground, or to a specified location:
"dump gems"
"dump gems on counter"

east
Move one hex east; typing "e" yields same result.

eat [item]
Consume the specified item, e.g.: "eat berries"

end
Suspend game play and return to Conference Room. Alternate form of "quit"; see below.

evilgrin
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are wearing an evil grin.

exit
Suspend game play and return to Conference Room. Alternate form of "quit"; see below.

fight [name]
Attack a target character with weapon held in right hand (or using martial arts if the right hand is empty): "fight kobold"

flip
When reading a book, turn to next page. "flip back"
When reading a book, turn back one page. "flip back [number]"
When reading a book, turn back specified number of pages. "flip back 2" "flip forward [number]"
When reading a book, turn ahead specified number of pages: "flip forward 1" "flip to [number]"
When reading a book, turn to the specified page: "flip to 8"

follow
[creature], follow
Direct a controlled creature to follow you: "salamander, follow"

[creature], follow [name]
Direct a controlled creature to follow another character: "salamander, follow lancelot"

forgive [name]
Forgive a player who accidentally killed you: "forgive lancelot"

[ghost], forgive me
Ask forgiveness from the Confessor Ghost after presenting proper offering:"ghost, forgive me"

frown
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are frowning.

gasp
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are gasping.

giggle
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are giggling.

glower
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are glowering.

grimace
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are grimacing.

grin
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are grinning.

groan
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are groaning.

grumble
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are grumbling.

help
Prints a general help resource message.
help [word]
Provides information on the specified word.

jump
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are jumping up and down.

jumpkick [target]
Flying kick to a target character in a nearby hex; a martial arts maneuver that uses stamina: "jumpkick gargoyle"

kick [target]
Kick a target character in your hex:: "kick troll"

laugh
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are laughing.

load
Load your bow weapon with an arrow; same as "nock." Left hand must be empty.

look
"Look" at items on the ground in your hex.

"look [direction]" Look in the specified adjacent hex:: "look ne"

look around
Detailed description of surroundings.

"look at [item]"
Examine an item in your hands or on the ground. If several items of the same type are present, you may examine individual items by specifying the item number or location:
"look at gem"
"look at gem on ground"
"look at 2 gem"
look at [item] in sack
Receive a general description of the specified item in your sack:
"look at gem in sack"
"look at 2 gem in sack"

look at [item] in shop
Receive a general description of the specified shop item: "look at longsword in shop"

look at [name]'s [item]
Receive a general description of an item possessed by another character: "look at lancelot's staff"

look at [Nth] ring [hand]
Examine ring on [Nth] finger of [hand]: "look at 2 ring on right"

look closely at [name]: Take a closer look at another character (must be standing in your hex): "look closely at lancelot"

look here
Look at items on ground in your hex. Same as "look."

look in [hand]
Look at the contents of the specified hand: "look in left"

look on altar
Look on top of an adjacent altar.

look on counter
Look on top of an adjacent counter.

look on table
Look on top of an adjacent table.

look on
Enables automatic terrain descriptions.

look off
Disables automatic terrain descriptions.

meditate
Causes a portion of an ancestor's experience and skill to transfer to your descendant character during the Ceremony of Ancestors, under proper conditions.

mumble
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are mumbling.

mutter
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are muttering.

nock
Nock your bow weapon with an arrow; same as "load." Left hand must be empty.

nod
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are nodding.

north
Move one hex north; typing "n" yields same result.

northeast
Diagonal move; move to a location that is one hex north and one hex east; typing "ne" yields same result.

northwest
Diagonal move; moves to a location that is one hex north and one hex west; typing "nw" yields same result.

open
open book to [number]
When reading, open book to a particular page: "open book to 8"

open [item]
Open a book, scroll, or bottle: "open balm"

pager
Display the status of your pager.
'pager off' Shut off your pager.
'pager on' Turn on your pager.

pant
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are panting.

pet [name]
Removes self-defense designation of a player who has accidentally attacked you. Also works on many small, furry animals:
"pet lancelot"

poke [name]
Attack a target in an adjacent hex with a halberd; also can be used with shorter weapons (e.g., a spear) against targets in your hex: "poke orc"

pout
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are pouting.

push [item] [direction]
Move something on the ground to next hex, or via a stairway: "push corpse w"

put
put [item] into sack
Put specified item in your sack; only small items fit: "put gold in sack"

put [item] on [location]
Place the specified item on, for instance, an altar or counter: "put gold on counter"

put ring on [hand]
Put a ring on a hand; The next available finger closest to the thumb will be used:, "put ring on right" put ring on [Nth] [hand] Put a ring on a particular finger: "put ring on 2 left"

quit
Suspend game play and return to Conference Room. Not allowed if character is standing in front of an active counter, locker or altar; nor may you may quit while fighting. One minute must pass after combat before you can quit. If you are a ghost, "quit" will notify the gods of your desire to be resurrected (cannot be entered until 60 seconds after you are slain).

read
read [item]
Read a book or scroll: "read book"

redraw
Refreshes your game screen.

remove [item]
Remove an article of clothing, armor or jewelry: "remove mail", "remove 2 ring from left

rest
Used to fizzle (cancel) a warmed spell.

run
[creature], run
Direct a controlled creature to move two hexes at a time: "djinn, run"

run [direction]
Move two hexes; may reduce stamina: "run n"

salute
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are saluting.

scream
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are screaming.

search
search [direction]
Search for a secret door in an adjacent hex in the specified direction: "search n"

search [Nth] corpse
Remove the armor, weapons, jewelry, and sack contents from a corpse and place them on the ground. If multiple corpses are present in the hex, you must search each one individually; corpses always pile up in the order they are slain. The top corpse will be the most recent kill. If no corpse number is specified, the top corpse in a pile will be searched:
"search corpse"
"search 2 corpse"
"search 3 corpse"

sell
[shopkeeper], sell [item]
Ask shopkeeper to sell you the specified item (after sufficient gold has been placed on the counter):
"harald, sell greatsword"

sheathe
sheathe [weapon]
Put specified weapon on your belt: "sheathe greatsword"

shiver
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are shivering.

Shoot
shoot [target]
Shoot a bow weapon at a target character: "shoot kobold"

Show
show belt
Show weapons on your belt, and your armor in the Secondary Viewport.

show locker
Show contents of locker in the Main Viewport.

show prices
View the price list when in shops.

show rings
Show the rings on your eight fingers; display appears in the Secondary Viewport.

show sack
Show the items and gold in your sack in the Secondary Viewport.

show skill
Show weapon skills ratings in the Main Viewport.

show spells
Request a list of the spells the magic trainer can teach you: "sven, show spells"

show stats
Show character statistics, level, and encumbrance in the Main Viewport.

shrug
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are shrugging.

show abbreviations
Show current macro definitions; typing "show abbrevs" yields same result.

show balance
[teller], show balance
Instruct the bank teller to state your account balance: "marlis, show balance"

show rules
Tells whether karma rules are in effect in current scenario.

sigh
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are sighing.

smile
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are smiling.

smirk
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are smirking.

snarl
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are snarling.

sneeze
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are sneezing.

snicker
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are snickering.

south
Move one hex south; typing "s" yields same result.

southeast
Diagonal move; moves to a location that is one hex south and one hex east; typing "se" yields same result.

southwest
Diagonal move; moves to a location that is one hex south and one hex west; typing "sw" yields same result.

speak
Enables you to speak to your countrymen in your native language, so that adventurers of other homelands cannot understand you. Works in the game only, not the Conference Room.

"speak [language]" where [language] is one of the following: Common, Illyrian, Muian, Lemurian, Lengian, Draznian, Hovathian, Mnarian, Barbarian. Your character speaks the language of his or her homeland and Common. Common is the adventure's cant, understood by all who venture to the island.

sprint [direction]
Move three hexes; may reduce stamina: "sprint e"

steal from [name]
Reach into target character's sack and steal one item at random, e.g.: "steal from troll" "steal gold from [name]"

Steal gold from target creature's sack, e.g.: "steal gold from troll"

stop
[name], stop
Tells a non-player character to shut up and go away: "fafnir, stop"

swap
Move the contents of one hand to the other. Receiving hand must be empty

sweep [direction]
If you have a magical broom, you can sweep in the usual directions as well as up and down stairs and through portals.
"sweep s"

swim [direction]
Move through the water: "swim nw"

take
[creature/name], take [item]
1) Direct a controlled creature to pick up the specified item. "salamander, take gold"
2) Direct a bank teller to take gold from the bank counter and deposit it in your account: "marlis, take gold"

take [item] from [location]
Take specified item from an adjacent counter, altar or table:
"take balm from counter"
If several of the same item are present, you may specify the item you want: "take 3 ring from counter
Otherwise, the last item placed on the surface will be the one taken.

take [item] from sack Take specified item out of your sack: "take book from sack"
If several of the same item are present, you may specify the item you want: "take 3 bottle from sack"
Otherwise, the last item placed in the sack will be the one taken.

take [item] off
Remove an article of clothing, armor or jewelry (rings, bracelets, amulets, etc.): "take robe off"

take [item]
Pick up something from the ground in your hex; one hand must be empty: "take axe"

take [Nth] ring off [hand]
Remove a particular ring. Alternate for "remove" command; "from" also may be substituted for "off": "take 1 ring off right", "take 1 ring from right"
take ring off [hand]
Remove a ring; opposite hand must be empty; "from" may be substituted for "off." In this case, where no ring number is specified, the command will remove the ring from the finger closest to the thumb.

teach
[trainer], teach [spell name]
Ask magic trainer to teach you a new spell (after sufficient gold has been offered to the trainer). "oskar, teach darkness"

[quest master/guide], teach me
Request instruction from an Underworld quest master or guide. "osiris, teach me"

throw [item] [path]
Throw the specified item at a location (rather than at a creature), e.g.: "throw bottle n n n" " throw [item] at [creature]"
Throw the specified item at a creature (rather than at a location), e.g.: "throw axe at orc"

train
[trainer], train me
Request training from qualified trainer in weapon or item held in right hand (leave right hand empty for martial arts training):
"neela, train me"
"[trainer], train [amount]" Request training in the specified amount of gold coins: "olaf, train 500"

unload
Removes arrow from bow weapon

unlock door [direction]
Attempt to unlock a locked door in an adjacent square in a specified direction with a key or a lock pick: "unlock door s"

up
Climb a stairway between levels; type "u" for same result.

users
Displays a list of characters currently playing.

wave
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are waving.

wear [item]
Put on an article of clothing, armor or jewelry, bracelets and amulets: "wear robe"

west
Define a path one hex west; typing "w" yields same result.

what is
[npc], what is [word]
Ask a non-player character for information about something; "priest, what is shuriken"

where is
[npc], where is [place]
Ask a non-player character for the location of a particular place: "sheriff, where is gym"

wield [weapon name]
Take specified weapon from your belt: "wield greatsword"

wink
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are winking.

withdraw
[teller], withdraw [number]
Instruct bank teller to withdraw the specified amount from your account and place it on the bank counter.
"marlis, withdraw 1000"

yawn
Role-playing command; displays a message to your companions telling them you are yawning.

	Fighter (All nationalities untrained in Magic and Theft)	Martial Artist (All nationalities untrained in Magic	Thaum (All nationalities untrained in Theft)	Wizard (All nationalities untrained in Hand and Theft)	Thief
Illyria	Ra: Cap Ma: Awk Da: Cap Bo: Awk Sw: Med 2H: Awk St: Awk	St: Cap Sw: Med Sh: Cap Da: Cap 3s: Med Ha: Grn Tf: Clm	Ra: Med Bo: Awk Da: Med St: Awk Sw: Med 2H: Awk Ma: Awk Mg: Sha	Ra: Med Da: Med St: Awk Sw: Awk Mg: Apr	Da: Cap Sw: Med Ra: Med Sh: Med Ha: Yel Tf: Med Mg: SiS
Mu	Ma: Cap Da: Awk Fl: Med 2H: Awk Sw: Awk St: Awk	St: Cap Sh: Awk Ma: Cap 3S: Med Da: Awk Sw: Awk Ha: Grn Tf: Clm	Ma: Med Fl: Awk Da: Awk 2H: Awk Mg: Appr	Ma: Med St: Awk Da: Awk Fl: Awk Mg: Aspir	Da: Cap Fl: Awk Sw: Med Sw: Med Ma: Med Sh: Med Ha: Yel Tf: Aver Mg: MoM
Leng	Sw: Cap Ma: Awk Da: Med Ra: Med Bo: Med Sh: Awk St: Med Ha: Whte	Sw: Cap St: Cap Bo: Med 3S: Cap Da: Med Sh: Awk Bo: Med Ha: Blue Tf: Med	Sw: Med Ra: Awk Da: Awk Ma: Awk St: Awk Sh: Awk Bo: Awk Ha: Whte Mg: Sha	Sw: Med Ra: Awk St: Awk Da: Awk Mg: Appr	Da: Cap St: Awk Sw: Med Ra: Awk Sh: Med Bo: Awk Ha: Yel Tf: Aver Mg: MoM
Draznia	2H: Cap St: Awk Bo: Cap Da: Awk Sw: Cap Ma: Awk	Sw: Med Da: Med Bo: Cap 3S: Med St: Cap Sh: Med Ha: Grn Tf: Clum	Sw: Med Ma: Awk Bo: Med St: Awk 2H: Awk Da: Awk Mg: Appr	Bo: Med 2H: Awk Sw: Med St: Awk Da: Awk Mg: Appr	Da: Cap Sw: Med Bo: Med Sh: Med Ha: Yel Tf: Aver Mg: MoM
Mnar	Ma: Cap St: Awk Bo: Med Sh: Awk Sw: Med 2H: Awk Da: Med	St: Cap Da: Med Ma: Cap 3S: Med Bo: Med Sh: Awk Sw: Med Ha: Grn Tf: Clum	Ma: Med Sh: Awk Bo: Awk 2H: Awk Sw: Awk Da: Awk Mg: Appr	Ma: Med Bo: Awk St: Awk Da: Awk Sw: Awk Mg: Appr	Da: Cap Bo: Awk Sw: Med Ma: Med Sh: Med Ha: Yel Tf: Aver Mg: MoM
Barbar- ian	Ma: Cap Da: Awk Sw: Med St: Awk Fl: Med 2H: Med	Ma: Cap 3S: Med St: Cap Da: Awk Sh: Med Sw: Med Ha: Grn Tf: Clum	Ma: Med Fl: Awk Sw: Awk 2H: Awk Da: Awk St: Awk Mg: Appr	Ma: Med Fl: Awk St: Awk 2H: Awk Da: Awk Sw: Awk Mg: Appr	Da: Cap Fl: Awk Sw: Med Sh: Med Ma: Med Ha: Yel Tf: Aver Mg: MoM

	Fighter Inborn Points/Max Limit	Martial Artist Inborn Points/Max Limit	Thaumaturge Inborn Points/Max Limit	Wizard Inborn Points/Max Limit	Thief Inborn Points/Max Limit
Strength	14/18	12/17	12/17	11/16	11/17
Dexterity	14/17	14/18	11/16	11/15	12/18
Intelligence	12/16	12/16	12/17	14/18	14/17
Wisdom	12/16	12/16	14/18	12/17	12/16
Charisma	10/16	10/16	8/16	10/17	10/17
Constitution	14/16	14/18	14/18	14/18	14/18
Creation Points	15	17	20	18	16

Level	Experience Points	Fighter HPs	Knight (1st Quest) HPs	Knight (2nd Quest) HPs	MA HPs	Thaum HPs/Mana	Thief HPs/Mana	Wizard HPs/Mana
3	1,600	44	-	-	44	42/8	38/8	36/8
4	3,200	54	-	-	58	51/15	47/13	47/15
5	6,400	64	-	-	72	60/22	56/18	54/22
6	12,800	74	-	-	86	69/29	65/23	63/29
7	25,600	84	-	-	100	78/36	74/28	72/36
8	51,200	94	131	147	114	87/43	83/33	81/43
9	102,400	104	141	157	128	96/50	92/38	90/50
10	204,800	114	151	167	142	105/57	101/43	99/57
11	409,600	124	161	177	156	114/64	110/48	108/64
12	819,200	134	171	187	170	123/71	119/53	117/71
13	1,638,400	144	181	197	184	132/78	128/58	126/78
14	3,276,800	154	191	207	198	141/85	137/63	135/85
15	6,553,600	164	201	217	212	150/92	146/68	144/92
16	13,107,200	174	211	227	226	159/99	155/73	153/99
17	26,214,400	184	221	237	240	168/106	164/78	162/106
18	52,428,800	194	231	247	254	177/113	173/83	171/113
19	104,857,600	204	241	257	268	186/120	182/88	180/120

	Weapons Skill Level	Martial Arts Skill Level	Thievery Skill Level	Thaum Magic Skill	Thaum Magic Spell(s)	Wizard Magic Skill	Wizard Magic Spell(s)	Thief Magic Skill	Thief Magic Spell(s)
1	Awkward	White Belt	Clumsy	Shaman	Curse Strength	Aspirant	Bonfire, Magic Missile	Skulker in Shadows	Hide FSDoors
2	Mediocre	Yel. Belt	Mediocre	Apprentice	Fear	Apprentice	Codoor	Master of Mischief	Codoor
3	Capable	Green Belt	Average	Initiate	Light Blind Pr. Fire	Apprentice to Fire	Br. Water, Light, Shield, Pr. Fire	Diviner of Magics	Identify, Br. Water
4	Familiar	Blue Belt	Talented	Acolyte	Pr. Cold Stun	Apprentice to Ice	Darkness Pr. Cold	Knight of Darkness	Darkness, RecallRing
5	Practiced	Red Belt	Practiced	Healer	Cure Neutralize	Apprentice to Illusions	FSDoor, Web, Portal	Opener of Ways	Portal, Neutralize
6	Competent	Black Belt	Deft	Canon(ess)	Turn Undead, Lightning	Shaper of Fire	Fireball Firewall	Lurker in Darkness	Night Vision
7	Experienced	1st Dan	Efficient	Exorcist	Banish, Death	Shaper of Ice	Ice Storm	Obscurer of Ways	Hide Door
8	Skillful	2nd Dan	Graceful	Priest(ess)	Raise Dead	Wizard	Concussion	Master of Water	Speed
9	Proficient	3rd Dan	Professional	Seer(ess)	Resist Fear	Shaper of Illusions	Illusion, Dispel	Master of Air	Feather Fall
10	Exceptional	4th Dan	Dexterous	Summoner of Snakes	Summon Snake	Illusionist	Wizard Eye, Disentegrate	Master of Secrets	Wizard Eye
11	Brilliant	5th Dan	Adroit	Summoner of Spirits	Summon Phantasm, Resist Blind	Master of Earth	Peek	Master Thief	Venom
12	Expert	6th Dan	Expert	Summoner of Demons	Summon Demon, Pr. Fire/Ice	Master of Illusions	Fire Bolt Pr. Fire/Ice	Shadow Thief
13	Astonishing	7th Dan	Astonishing	Prophet (ess)	Resist Lightning	Master of Air	Whirlwind	Shadow Mage
14	Amazing	8th Dan	Amazing	(Mat) Patriarch	Poison Cloud, Pr. Poison	Mage	Ice Spear(!!!)	Shadow Stalker
15	Incredible	9th Dan	Incredible	High Priest (ess)	Resist Stun	Lord of Fire	Fire Storm	Shadow Lord
16	Master	Wh. Sash	Magician	Master of Demons	Resist Death	Lord of Illusions	Dragon Breath	Thief of Wands
17	Genius	Red Sash	Peerless	Master of Dead	Pr. Blind/ Fear	Lord of Air	Lightning Lance(!!!)	Thief of Cups
18	Unearthly	Gold Sash	Incomparable	Master of Earth and Sky	Lightning Storn	Archmage	Lightning Storm	Thief of Pentacles
19	Immortal	Master	Master	Hierophant	Pr. Stun/ Death	Magis	Create Lava	Thief of Souls

Skill	Weapons	Tied Weaps
Bow	Crossbow, Longbow, Shortbow	Doom.Orc Bow
Dagger	Dagger, Silver Dagger	Miserycorde & rdagger
Flail	Flail	-
Halberd	Halberd	Gold Halberd
Mace	Mace, Hammer, Axe	Raxe, Rhammer
Rapier	Rapier	Black Rapier
Shuriken	Shuriken, Thrown Dagger, Thrown Items	Agate Gem, Rdagger
Staff	Staff, Wand, Spear	Stormhalter
Sword	Longsword, Shortsword, Katana	Hummingbird Sword
Greatsword	Broadsword, Greatsword	Black Broadsword, Silver Greataxe
Threestaff	Three-sectioned Staff	-
Martial Arts	Hand, Fan, Gauntlets	Crystal Gauntlets
Thievery	Key	-

Skill Level - Cost	Skill Level - Cost
0 - 25	10 - 281,600
1 - 100	11 - 614,400
2 - 300	12 - 1,331,200
3 - 800	13 - 2,867,200
4 - 2,000	14 - 6,144,000
5 - 4,800	15 - 13,107,200
6 - 11,200	16 - 27,852,400
7 - 25,600	17 - 58,982,400
8 - 57,600	18 - 124,518,400
9 - 128,000	19 - 262,144,000