Ancient Domains Of Mystery
An Interactive Adventure In A Fantastic World
Copyright 1994-2002 by Thomas Biskup.
All Rights Reserved All Over The World
Dedication
----------
To my parents for always allowing me to choose my path in life.
To Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax for inventing the most wonderful
pastime ever.
Table Of Contents
-----------------
Introduction
The Coming of Chaos
The Price of the Game
To further the development of the game...
The Horoscope
Game-related Effects of Star Signs
The Player Character
The Races
The Classes
Alignment
Skills
Increasing Skills
Marking Skills for Quick Selection
Weapon Skills
Weapon Skills and Attack Energy
Attributes
Experience and Advancement
Magic & Spells
Casting Spells from Books
Known Spells
Mindcraft
Corruptions
The Game
The Main Screen
The Monster Memory
The Display
The Player Character Screen
Miscellaneous Commands
Movement
Speed
The Dynamic Display
Dice
The Inventory
Filtering the Stuff List
Beasts of Burden
Spells
Shops
Wishing
Saving the Game
How To Start -- A Beginner's Guide
Appendix A: Credits
Appendix B: Customizing ADOM
Appendix C: Command Line Options
Appendix D: Customizing the Keymap
Introduction
------------
Ancient Domains of Mystery (ADOM for short) is a rogue-like game
which means that it is a single-user game featuring the exploration of
a dungeon complex. You control a fictional character described by
race, class, attributes, skills, and equipment. This fictional
character is trying to achieve a specific goal (see below) and succeed
in a difficult quest. To fulfill the quest, you have to explore
previously undiscovered tunnels and dungeons, fight hideous monsters,
uncover long forgotten secrets, and find treasures of all kind.
During the game, you explore dungeon levels which are randomly
generated each game. You might also encounter certain special levels,
which present a particular challenge or are built around a certain
theme.
IMPORTANT: If you are a first-time player you should read the 'How to
start' section of this manual.
The Coming of Chaos
-------------------
For 6000 years, the world of Ancardia was left untouched by the
incursions of Chaos, but finally the sinister forces of evil and
darkness have found this young and teeming world. In a remote
mountain complex, huge dungeons were formed by great magical powers.
They seem to contain some kind of dimensional gate which allows
terrors from unknown dimensions to enter the world of Ancardia and
wreak havoc.
For years, nobody understood the true cause of sudden ambushes by evil
monsters, incursions by hideous monster armies, and the rising tide of
Chaos. Finally Khelavaster, the great sage, uncovered an ancient
prophecy foretelling the Coming of Chaos -- a dark and sinister time
when the skill, power and valor of a single hero would determine the
future of the world. The ancient scrolls of prophecy hinted at a
remote mountain range -- the Drakalor Chain -- which was destined to
be the final battle ground for an epic fight between Chaos and Order.
Khelavaster quickly made this known to all the intelligent races of
Ancardia.
Within weeks, many heroes set out to find the source of the chaotic
forces and destroy it. Khelavaster was among the first to enter those
dungeons. Many heroes have followed him since then but no one has
ever returned from the dungeons. Thus the forces of Chaos continue
their conquest and threaten to defile Ancardia...
You are one of those young heroes willing to risk your life to defeat
the forces of Chaos, gain fame, fortune, power, and ultimately save
your world and your people. After weeks of arduous travel, you have
finally reached the center of the Drakalor Chain and now face the
entrance to those dungeons of mystery which must contain a means to
save your world. You were told to visit a small village by the name
of "Terinyo" and talk to the village elder for he might have the
latest information about the region. Steady yourself and be prepared
to engage in a heroic struggle for the fate of your home world!
The Price of the Game
---------------------
ADOM is available for free as long as you honor the license of the
game (either see the file 'license.doc' or type 'adom -b' at your
command line). If you want to thank me (Thomas Biskup) for creating
ADOM, maintaining it, fixing all discovered bugs, providing support
and generally spending a lot of time on the game and if you are having
fun with the game, please consider rewarding my efforts by sending a
postcard to the following address from wherever you are living:
Thomas Biskup
Timmerbrinksweg 37
45896 Gelsenkirchen
Germany
I *love* receiving postcards from all over the world. Weigh the fun
ADOM gave you against the ten minutes you probably need to
write and send such a postcard -- and if you find that you like and
enjoy the game -- please do it. I'm really not asking much... am I?
To further the development of the game...
-----------------------------------------
ADOM contains a number of bugs as is normal for one huge piece of
software being developed by a single person (about 135,000 lines of
code as of ADOM 0.9.9 Gamma 13). Thus it's absolutely necessary to
send bug reports in to me if you experience problems with the game.
Bug reports are submitted at
http://www.adom.de/adom/submit-report.php3
and should contain at least the following information:
1. your real life name and your email address
2. the version of ADOM you are using (exact version)
3. the operating system you are using (exact version)
4. a description on what you did to produce the error
5. all dumps ADOM might have created
Unless asked you should *not* include any binary files.
The Horoscope
-------------
The sky of Ancardia is covered by a myriad of stars. One moon circles
the world. The inhabitants of Ancardia believe in the magical forces
controlling the movements of the celestial bodies. Magic energies
influence one's life depending on the time of birth.
Each month is named after a particular star sign. One year has 12
months, each with four weeks of seven days each. In addition, there
are two special days in each month which don't belong to any week.
The first day in a month is Darknight, when no moon is visible. The
16th day of a month is called Silvernight, when the moon shines
brightly. Darknight is considered to be a dangerous day followed by a
night filled with evil magics. In contrast, Silvernight is a joyful
day (when nobody usually works) and is followed by a night full of
feasts and revelries.
During the day of Darknight all evil magics are very strong while good
magics are severely hampered. On the day of Silvernight good magics
enjoy great advantages while evil magics are severely hindered. The
weeks are named Oneweek, Twoweek, Threeweek and Fourweek. Thus a
typical month is structured like this:
Day Specific Name
----- -------------
1 Darknight
2- 8 Oneweek
9-15 Twoweek
16 Silvernight
17-23 Threeweek
24-30 Fourweek
The following twelve star signs are used to name the months:
Spring ........ Book .......... 2
Wand .......... 3
Unicorn ....... 4
Summer ........ Salamander .... 5
Dragon ........ 6
Sword ......... 7
Autumn ........ Falcon ........ 8
Cup ........... 9
Candle ........ 10
Winter ........ Wolf .......... 11
Tree .......... 12
Raven ......... 1
When the game is started, a star sign is determined (together with
your character's birthday). The star sign has some effects on the
career of the character. Note that some signs are quite variable in
the attributes they govern. Your character will also be slightly
favored during the month named after his star sign. Finally,
characters tend to be very lucky on their birthday. You might want to
consider these factors when creating a character.
Raven: Death, Messengers, Companion, Tricks
Book: Knowledge, Learning, Laws
Wand: Laws, Neutral Magic, Leadership
Unicorn: Grace, Beauty, Purity, Innocence, Dignity
Salamander: Magic (especially fire), Eloquence
Dragon: Ferocity, Combat, Might, Rulership, Anger, Combat Magic
Sword: Combat, Execution, Tactics, Strategy
Falcon: Nobility, Hunt, Force of Personality
Cup: Collected Knowledge, Experience, Camaraderie
Candle: Hope, Life, Serenity, Transition
Wolf: Hunt, Ferocity, Community with Nature, Devotion, Loyalty
Tree: Tradition, Inflexibility
The game itself begins on the first day of the month of the Unicorn.
Game-related Effects of Star Signs
----------------------------------
Each star sign has specific game effects which will be enumerated
below:
Raven
*****
Harder to trick by deceptions, messengers will reach you faster,
you are faster (+10 to speed), companions are more powerful, +2 to
initial Perception.
Book
****
Lawful tendencies (it's harder to change), one free skill increase
per level, increased chance to learn spells.
Wand
****
Lawful tendencies (it's harder to change), spells for neutral casters
are 10% cheaper in power points, +2 to initial Charisma, starts out
with lawful tendencies but gets +2 to Mana and 10% more power points
if neutral initially.
Unicorn
*******
Harder to corrupt by Chaos effects, hard to change to a different
alignment once lawful, +2 to initial Appearance.
Salamander
**********
Fire magic is 20% cheaper in power points, +1 to initial Charisma, +3
to initial Mana, +20% to power points (always).
Dragon
******
10% increased effects from Tactics settings, -3 to initial Willpower,
+2 to initial Strength, +1 to initial Toughness, costs to increase
weapon skills are reduced by 10%, combat magic is 10% cheaper in power
points.
Sword
*****
Positive modifiers from Tactics settings are increased by 10%, costs
to increase melee weapon skills are reduced by 20%, +1 to the initial
Learning score.
Falcon
******
Very good at surviving in the wilderness, +2 to initial Willpower, +1
to initial Charisma, one free talent.
Cup
***
Requires 10% less experience points to advance in level, receives one
free skill advance every two levels, learns spells more effectively
(20% better than others), +2 to initial Learning.
Candle
******
Heals faster, the gods are more forgiving when asked for favors, one
free talent.
Wolf
****
+3 to initial Perception, +3 to initial Willpower, food is more
nutritious for you (by +10%).
Tree
****
It's generally hard to change alignment, +5 to initial willpower.
The Player Character
--------------------
To be able to fight Chaos, you will have to create a fictional
character, often called the player character (or PC). This character
will be chosen from one of the intelligent races of Ancardia, will
undergo long and hard hours of training to learn a profession and many
skills enhancing his chance to defeat evil and finally save the world.
All these concepts are explained in detail in the sections below.
The Races
---------
In ADOM, a wide variety of fantasy races can be chosen for your player
character. Each race has certain advantages and disadvantages and
receives different equipment and attributes. Each race also gains
some default skills as their cultural heritage (see the section on
skills for a complete list of available skills in the game). You
can choose among the following races:
HUMAN -- Humans are the most generic of all races. They tend to be
adaptable, suited for every profession and generally well equipped.
They are also very fast learners. While humans do not have any other
special advantages, they don't suffer from any disadvantages either.
Humans train in the following skills: Climbing, Food Preservation,
Haggling, and Swimming.
TROLL -- Trolls are extremely huge and strong creatures with large
muscles, pointy teeth, big horns and a lot of hair all over their
body. They are nearly always in a bad mood. Most races shun them
because of this. Trolls are by far the strongest and the dumbest race
available in this game. They make excellent fighters and lousy
magicians. Trolls are somewhat disadvantaged by their great size
(good targets!) and the great amounts of food they need to sustain
their bulk. They also learn very slowly and need a lot of experience
points to advance in their profession. On the positive side, they are
by far the toughest and strongest race in the game and heal real fast.
Trolls train in the following skills: Athletics, Bridge Building, Food
Preservation, Gemology, and Mining.
HIGH ELF -- High Elves are a beautiful race of extremely long-lived
creatures. High Elves are of slender build, nearly six feet 10 inches
tall and generally have golden or auburn hair and amber or purple
eyes. Their ears are very pointed and their skin is very fair. They
live in the forests where they like to hunt, frolic, engage in musical
and romantic affairs and generally have a good time. They tend to
shun the other races, partially because of their arrogance and
partially because they have had conflicts with most other races in
their long history. High Elves are excellent fighters (and also great
shots with their deadly long bows!) and mages. Their magical powers
are especially noteworthy. On the negative side, they are not very
well-liked and somewhat frail.
High Elves train in the following skills: Dodge, Listening, Literacy,
and Stealth.
GRAY ELF -- Gray Elves are the most noble of all elven races. Their
beauty is ethereal, they move with unsurpassed grace and are among the
greatest mana-wielders in the game. Gray Elves look similar in
appearance to High Elves, although most of them sport silver or golden
hair and purple or light blue eyes. They are of even more slender
build than their lesser cousins. But besides their great beauty, they
are arrogant and haughty beings, generally disliked by most other
races that have contact with them (which is next to no one on a regular
basis... mostly you will meet Gray Elves in a chance encounter -- if
you notice them at all!). Gray Elves tend to regard all the non-elven
races as lesser beings, more closely related to animals than to "True
Beings", as they like to call themselves. They are also even more
frail than their lesser cousins, which they balance with a greatly
enhanced agility and magical powers of which other races only dream.
Gray Elves train in the following skills: Dodge, Listening, Literacy,
and Stealth.
DARK ELF -- Dark Elves are as evil as Gray Elves are beautiful. Many
millennia ago they were exiled into the Underdark after a long and
hateful war with the other elven sub-races. Dark Elves worship
Lol'th, the evil demon queen of all spiders. During the millennia beneath
the earth, they were corrupted by the dark secrets they managed to
unearth. Their skin is as black as their souls. In contrast, their
hair is of pure white color. Dark Elves are of very slender frame and
slightly smaller than their surface-dwelling cousins. Dark Elves are
hated and feared by almost everyone because of their cruelty and lack
of mercy. They possess great magical talents, are very nimble and
have an excellent perception in the underground. Because of their
long absence from the sunlight, they are almost blind when adventuring
in the daylight. Their greatest enemies are their surface cousins.
Despite the general evil disposition of this race over the centuries,
they have spawned some very rare individuals who have left their
homelands and are eternally remembered in legends and song because of
their valor, goodwill, and courage.
Dark Elves train in the following skills: Alertness, Climbing, Find
Weakness, and Stealth.
DWARF -- Dwarves are a small, hardy and taciturn race. They barely
grow to be four and a half feet. Their body is stocky and their
endurance is legendary. Dwarves are especially proud of their long
beards and their great craftsmanship with metals. The dwarven race
has spawned the greatest of all smiths. Their skill in forging
weapons and armor is unsurpassed, as is their greed for gold. They
are able warriors, brave to a fault, have an excellent sight in the
underground and are experts at detecting secret doors and traps.
Dwarves train in the following skills: Climbing, Detect Traps,
Metallurgy, Mining, and Smithing.
GNOME -- Gnomes are the smaller cousins of dwarves. They live in
rolling hills and wooded valleys. They are great connoisseurs of gems
and the best gem carvers known in the whole world. Gnomes are famous
for their very black humor and their great magical skills. They are
about four feet high and not so stocky as dwarves. They groom their
beards very well, although they generally favor short cropped beards.
Gnomes are great leather workers and gnomish boots are a quality
product every race greatly enjoys (except trolls and maybe
hurthlings). Their greatest enemies are the kobolds living in the
tunnels below the mountains. They normally attack each other on
sight. Gnomes are excellent crossbowmen who prefer to utilize light
crossbows for ranged attacks.
Gnomes train in the following skills: Gemology, Listening, Mining,
Pick Pockets, and Ventriloquism.
HURTHLING -- Hurthlings are the smallest of the little people. They
grow to be an average three to three and a half feet high. They are
sturdy and brave. Most hurthlings prefer to walk without shoes.
Their feet are very well accustomed to this as they sport a leathery
sole and are covered with thick and bushy hair. Hurthlings rarely
wear beards and generally prefer short-cut hair. They (mostly) are
not an adventurous people. They enjoy their burrows, like to farm and
sit together to tell stories. Their greatest pride are their
beautiful gardens and the good tobacco they produce. Hurthlings
generally mistrust outsiders and foreigners and shun them most of the
time. A hurthling needs six meals a day to be happy and a comfortable
bed to sleep in. Those few hurthlings who chose to be
adventurers are mostly very talented thieves. Because of their small
size and their low strength, hurthlings are not very well suited to be
fighters. One of their favored sports is tossing rocks (with or
without slings) at distant targets -- consequently many hurthlings are
deadly shots both with slings and thrown rocks.
Hurthlings have been known as hobbits in later ages and in
other areas.
Hurthlings train in the following skills: Archery, Cooking, Food
Preservation, Gardening, and Stealth.
ORC -- Orcs belong to the dark races, created in the same dark pits as
trolls. They mostly are the arch nemesis of many of the intelligent
races, as they reproduce quickly and enjoy plundering, killing and
spreading havoc in general. The average orc is five and a half to six
feet high, weighs 130 to 150 pounds and has a gray to black skin.
Their eyes glow red in the dark. Orcs shun sunlight, as it tends to
hurt their eyes greatly. Because orcs mostly live in the underground,
they are very good at detecting secret doors. Orcs make good
fighters and are also known to spawn mighty priests serving their
cruel war deity, Gruumsh, the One-Eyed and All-Seeing.
Orcs train in the following skills: Backstabbing, Climbing, Find
Weakness, Metallurgy, and Mining.
DRAKELING -- Drakelings are humanoid lizard-like creatures about six
feet tall. They weigh 150 to 200 pounds and are covered with blue or
green scales. They speak with a hissing accent and normally wear few
clothes (besides their armor and weapons). Drakelings are able to
spit a powerful acid at enemies, although this fatigues them. The
origins of the Drakeling race are hidden in a past long forgotten.
They reappeared some years ago and quickly spread across the
continent. Sages believe that they remained for many centuries in a
kind of hibernation which only recently ended. Drakelings are good at
everything. They are very deadly shots with a weapon unique to their
race, the drakish scurgar.
Drakelings are cold-blooded creatures. Therefore, extreme
temperatures influence them: when it gets cold, they slow down. On the
other hand, great heat is beneficial for them as it speeds up their
reflexes.
Their breath weapon causes {x}d6+{y} points of damage. {x} is
equal to the maximum of 2 and the current PC level divided by 3. {y}
is equal to the PC level divided by 2.
Drakelings train in the following skills: Alertness, Food
Preservation, Music, and Swimming.
The Classes
-----------
In ADOM, every character belongs to a certain profession which
describes what he learned in his youth. This profession is called a
class and determines his special abilities and starting equipment
(equipment is also dependent on race). Additionally, each class receives a
skill package to account for the knowledge you gain during your
apprenticeship (see the section on skills for a complete list of all
skills available in the game).
Finally, each and every class will provide special powers to
the character once a specific experience level is gained. The more
powerful the character gets, the better these abilities will be. Some
abilities are magical, some are natural talents, some are automatic,
others must be used manually, but each and every ability will serve to
simplify some aspect of your adventuring life. Special powers are
gained at levels 6, 12, 18, 25, 32, 40 and 50. All these special
powers are usually invoked (if this is necessary) with the C-x command
-- if this keybinding does not work for you check your online help
(press '?'-'K').
The following classes can be chosen:
ARCHER -- Archers are deadly shots. Although the name of their class
seems to imply this, not all of them prefer to use bows. The race of
an archer has great influence on their preferred missile weapon.
Archers are expert fighters in missile combat, rarely missing their
targets and trained to hit the vital spots of their opponents. In
close combat, archers are less formidable, although they are still
dangerous.
Archers are trained in the following skills: Alertness, Archery,
Climbing, Concentration, Dodge, Fletchery, Listening, and Stealth.
At higher levels archers are the most deadly marksmen in all
Ancardia. At level 6 a missile attack takes up but 800 energy points.
At level 12 the range for their missile attacks is doubled. At level
18 they are a lot more productive when applying fletchery. At level
25 missile attacks cost but 600 energy points. At level 32 they
become able to completely dodge enemy missiles. At level 40 missiles
attacks have a 20% chance to penetrate armor and at level 50 they are
able to hit several targets with one missile.
ASSASSIN -- Assassins are a dark and mysterious class. They are
trained to end the life of their opponents quickly and silently. Many
of them favor poisons to achieve this goal.
Assassins are trained in the following skills: Alchemy, Alertness,
Archery, Backstabbing, Climbing, Detect Traps, Dodge, Find Weakness,
Pick Locks, Stealth, and Two Weapon Combat.
At higher levels assassins get a lot more deadly in their trade. At
level 6 they can create poison from any potion (except for water and
fruit juice). At level 12 their backstabbing powers get a lot more
deadly. At level 18 the range of their missile attacks is increased
by 30%. At level 25 their chance to score critical hits is increased
by 20%. At level 32 the dodge bonus they gain is doubled. At level
40 they become immune to poison. At level 50 they receive a small
chance to score instant killing hits. This chance is based upon the
level of the target.
BARBARIAN -- Barbarians hail from the harsh northern lands of
Ancardia, from the roughest mountain peaks, the wildest hills and the
most remote forests. What they lack in equipment, they more than
equalize with their great strength, enormous toughness and deadly
weaponry. Barbarians are very well experienced in the arts of battle
and are well prepared to cope with the dangers of the wilderness.
Barbarians are trained in the following skills: Athletics, Climbing,
Dodge, First Aid, Herbalism, Stealth, Survival, Swimming, Two Weapon
Combat, and Woodcraft.
High-level barbarians are fearsome fighters. At level 6 they learn to
deliver mighty blows that cause double damage (for the cost of 2500
energy points). At level 12 moving costs but 750 energy points. At
level 18 they can deliver tremendous blows that cause triple damage
(for the cost of 4000 energy points). At level 25 they start to gain
+1d4 additional hit points per level. At level 32 barbarians gain a
one-time bonus of +3 to strength and toughness. At level 40 they gain
a +10 damage bonus with each melee attack when fighting as a true
berserker (which basically means that they have to fight naked,
e.g. without any armor, and switching the tactics rating to the
appropriate setting). At level 50 melee attacks take up but 800
energy points when fighting as a true berserker.
IMPORTANT: Note that both the mighty and the tremendous blow count
only for the first blow, even if the character is delivering a series
of blows (because he wields more than one weapon, etc.).
BARD -- Bards are musicians, entertainers and entrepreneurs. They try
to make an easy living by telling good stories for a meal. Most of
them are below average fighters and don't possess much equipment.
This is balanced by their knack to stumble upon strange items. Apart
from that, bards make fast friends with strange beings at times. A
bard starts his dungeoneering life with one loyal monster or animal
companion. Once a bard has become friends with another being, this
friendship lasts for a lifetime. Many legendary bards in Ancardia
were accompanied by monster or animal companions of equal fame. It is
said that talented bards are able to calm the spirit of a beast with
their ethereal music.
Bards are not trained in specific skills (except for Music), but
rather receive a randomly determined group of skills. They also receive
more skills than any other character class.
As bards advance in level they become more and more versatile. At
level 6 they receive one additional free skill increase per
advancement. At level 12 they gain +1d3 skill levels in 6 randomly
chosen weapon skills. At level 18 they receive a base score of 80 +
(10 * Learning score) + (20 * Mana score) in four randomly chosen
spells. At level 25 they receive 6 random skills (or improve their
abilities in up to 6 skills). At level 32 they double their hit point
regeneration speed. At level 40 they double their mana point
regeneration rate. At level 50 they receive a bonus of +6 to all
attributes.
BEASTFIGHTER -- Beastfighters are partly mystic, partly primitive
warriors who excel at weaponless combat. They are lightly armored but
extremely tough and fearsome opponents due to their weaponless
fighting style. They are well accustomed to wilderness settings and
very resistant to poisons -- especially to animal poisons. The more
experienced a beastfighter becomes, the more deadly he is in melee
combat. Beastfighters are especially likely to score critical hits
when fighting animals in melee combat.
Beastfighters are trained in the following skills: Athletics,
Climbing, Dodge, Healing, Herbalism, Listening, Stealth, Swimming, and
Survival.
With increasing experience, beastfighters perfect their natural
fighting style and their attunement to the wild beasts. At level 6
they become poison resistant and at level 12 their wild fighting style
makes them stun resistant. At level 18 movement costs them but 700
energy points. At level 25 they can summon 2d2 cave bears or silver
wolves for the cost of permanently losing one mana point (which
eventually regenerates after a lot of time has passed). At level 32
they become able to exchange positions with hostile monsters. At
level 40 they can stun opponents on critical hits and at level 50 they
gain +6 to both strength and toughness.
DRUIDS -- Druids are nature priests. They worship the Old Gods and
regard all nature as a holy thing to worship and protect. Their
specialty are spells of nature and protection. It is said that no
animal will willingly harm a druid.
Druids are trained in the following skills: Climbing, Concentration,
First Aid, Gardening, Healing, Herbalism, Listening, Literacy, Survival,
Swimming, and Woodcraft.
At higher levels, druids become extremely attuned to nature itself.
At level 6 they learn to evade wilderness encounters whenever they
choose to do so. At level 12 they regenerate power points twice as
fast as usual while in the wilderness. At level 18 they become immune
to all weather effects. At level 25 they are able to summon 1d3 major
animals as servants at the cost of 1d3 mana points (an almost
permanent loss, as it only regenerates after a very long period of
time). At level 32 they regenerate hit points twice as fast as usual
while in the wilderness. At level 40 they become immune to lightning.
Finally, they suffer 10% less corruption from all such attacks at
level 50 due to their close connection to nature.
ELEMENTALISTS -- Elementalists are magicians specialized on dealing
with the four elements: fire, water, earth and air. Their spells
specifically deal with those elements and their magic equipment
reflects this preference, too. Elementalists normally don't use
written magic but employ powers they harness from within. Their magic
thus is somewhat limited in one way and a lot more powerful in other
ways. Elementalists generally use a less scientific approach to magic
than wizards usually do.
Elementalists are trained in the following skills: Climbing,
Concentration, Gemology, Healing, Listening, Literacy, Metallurgy, and
Swimming.
Experienced elementalists use very special powers provided by their
close elemental attunement. At level 6 they become fire resistant, at
level 12 they become shock resistant. At level 18 they are immune to
all weather effects. At level 25 they are able to breathe water. At
level 32 they can unleash an elemental storm at the cost of 120 power
points which fires a random bolt (fire, lightning or frost) into each
of the eight available directions, starting from the position of the
elementalist. At level 40 they can summon an elemental as a pet.
This forces them to permanently sacrifice two mana points (which
eventually regenerate -- albeit after a very long period of time). At
level 50 they can automatically burrow through stone (at the cost of
20 power points and 1500 energy).
FARMER -- Even among the most average folks, there are some valiant and
larger-than-life persons who are born to achieve more than their
parents and grand parents. After the news about the impending danger
had spread throughout the lands, those people started their journey to
the location in the Drakalor Chain which might change their destiny --
and the destiny of their world. Farmers are neither great fighters
nor skilled magicians, but they possess inner strength and endurance
from years of labor. Often they are accompanied by their trusted
dogs. They are accustomed to hunger and hardship and often have very
little to lose compared to the amount of fame they might be able to
win. Equipped with a broad knowledge about herbs and food, they are
probably the best prepared class (except for barbarians and
beastfighters) for extensive travels.
Farmers are trained in the following skills: Archery, Bridge building,
Cooking, First Aid, Fletchery, Food Preservation, Gardening, Haggling,
Herbalism, Smithing, Stealth, Survival, and Woodcraft.
The more experienced farmers become, the better they adjust to their
hard circumstances of life. At level 6 their carrying capacity is
doubled due to their training and experience with moving around great
loads during harvest time. At level 12 they need only half as much
food as everybody else (except for monks who also know how to survive
on very little). At level 18 they learn to pick herbs with a lot
more skill to select the better ones. At level 25 they learn
about making iron rations from corpses. At level 32 they receive
better chances to increase their physical attributes and physical
attribute potentials. At level 40 they gain a +3 bonus to strength
and toughness. At level 50 they have become so much attuned to basic
nature that all corruption effects are reduced by 30%.
FIGHTER -- Fighters are simple warriors who have learned how to best face
an opponent in melee combat. Most of them are well armed and armored.
Fighters are tough and strong due to their physical training.
Fighters are trained in the following skills: Athletics, Archery,
Dodge, Find Weakness, Metallurgy, Stealth, Swimming, and Two Weapon
Combat.
With increasing experience, fighters become more able to efficiently
use armor as a means of protection. Only the PV bonus of helmets,
body armor, shields, gauntlets, cloaks, girdles, and boots will be
improved in this way. At level 6 a fighter gains +7% to PV from such
items, at level 18 this bonus is increased to +15%, at level 32 it's
+25%. At level 12 fighters gain a +50% bonus to DV adjustment
provided by the dodge skill. At level 25 their chance to score
critical hits is increased by 10%. At level 40 fighters are able to
use a powerful bash attack which causes more damage (+20%) and has a
greater chance to stun their opponents. The downside of this attack
is that it costs 500 additional energy points to use. At level 50
fighters learn to use a powerful all-round attack costing 3500 energy
points. This attack can be used against every opponent in the
immediate vicinity of the fighter.
HEALER -- Healers are exactly that -- masters of the arts of healing,
well equipped with magical healing items and means to examine
patients. Most of them are very robust and resistant to poisons and
diseases. Healers are not great fighters. They prefer to save lives rather
than to take them, although they are nonetheless able to live through
fights.
Healers are trained in the following skills: Alertness, Concentration,
Cooking, Find Weakness, First Aid, Healing, Herbalism, and Literacy.
Experienced healers have a vast array of means at their disposal to
soothe the pain of living beings, to treat diseases and poisons and to
prevent suffering. At level 6 they regenerate wounds at twice the
normal speed, at level 12 they triple their recovery rate. At level
18 they become able to use both the Healing and the First Aid skill on
others (and not only themselves). Starting with level 25 they
automatically gain access to the following spells: Calm Monsters, Cure
Light Wounds, Slow Poison and Cure Disease (with each additional level
their knowledge increases). Starting with level 32 they gain 2d3
additional hit points per level. At level 40 they gain access to the
following spells: Cure Serious Wounds, Neutralize Poison (again their
knowledge increases with each new level). At level 50 they almost
immediately recover from the effects of disease, bleeding and poison
and gain a +8 bonus to their toughness score.
MERCHANT -- Merchants are masters of trade and bartering. They almost
all are very wealthy, charming and experts in communication. Each
merchant specializes in trading with a certain type of magical items
during their apprenticeship. At the beginning of their career, they
are equipped with a sample of items to trade with (or use). Merchants
are neither well-armed nor well-armored and have to be careful in
fights. Should they encounter one of the rare dungeon shops, they
will probably make some great deals.
Merchants are trained in the following skills: Appraising, Detect Item
Status, Gemology, Haggling, Herbalism, Literacy, Metallurgy, Pick
Pockets, and Survival.
Experienced merchants become true masters of their trade -- being able
to sell almost anything to anyone and also being able to haggle for
the best prices. At level 6 shop prices for merchants will be lowered
by 20%. At level 12 their carrying capacity is doubled. At level 18
shop prices will be lowered by 40%. At level 25 they no longer are
affected by any kind of weather. At level 32 shop prices are lowered
by 60%. At level 40 they learn to calm monsters by giving away items.
At level 50 their carrying capacity is tripled (due to their enormous
talent of organization). Finally at that level they also learn a magic
spell that allows them to create new items.
MINDCRAFTERS -- Mindcrafters use a very exotic and very different
magic. They utilize their mental powers to evoke astonishing effects.
Mindcrafters are very rare and only few people have ever heard about
them. While they are physically weak, they are mentally extremely
strong and resistant.
Mindcrafters are trained in the following skills: Concentration,
Gemology, Haggling, Herbalism, Literacy, Music, and Stealth.
Experienced mindcrafters master various mental powers. At level 6
they learn to quickly recover from confusion attacks. At level 12
they become able to sense the amount of enemies within a limited area
(that is the current level). Starting with level 18 they gain +1d6
additional power points per level since they manage to unlock
previously untapped mental energy sources. At level 25 their
willpower is increased by +5. At level 32 they can block some of the
corruption they suffer when contacting beings of Chaos. At level 40
they unlock even more unused areas of the brain and from then on gain
+3d5 additional power points (cumulative with the bonus from level 18)
per level. At level 50 they finally manage to resist some of the
damage they suffer when contacting undead: damage is halved (see the
section on mindcraft for details).
MONK -- Monks are able martial artists striving to achieve perfect
mastery of body, mind and spirit. They are experts at fighting
unarmed, very good at dodging attacks and strong of will. Monks need
to be unencumbered to be able to use their special martial art powers.
Monks take vows of poverty at their initiation to prevent distraction
by worldly means.
Monks are trained in the following skills: Alertness, Athletics,
Concentration, Dodge, Find Weakness, Healing, Literacy, and Stealth.
The further monks advance, the more they hone their movement skills and
unarmed combat powers. At level 6 monks learn to use a circular kick
with which they can hit every opponent in the vicinity (but also all
friends, so be careful). Using this kick costs 2500 energy points.
At level 12 a normal move costs them but 800 energy points, at level
18 but 600 energy points. At level 25 monks become able to change
positions with hostile opponents. At level 32 they can score instant
kills in melee combat against up to human-sized creatures. At level
40 they can do so against humanoids of any size. At level 50 they
have become so attached to the flow of the universe that they actually
are able to resist Chaos to a certain limit -- Chaos effects are
lowered by 10%.
NECROMANCER -- Necromancers are practitioners of the dark arts.
Though not very effective in melee combat, their spells are deadly and
dangerous. Their most horrible power, though, is the ability to animate
corpses and use them as slaves. Luckily, only humanoid corpses can be
used in this evil way. Necromancers are outlawed and despised in most
places and feared and avoided like the plague in all other locations.
Necromancers are able to command the slaves they create. Their slaves
will follow these commands without questioning. To invoke a command, you
need to press 'C-x'.
Necromancers are trained in the following skills: Alchemy, Appraising,
Concentration, Find Weakness, Food Preservation, Herbalism, Literacy,
Necromancy, and Stealth.
With increasing experience, Necromancers master all aspects of
undeath. At level 6 they slowly develop a resistance to all special
attacks from undead (like strength drain or paralyzation). The base
chance for resistance is equal to 40% + 1% per level of the
necromancer. At level 12 they learn to turn undead. At level 18 they
are able to raise all humanoid corpses in sight as ghuls. These
corpses quickly decompose and turn to ashes after a number of turns.
Each animated corpse drains 10 power points. At level 25 they can use
the dreaded Shadow Touch, which allows them to absorb the life energy
of enemies when fighting bare-handed and wounding an enemy. At level
32 they can raise all corpses in sight as wraiths (similar to the
power at level 18). Each animated corpse drains 20 power points. At
level 40 they have to pay but one-half of the usual Necromancy cost
(see the skill description) when animating undead of a power level up
to spectres. At level 50 they finally learn to overcome Death herself
and are able to return to the living when killed, if their Toughness
at the point of death was 10 or higher. Coming back in this way
demands a high price. They lose one-half of their toughness and
one-half of their hit points permanently.
PALADIN -- Paladins are noble fighters (from the point of view of
their respective race... an orc paladin is _very_ different from a
human paladin). They are well trained both in physical activities
(not as well as fighters, but still very good) and in philosophical
activities (not as good as priests, but...). Paladins are generally
very well equipped by their respective churches. Many of them possess
blessed items.
Paladins are trained in the following skills: Athletics,
Concentration, Dodge, Healing, Law (if they are lawful initially),
Literacy, Stealth, Swimming, and Two Weapon Combat.
With increasing experience, paladins gain holy powers fueled by their
strong beliefs and their religious upbringing. Due to the nature of
these powers, they are not able to use them if they aren't in decent
standing with their deity. At level 6 they can cure disease once per
1000 turns. At level 12 they gain the ability to turn undead (this
action costs 3000 energy points to use). At level 18 they can
discover the alignment of a beast by simply looking at it. At level
25 they receive a protective aura which gives them +1DV per 2 levels
against chaotics (if they are lawful), lawful ones (if they are
chaotic) or non-neutral opponents (if they are neutral) while in melee
combat. At level 32 they can use a healing touch once per 1000 turns
to cure (level - 24)d6 points of damage. When reaching level 40 they
become highly resistant to some special melee attack powers used by
undead beasts and demons (specifically, they become resistant to
strength drain, toughness drain, sickness and paralyzation). At level
50 they are strengthened by their beliefs so much that all corruption
effects are reduced by 30%.
PRIEST -- Priests serve the various gods. They receive magical powers
from their gods but are servants for their whole lifetime. Many of
them carry holy items.
Priests are trained in the following skills: Concentration, Detect
Item Status, First Aid, Healing, Herbalism, Literacy, and Music.
With increasing experience priests gain holy powers fueled by their
strong beliefs and their religious upbringing. Due to the nature of
these powers, they are not able to use them if they aren't in decent
standing with their deity. At level 6 priests can turn undead. At
level 12 all spell costs are reduced by 10%. At level 18 all spell
costs are reduced by 25%. At level 25 all spell costs are reduced by
50%. At level 32 priests are allowed to pray twice as often as anybody
else. At level 40 they are able to destroy minor undead (skeletons,
zombies, ghuls, shadows, ghosts, wights, wraiths, ghost bats, slow
shadows, mummies, corpse fiends and shadow centipedes). At level 50
they are able to destroy major undead (liches, spectres, vampires,
revenants, skeletal warriors, ghost lords, shadow trolls, master
liches, shadow lords, greater mummies and steel zombies).
RANGER -- Rangers are fighters favoring natural environments. They are
excellent trackers and masters at fighting with two weapons. Most of
them are wearing light armor to retain their mobility but in turn are
well armed. Many rangers carry missile weapons.
Rangers are trained in the following skills: Alertness, Archery,
Athletics, Climbing, Dodge, Food Preservation, Healing, Herbalism,
Survival, Swimming, Two Weapon Combat, and Woodcraft.
The more experience rangers gain, the more attuned to nature they
become. At level 6 they are a lot more capable to survive in the
wilderness through the means of the Survival skill as they find a lot
more food in far less time. They also become immune to all negative
weather effects since they have by now learned to avoid all related
problems. At level 12 rangers are no longer slowed down by terrain
effects. At level 18 the range of all missile attacks is increased by
+4. At level 25 they can automatically evade all wilderness encounters.
At level 32 and 50 the weight of two weapons used at the same time can
be doubled/quadrupled without incurring negative effects. Starting at
level 40 movement costs but 750 energy points.
Note for the special power at levels 32/50: usually your to-hit
adjustment for fighting with two weapons is determined in the
following way:
* Take (Two-weapon combat / 20) as a basic bonus.
* Subtract 6 if you are not playing a ranger.
* Subtract MAX(0, (Weight of the two weapon / 10) - 6).
If you are a ranger of level 32-49 it is
"Subtract MAX(0, (Weight of the two weapon / 20) - 6)"
If you are a ranger of level 50 it is
"Subtract MAX(0, (Weight of the two weapon / 40) - 6)"
THIEF -- Need we say more? For the sake of completeness: Thieves are
very good at stealing, opening locks, finding and disarming traps and
other secretive activities.
Thieves are trained in the following skills: Alertness, Appraising,
Backstabbing, Climbing, Detect Traps, Disarm Traps, Listening, Pick
Locks, Pick Pockets, and Stealth.
Highly experienced thieves are masters of stealth, trickery and
robbery. At level 6 thieves automatically use the search command on
every step they make. At level 12 they get a lot more deadly with
backstabbing attacks. At level 18 they become able to pilfer shops
due to their exceptional agility and skill (but take care of
experienced shopkeepers -- they might be very vigilant!). At level 25
thieves learn very deadly (and dirty!) fighting tactics allowing them
to stun humanoid monsters with critical hits (a good kick at the right
time does wonders). At level 32 they manage to pick the best stuff
from other folks' pockets, occasionally even discovering highly
valuable items. At level 40 their speed is increased by +20. At
level 50 they are invisible as long as they are adjacent to a wall due
to their exceptional stealth (but make sure that you don't carry any
light source!).
WEAPONSMITH -- Weaponsmiths are crafty men and women able to repair
damaged metal equipment and improve items. Weaponsmiths normally are
well-equipped and carry the tools of their trade. They are strong and
resilient, hardened by many hours of strenuous work.
Weaponsmiths are trained in the following skills: Appraising,
Athletics, Concentration, Detect Traps, Find Weakness, Haggling,
Metallurgy, and Smithing.
Weaponsmiths perfect their skills at higher experience levels. At
level 6 they become able to melt all metal items into ingots. At
level 12 they can forge items four times as fast as everyone else. At
level 18 they gain a +4 bonus to strength. At level 25 they
automatically recognize all metal types. At level 32 weaponsmiths
become immune to fire. At level 40 they gain a +8 bonus to toughness.
At level 50 they automatically know the damage caused by unidentified
melee weapons.
WIZARD -- Wizards are masters of the 'art'. They wield great
magical powers and are able to create fireballs, lightning strikes
and magical protection spells. Their great magical powers are
balanced by their mediocre fighting abilities. Most mages spend their
lives studying books and conducting arcane experiments in hidden
laboratories and thus have next to no time to practice their physical
skills.
Wizards are trained in the following skills: Alchemy, Concentration,
Healing, Herbalism, Literacy, Stealth, and Ventriloquism.
With increasing power, wizards become more and more skilled in the
magical arts. At level 6 all spell costs are reduced by 10%, at level
12 all costs are reduced by 20% and at level 18 all costs are reduced
by 40%. Starting with level 25 they slowly gain experience in one
randomly chosen spell per level. At level 32 they become able to
recharge wands (but no wand can be recharged more than once by a wizard).
Recharging costs 50 power points per charge. If the wizard tries to
overcharge the wand, he risks losing one mana point permanently. At
level 40 wizards learn to uncurse items. This permanently costs one
mana point. At level 50 they finally get basic knowledge in all
commonly known spells.
Alignment
---------
One very important characteristic of the persona you are creating is
his alignment. ADOM depicts the epic struggle between Law and Chaos
and your character needs to take sides! Either your PC will side
with Law and bring order to the multiverse or your PC will side with
the ever-changing forces of Chaos and bring chaos, change and upheaval
to the world. There even might be a third way, but will your PC find
out how to proceed on this path?
Generally, alignments represent the basic moral ideas and beliefs of
a character. A lawful character believes in law, order, the welfare
of the whole community, tradition, peace and happiness. Chaotic
characters enjoy change, are creative but also are quite selfish and
generally are an unorganized lot. Some of the more extreme chaotic
beings are downright evil, many extreme chaotics are quite mad.
Lastly, there are neutral beings who apply the best or worst
principles of both sides to make up their basic belief system.
All in all, the system is not as "black and white" as it might seem.
There are many shades. Nonetheless, the basic axis looks like this:
Chaos <-----------------> Neutrality <-----------------> Law
In ADOM every being has an alignment. Your PC's initial alignment
depends on his race: High Elves, Dwarves and Hurthlings are lawful
initially, while Trolls, Orcs and Dark Elves are chaotic. All other
races are initially neutral. Choosing to be a necromancer also alters
your alignment towards Chaos. If your character starts out as a Druid,
he will always be neutral.
In ADOM these alignments are divided into seven categories. A
shortcut describing the current category your PC belongs to will
always be listed on the screen to represent your PC's current
position. The following five symbols are possible:
L+ : The character is extremely lawful. He might be able to become a
very powerful Champion of Law.
L : The character is lawful.
N+ : The character has not yet chosen a side, but prefers to remain
unaligned. Still, he has a minor tendency towards Law.
N= : The character is as close to neutrality as possible for a
mortal.
He can become a Champion of Balance.
N- : The character has not yet chosen a side, but prefers to remain
unaligned. Still, he has a minor tendency towards Chaos.
C : The character is chaotic.
C- : The character is extremely chaotic. He might be able to become a
very mighty Champion of Chaos.
There are also four "in-between" alignments which show your character's
tendencies. Generally, the alignment is still rated according to the
first letter of the alignment description (L for lawful, N for neutral
and C for chaotic). Nonetheless, these in-between alignments indicate
that a change to the alignment described by the second letter might be
impending due to your PC's actions. The following special alignment
descriptions are possible:
LN : Lawful with tendencies towards Neutrality.
NL : Neutral with tendencies towards Law.
NC : Neutral with tendencies towards Chaos.
CN : Chaotic with tendencies towards Neutrality.
Thus the complete range of alignment order from Law to Chaos looks like this:
L+ -- L -- LN --- NL -- N+ -- N= -- N- -- NC --- CN -- C -- C-
L A W F U L N E U T R A L C H A O T I C
Now the final question: what effect does alignment have upon the game?
Depending on alignment, a different deity is worshipped. Some
items might be more or less useful for your character depending on his
alignment. Other beings might react in a different manner depending on
alignment. There are lots of things that can happen... try to
find out for yourself.
The Gods
--------
Besides the forces of Law and Chaos, the Gods of Ancardia are a ruling
force in the universe. There is a multitude of gods and each race has
at least three major gods they worship -- one for each alignment.
In the worlds of Ancardia the Gods are a tangible force. Their effects
can be seen through ancient artifacts they once created for their
worshipers and the miracles their priests perform. They also are known
to be fickle and dangerous at times... insult or annoy them and their
wrath will be upon you!
Each character in ADOM worships (at least nominally) the deity of his
alignment. Throughout the game you have many chances to influence your
standing towards your god. You can increase your piety by sacrificing
to your god -- but make sure that you are sacrificing at the right
altar! This will help you in dire situations, where you might be
able to pray for divine intervention and receive some help. But be
careful... if you annoy your deity too often, you might incur some
serious penalties. It's also said that various miracles can occur at
holy sites.
Finally, great piety can bring you the highest honor: your god might
declare you to be a champion of his/her religion, endowing you with
great powers and the ability to use artifacts with less risk than
other mortals.
Nonetheless, remaining in good standing is an impressive feat: you need
to sacrifice somewhat regularly lest your god becomes bored and
forgets you. The more powerful you become, the better your sacrifices
need to be and the more often you ask for help, the faster your god
will become annoyed with you.
The gods of the various races enjoy some gifts particularly:
Humans: tools of all kind
Trolls: rocks, the larger the better
Hurthlings: cooked meals
Gnomes: gems
Dwarves: gold
High Elves and Gray Elves: magical rings
Dark Elves: magical wands and books
Orcs: melee weapons
Drakelings: musical instruments
Such gifts are very welcome and will be of higher benefit to your
character's piety. On the other hand, gods also dislike certain
sacrifices... so be careful with your actions!
Skills
------
Each character possesses a certain number of skills which allow for
actions that cannot be simply described by class, level and race.
Skills are rated as a score of 0 to 100. The score given can be
assumed to be the average chance of success in percent when trying an
average feat. This chance is lowered when trying something difficult
and raised when trying something simple. There is always a chance for
automatic success and automatic failure.
A NOTE ON HIGH SKILL SCORES: High skill scores are generally very
helpful although they can be particularly effective with some specific
skills. All skills below marked with a '+' will make ADOM behave in a
special way if the score is greater than or equal to 80 or equal to 100.
If the skill score is greater than or equal to 80, ADOM will
internally always make two skill checks when one was requested by the
circumstances and use the better result.
If the skill score is equal to 100, ADOM will make three skill
checks whenever requested to do so and will also use the best result.
Some skills need training material so that you can improve them. On
the skill screen in the game, such skills are marked with '(mr)', if
training material is still required (and thus currently no improvement
is possible) or with '(ma)' if the required training material is
available. Skills that need such material are marked with a [!]
below.
Skills can be marked so that you can select often used skills
a lot faster. How to do this is described at the end of this section.
Not all the skills listed below are immediately available to
your character. Some are available to everyone by default, some skills are
determined by your race and some by your class. If you receive a
skill due to class _and_ race, the skill score will be higher than normal.
The following skills are available during the game (skills marked with a
[*] are default skills available to everyone):
Alchemy: Alchemy allows you to brew magical potions. To use this
skill, you need to collect the ingredients required to mix magical
potions. It would also be useful to have the recipe for a potion at
hand.
Alertness [+]: This skill is used automatically. It helps to
sense traps and invisible monsters although it is not too effective
(which basically means that an active search for traps with the
respective skill has a much higher chance of success). It can save
your character from some nasty surprises at times. It's also *very*
helpful when trying to dodge combat magic since high reflexes (as
created by a high alertness skill) will help to dodge combat magic
with lightning speed. Finally, a high skill value grants some minor DV
bonuses, +1 at 75+, +2 at 90+ and +4 at 100.
Appraising [+]: This skill allows the estimation of the value and
power of unknown items. Items are rated on the following scale:
horrible
terrible
poor
mediocre
fair
good
great
superb
amazing
A score of poor and below should be considered to be a warning.
Handle such items with great care!
Archery: This skill increases your proficiency with missile weapons.
Archers receive a bonus of +1 to hit per 10 points in this score and a
bonus of +1 to damage per 20 points in this score. All other classes
receive a bonus of +1 to hit per 25 points in this skill and a bonus of +1
to damage per 40 points of skill score. This skill also slightly increases
the range of your missile attacks on a successful skill check (which is done
automatically whenever you use a missile).
Athletics: This is a passive skill. It is used to raise your
physical attributes by training your muscles and movement powers. Whenever
you raise a level, this skill influences your chance to raise a physical
attribute. Athletics works especially well for characters with low (< 10)
to very low (< 5) physical attributes. The skill also slightly influences
your looks.
Athletics also affect your speed score. At 70+ you gain +1 to
speed, at 75 you gain +2 to speed, at 80 you gain +3 to speed, at 85
you gain +4 to speed, at 90 you gain +5 to speed, at 95 you gain +6 to
speed and at 100 you gain +8 to speed.
Backstabbing [+]: This skill increases your chance to hit and
your chance to score a critical hit when you attack friendly or
neutral monsters (or on hostile monsters if they don't notice you).
Bridge Building [!+]: This skill allows you to build bridges.
Climbing [*+]: This skill is used to climb out of pits and holes.
Concentration: This skill influences the time required to
regenerate lost magic points. A high skill value also makes it easier to
learn new spells.
Scores of 75+ allow you to regain mana points a lot faster; the rate
increases again at 90+ and 100.
Cooking [!+]: Cooked food is more nutritious and less prone to rot
away. Very effective if used on corpses. You need a cooking set to
use this skill.
Courage: It is difficult to be a cold-blooded warrior when you
are surrounded by dozens of enemies in a horrible fray. Usually, your
PC will receive disadvantages in combat when surrounded and attacked
by lots of opponents. Once a certain critical number of attackers is
surpassed (two for fighters, paladins, rangers, monks, barbarians and
beastfighters; one for all others), your combat abilities will
deteriorate. Your character receives a -1 to hit per monster above the
critical number, the monsters above the critical number receive a +2
to hit per such monster and your chances to hit with missiles are
reduced by -4 per monster above the critical number...
...unless you know this skill. It will allow you to
remain calm and cold-headed in bloody situations and thus mass attacks
by monster hordes might be less effective. It's a skill you need to
learn somewhere *in* the game.
Detect Item Status: This skill is automatically used to
determine the {cursed|uncursed|blessed} status of items. This skill
is comparable to the automatic ability of priests (in versions of ADOM
older than 0.9.0) to discover the status of an item.
Detect Traps: This skill must be explicitly used to discover
hidden traps. It also helps to avoid known traps. The 'Search'
command also activates this skill.
Disarm Traps [+]: This skill allows disarming previously
discovered traps. Be careful... if you fail a check badly, you might
spring the trap!
Dodge: This skill increases your Defensive Value. The higher
your dodge skill, the more points will be added to your DV (+1 for
Dodge 1-30, +2 for Dodge 31-50, +3 for Dodge 51-65, +4 for Dodge
66-75, +5 for Dodge 76-83, +6 for Dodge 84-90, +7 for Dodge 91-95, +8
for Dodge 96-99 and +10 for Dodge 100). Dodging is also helpful in a
minor way for evading combat magic cast on you (Alertness is more
helpful since it trains the subconscious reflexes, which are more
important since combat magic is so fast).
Find weakness: This skill increases your chance to score a
critical hit when fighting monsters.
First aid [*+]: This skill allows handling bleeding wounds and
even might allow you to recover some hit points... but only if those
hit points were lost very recently.
Fletchery [!+]: With this skill, you can create new arrows and bolts.
You need a fletchery set and some wood to use it.
Food preservation: This skill is automatically used. Certain
types of food (mainly corpses) decompose over the time and finally
vanish. Food preservation helps to prevent such food from decomposing. If
given enough time, food will nonetheless decompose... this skill only helps
to slow down the process. It also makes it more likely to find corpses
of monsters you slay.
Gardening [+]: This skill enables the character to plant herbs and
harvest them later. This might come handy since some herbs have
magical properties.
Gemology [+]: This skill is used to identify gems and separate them
from worthless pieces of glass.
Haggling [*]: This skill allows the haggling down of prices for
items. Charisma is also important, but a PC good at haggling probably
will have few problems to make a bargain. Please note that although
you might have bargained successfully at times, the price for
individual items won't necessarily go down since ADOM drops all
fractions and rounds prices.
Healing: Healing covers long-term treatment of wounds and
diseases. Long-term treatment is used automatically. A high healing
skill allows for a quicker hit point recovery. Additionally, the
chances to survive wasting sicknesses are greatly increased by a high
healing skill.
Herbalism: Herbalism covers both plant and herb lore. A
character skilled in herbalism will be better able to recognize some
of the strange plants that grow in the dungeons. Additionally, when
collecting herbs, such a character will have a definite advantage over
unskilled characters, because unskilled characters only will be able
to find cursed herbs.
Law [+]: Law allows you to notice (maybe) whenever you go
beyond law and commit a chaotic act. It will also make known to you
particularly lawful acts.
Listening [*]: This skill makes you notice sounds better. It is
automatically checked whenever the need arises. If you want your character
to be very perceptive, you should take care of your skill value in
this skill.
Literacy [+]: This skill governs your ability to read and
write texts. If your learning score is at least 10 and you are
neither a barbarian nor a beastfighter, you will receive this skill for
free.
Metallurgy [+]: This skill is automatically used. When you
discover metal ingots, it allows for automatic identification (not
always, but...). It is of great importance to weaponsmiths. It can
also be actively used to determine the type of metal an item is made
from (the item needs to be identified for this). The higher your
skill score is, the more detailed the results will be.
Mining [+]: This skill determines your ability in digging
tunnels. You'll need to use a pick axe to do that. The higher the
skill is, the less time you need to dig a tunnel section.
Music [+]: This skill controls your ability to play musical
instruments. Some people contend that it is possible to tame wild
animals if you are a very skilled musician.
Necromancy: This dark and forbidden art allows the user to
create undead creatures which will serve him (or her). But there is a
price to it... and don't forget to bring the necessary corpses for
animation. Using this skill permanently drains your Mana attribute,
although it is said that your Mana very slowly regenerates itself (but
this really seems to be a tedious process).
It's also important to note that Necromancers using this
skill are a lot more versatile than simple dabblers in necromantic
affairs. Necromancers receive a wide variety of choices for the type
of undead they wish to create (starting with level 18).
Pick locks: This skill allows the opening of locked doors,
chests and hatches. To utilize it you need some kind of thieves
picks. If a lock is trapped, the trap will probably be sprung unless
you disarm the trap before picking the lock.
Pick pockets: This skill enables you to steal small items from the
pockets of certain monsters. Not every monster will carry treasures
around, not every treasure will be accessible and finally you always risk
making your victim very angry (at least if your victim notices your
attempt).
Smithing: Smithing allows the PC to repair damaged or
destroyed metal items and to improve weapons and armor. It is hard to
use because you need the necessary tools to practice it, the material
to work with, and finally, you have to find a smithy.
Stealth [+]: This skill prevents some monsters from noticing
the player character. If you are very good at it you might be able to
sneak past monsters or mount a surprise attack. The Stealth skill also
is extremely helpful in ambushing monsters in the wilderness. In that
special case it can be supplemented by the Survival skill.
Survival [+]: This skill allows the character to gather food while
traveling through the wilderness. It can be very handy since more
than one adventurer already starved in the wilderness. The Survival skill also
is extremely helpful in ambushing monsters in the wilderness. In that
special case it can be supplemented by the Stealth skill.
Swimming: This skill enables you to traverse bodies of water. To
fail an attempt to swim can be very deadly nonetheless.
Tactics: This skill modifies the bonuses and penalties yielded
by the 'T' command (see the command list) which influences the
fighting techniques of a character. No character starts out with this
skill -- you'll have to learn it somewhere.
Two weapon combat: This skill increases your offensive power
when fighting with two weapons. Your chance to hit is increased by +1
per 20 points in this skill. Note that fighting with two weapons
costs 800 energy points plus the maximum of the weapon speeds for the
weapons being used, minus 4 energy points per skill point in this
skill.
Ventriloquism: This skill can be used to confuse monsters.
You try to project another voice and if successful, this helps to
confuse monsters for two or more turns. This skill is very difficult
to use effectively.
Woodcraft [+]: Whoever uses this skill is able to act competently
while crossing woods and trying to work on trees. Many woodcutters
and rangers learn this skill.
Increasing Skills
-----------------
Skills can be increased in several ways.
If you practice a skill quite a lot, you might receive automatic
increases in your skill score from time to time.
You are also allowed to raise your skill score when you advance to
a new level. Increasing skills in this way is not very effective since you
are normally not allowed to increase your skills by a lot of points when
advancing a level. Practicing the skill often and training a little bit
(it is said that some skilled trainers are living in the area known as the
Drakalor Chain) can help a lot in this regard.
Marking Skills for Quick Selection
----------------------------------
By using the 'A' command you can mark skills with a number from 0 to
9. This allows you to quickly select skills you like to use very
often in a speedier way. If you have marked one or more skills and
press the 'a' key, you will be asked whether you want to use a marked
skill or choose from the complete list.
Since many skills in ADOM are passive (automatically used), it
might be a good idea to mark such skills as 'Detect Traps', 'First
Aid' and others.
Talents
-------
Each character in ADOM has one or more talents representing inborn
strengths and abilities that favour the character in some special
way. A character receives one or more talents at the time of character
creation (depending on several factors, among them race, profession,
star signs and special luck) and also steadily gain new talents while
advancing in level: every third level a new talent is gained.
While talents sometimes are independent of each other, at other times
they depend on prerequisites. These prerequisites can be highly
variable: race, profession, attribute scores, level, skills and other
things are possible.
By selecting talents in a special order, you will be able to focus on
certain key areas and thus gain access to very powerful yet highly
specialized talents. By remaining unfocused you can choose from a wide
variety of talents and thus remain flexible.
If no talents are available (because you don't meet the
prerequisites), your choices are lost.
Initial Talents
---------------
The initial number of talents is determined according to the following
rules:
- Every character receives one base talent.
- Characters born under the sign of Falcon or Candle receive one
free talent.
- Characters with a Mana score of 18 or more receive one free
talent.
- Gnomes and hurthlings receive one free talent.
- Bards, merchants and farmers receive one free talent.
- Characters whose sum of attributes is divisable by 7 receive one
free talent (this represents some inborn magical luck or talent).
Cumulative Talents
------------------
All talent effects are cumulative, e.g. they add up or multiply
(depending on the special effect in question).
Talent List
-----------
The following list of talents is sorted in alphabetical order and
gives each talent with a brief description and optionally a list of
prerequisites.
AFFINITY WITH AXES -- +2 to hit with axes.
AFFINITY WITH BOOMERANGS & SCURGARI -- +4 to hit with thrown
boomerangs and scurgari.
AFFINITY WITH BOWS -- +2 to hit with bows.
AFFINITY WITH CLUBS & HAMMERS -- +2 to hit with clubs and hammers.
AFFINITY WITH CROSSBOWS -- +2 to hit with crossbows.
AFFINITY WITH DAGGERS & KNIVES -- +2 to hit with daggers and knives.
AFFINITY WITH THROWN DAGGERS -- +3 to hit with thrown daggers.
AFFINITY WITH MACES & FLAILS -- +2 to hit with maces and flails.
AFFINITY WITH POLEARMS -- +2 to hit with polearms.
AFFINITY WITH SLINGS -- +2 to hit with slings.
AFFINITY WITH STAVES -- +2 to hit with staves.
AFFINITY WITH SWORDS -- +2 to hit with swords.
AFFINITY WITH THROWN AXES & HAMMERS -- +3 to hit with thrown axes and hammers.
AFFINITY WITH THROWN ROCKS & CLUBS -- +3 to hit with thrown rocks and clubs.
AFFINITY WITH THROWN SPEARS -- +3 to hit with thrown spears.
AFFINITY WITH TWOHANDED WEAPONS -- +2 to hit with twohanded weapons.
AFFINITY WITH WHIPS -- +4 to hit with whips.
AGGRESSIVE -- +1 to hit in melee.
ALERT -- +1 to Perception.
Prerequisites: Level 1.
AMBIDEXTROUS -- +2 to hit when fighting with two weapons.
BASHER -- +1 to hit and damage with weapons weighing more than 100
stones.
BEAST OF BURDEN -- Carrying capacity is increased by 30% due to the PCs
efficient packaging skills and great endurace.
Prerequisites: Master Packager, Willpower 12+, Toughness 12+.
BOON TO THE FAMILY -- Twice normal starting money.
Prerequisites: Level 1.
BRAWLER -- +2 to hit in unarmed melee combat.
Prerequisites: Strength 13+.
CAREFUL -- +1 to DV.
CHARGED -- Regenerates power points at higher speed.
Prerequisites: Mana 16+, Potent Aura.
CHARMING -- +1 to Charisma.
Prerequisites: Level 1.
DEFENSIVE FIGHTER -- +2 to DV.
Prerequisites: Careful, Quick.
DEXTROUS -- +1 to Dexterity.
Prerequisites: Level 1.
DODGER -- +2 to DV.
Prerequisites: Defensive Fighter, Dodge 75+
DURABLE MAGIC -- all spell durations are increased by the PCs current
level times 3.
Prerequisites: Willpower 16+, Strong Aura.
EAGLE-EYED -- +3 to hit and damage with missile weapons.
Prerequisites: Good Shot, Archery 80+, Dexterity 18+.
EXTENDED MAGIC -- all spell ranges are increased by 2.
Prerequisites: Mana 24+, Mighty Aura.
EXTREMELY HARDY -- +9 hitpoints.
Prerequisites: Very Hardy, Toughness 20+.
EXTREMELY SKILLED -- +5 to all initial skill values.
Prerequisites: Very Skilled, Learning 15+, Level 1.
FAR SHOT -- Missile attack ranges are increased by 20%.
Prerequisites: Keen Shot, Strength 10+.
FEY-BLOODED -- +1 to Mana.
Prerequisites: Level 1.
FILTHY RICH -- Two times the normal starting money.
Prerequisites: Very Wealthy, Level 1.
GOOD BOOK CASTER -- Casting spells from books costs only double power
points.
Prerequisites: Careful, Strong Aura, Dexterity 14+.
GOOD BOOK LEARNER -- PC is 10% more effective when learning spells from
spell books.
Prerequisites: Potent Aura, Good Learner.
GOOD LEARNER -- Learns very fast. +2% to all experience gained.
Prerequisites: Learning 10+.
GOOD LOOKS -- +1 to Appearance.
Prerequisites: Level 1.
GOOD SHOT -- +1 to hit and damage with missile weapons.
GREASED LIGHTNING -- +4 to Speed.
Prerequisites: Very Quick, Dexterity 15+.
GREAT BOOK CASTER -- Casting spells from books costs only 50% more power
points.
Prerequisites: Good Book Caster, Mighty Aura, Dexterity 18+,
Perception 15+.
GREAT BOOK LEARNER -- PC is 10% more effective when learning spells from
spell books.
Prerequisites: Good Book Learner, Strong Aura, Great Learner.
GREAT LEARNER -- Learns extremely fast. +3% to all experience gained.
Prerequisites: Learning 16+.
HARDY -- +3 hitpoints.
Prerequisites: Toughness 10+.
HEALTHY -- Heals wounds 20% faster.
HEIR -- Receives a special magical item inherited from his family.
Prerequisites: Boon to the Family, Charming, Level 1.
IMMUNE TO PAIN -- One point of damage is always negated for all attacks.
At least one point of damage will be caused nonetheless.
Prerequisites: Iron Skin, Willpower 15+.
IRON SKIN -- +1 to PV.
Prerequisites: Tough Skin, Toughness 15+.
KEEN SHOT -- +2 to hit and damage with missile weapons.
Prerequisites: Good Shot, Dexterity 13+.
LEARNED -- +1 to Learning.
Prerequisites: Level 1.
LIGHTNING SHOT -- Missile attacks require 10% less energy.
Prerequisites: Quick Shot, Archery 60+.
LONG-LIVED -- the PCs life span is extended by 30%.
Prerequisites: Level 1.
LONG STRIDE -- Movement costs but 950 energy points.
MASTER PACKAGER -- Carrying capacity is increased by 20% due to the PCs
efficient packaging skills.
Prerequisites: Porter, Learning 12+, Perception 12+.
MECHANICALLY INCLINED - All Disarm Traps checks are 10% easier.
MELEE WEAPON MASTER -- +3 to hit and damage in melee combat.
Prerequisites: At least 3 melee weapon affinities, Defensive
Fighter, Strong of Will
MIGHTY AURA -- +9 power points.
Prerequisites: Strong Aura, Mana 15+
MIGHTY STRIKE -- +3 to hit and damage with weapons weighing more
than 100 stones.
Prerequisites: Powerful Strike, Strength 18+.
MISER -- tends to find more gold because he looks more intensely for it.
MISSILE WEAPON MASTER -- +3 to hit and damage in missile combat.
Prerequisites: At least 3 missile weapon affinities, Keen Shot,
Alert
MITHRIL SKIN -- +3 to PV.
Prerequisites: Steel Skin, Dwarf.
NATURAL BERSERKER -- +2 to hit and damage when berserking.
Prerequisites: Aggressive.
NATURAL TRADER -- Shop prices are reduced by 20%.
Prerequisites: Silver Tongue, Charisma 14+.
PIOUS -- Prayers are 5% less expensive.
Prerequisites: Willpower 15+.
PORTER -- Carrying capacity is increased by 10% due to the PCs
efficient packaging skills.
Prerequisites: Strength 8+, Dexterity 10+.
POTENT AURA -- +3 power points.
Prerequisites: Mana 10+
POWERFUL STRIKE -- +2 to hit and damage with weapons weighing more
than 100 stones.
Prerequisites: Basher, Strength 13+.
QUICK -- +2 to Speed.
QUICK SHOT -- Missile attacks require 10% less energy.
Prerequisites: Keen Shot, Quick.
SAINT -- Prayers are 5% less expensive.
Prerequisites: Strong of Will, Very Pious, Willpower 30+.
SCOUT -- More likely to evade wilderness encounters. Less likely to
be ambushed.
Prerequisites: Dexterity 10+, Perception 13+.
SHIELD EXPERT -- +2 to DV when wielding a shield.
Prerequisites: Shield Specialist, Shield Weapon Skill 3+
SHIELD MASTER -- +3 to DV when wielding a shield.
Prerequisites: Shield Expert, Shield Weapon Skill 6+
SHIELD SPECIALIST -- +1 to DV when wielding a shield.
SILVER TONGUE -- Shop prices are reduced by 10%.
Prerequisites: Charisma 10+.
SIXTH SENSE -- More easily evades traps.
Prerequisites: Perception 18+.
SKILLED -- +2 to all initial skill values.
Prerequisites: Learning 9+, Level 1.
STEALTHY - All Stealth checks are 10% easier.
STEEL SKIN -- +2 to PV.
Prerequisites: Iron Skin, Toughness 20+.
STRONG -- +1 to Strength.
Prerequisites: Level 1.
STRONG AURA -- +6 power points.
Prerequisites: Potent Aura, Mana 12+.
STRONG HEALER -- +4 to all damage healed by spells.
Prerequisites: Potent Aura, Willpower 15+.
STRONG LEGS -- Kicking in doors is much easier. +2 to kick damage.
Prerequisites: Level 1.
STRONG MAGIC -- +2 to all damage caused by spells.
Prerequisites: Potent Aura, Mana 15+.
STRONG THROWER -- +2 range with thrown weapons.
Prerequisites: Strength 12+.
STRONG OF WILL -- +1 to Willpower.
Prerequisites: Level 1.
TOUGH -- +1 to Toughness.
Prerequisites: Level 1.
TOUGH SKIN -- +1 to PV.
Prerequisites: Hardy, Toughness 12+.
VERY CAREFUL -- +3 to DV when fighting very defensively or like a coward.
Prerequisites: Careful.
VERY HARDY -- +6 hitpoints.
Prerequisites: Hardy, Toughness 15+.
VERY PIOUS -- Prayers are 5% less expensive.
Prerequisites: Pious, Willpower 20+.
VERY QUICK -- +3 to Speed.
Prerequisites: Quick.
VERY SKILLED -- +3 to all initial skill values.
Prerequisites: Skilled, Learning 12+, Level 1.
VERY WEALTHY -- Two times the normal starting money.
Prerequisites: Wealthy, Level 1.
WEALTHY -- Three times the normal starting money.
Prerequisites: Level 1.
Weapon Skills
-------------
Every character also has some weapon skills he can train. Weapon
skills can only be increased in one way: by practice. Basically, this
means that your skill will increase after a certain number of
successful attacks (hits). Depending on the weapon type, this can
result in increases in to-hit and to-damage ratings. Hand weapons
also can yield a bonus to the character's DV.
Note that ADOM traditionally assumes that everyone is right-handed
and thus your right hand will be your stronger hand. This might (in
certain cases) result in reduced bonusses if your character for
whatever reason prefers to wield weapon in his off-hand.
For all weapons the following titles of mastery are used.
Weapon Level Level
------------ -----
0 unskilled
1 basic
2 basic
3 basic
4 skilled
5 skilled
6 skilled
7 skilled
8 excellent
9 excellent
10 excellent
11 Mastery
12 Mastery
13 Mastery
14 Mastery
15 Grand Mastery
For melee weapons, the following numbers are used to mirror the
experience of a character with the weapon of his choice (note how
different weapon types yield different advantages):
UNARMED FIGHTING 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
To-Hit Modifier 0 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +4 +6 +6 +9 +10 +10 +10 +12 +12
To-Damage Modifier 0 0 0 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +6 +6 +8 +10 +10 +12
DV Modifier 0 0 0 0 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +5 +6 +8 +10 +12
DAGGERS & KNIVES 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
To-Hit Modifier 0 +1 +2 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +9 +10 +12 +14 +16 +18 +20
To-Damage Modifier 0 0 0 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +10 +11 +12
DV Modifier 0 0 0 0 0 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4 +5
CLUBS & HAMMERS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
To-Hit Modifier 0 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +9 +10 +12 +14 +16 +18
To-Damage Modifier 0 0 0 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +10 +11 +12
DV Modifier 0 0 0 0 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4 +5 +6
MACES & FLAILS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
To-Hit Modifier 0 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +9 +10 +12 +14 +16 +18
To-Damage Modifier 0 0 0 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +10 +11 +12
DV Modifier 0 0 0 0 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4 +5 +6
SWORDS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
To-Hit Modifier 0 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +9 +10 +12 +14 +16 +18
To-Damage Modifier 0 0 0 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +10 +11 +12
DV Modifier 0 0 0 0 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4 +5 +6
AXES 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
To-Hit Modifier 0 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +9 +10 +12 +14 +16 +18
To-Damage Modifier 0 0 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +10 +12 +14 +16
DV Modifier 0 0 0 0 0 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4
WHIPS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
To-Hit Modifier 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +8 +10 +12 +14 +16 +18 +20 +22 +24
To-Damage Modifier 0 0 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +4 +5 +7 +9 +11 +13 +15 +17 +19
DV Modifier 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10 +11 +12 +13 +14 +15
POLEARMS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
To-Hit Modifier 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10 +12 +14 +16 +18 +20
To-Damage Modifier 0 0 0 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +10 +11 +12
DV Modifier 0 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +8 +10 +12 +14 +16 +18 +20 +22
TWOHANDED WEAPONS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
To-Hit Modifier 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +10 +12 +14 +16 +18 +20
To-Damage Modifier 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +6 +8 +9 +10 +12 +14 +16 +18 +21 +25 +30
DV Modifier 0 0 0 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4 +5 +6 +8
STAVES 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
To-Hit Modifier 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10 +12 +14 +16 +18 +20
To-Damage Modifier 0 0 0 0 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +5 +6 +6 +7 +8 +10
DV Modifier 0 +1 +2 +3 +5 +7 +9 +11 +14 +17 +20 +23 +26 +30 +35 +40
If a character wields two melee weapons, his DV modifier is calculated
by taking the DV modifier of the weapon in the right hand plus
one-half of the DV modifier of the left hand weapon. If the character
fights without any weapon he will receive DV bonuses but once.
Wielding a shield does not count as fighting unarmed since it impedes
your mobility.
Missile weapon skills yield a +2 to hit and +1 to damage for every
skill level and an additional +1 to damage for skill levels 2, 4, 6,
8, 10, 12 and 14. Missile weapon skills have no effect on the
character's DV, but instead, the range of your missiles is increased by
+1 for every 3 skill levels.
The shield skill yields a +2 bonus to DV per level in that skill. The
trick is that you can't get a higher bonus to your DV than twice your
shield DV bonus (e.g. if your shield yields a +4 DV bonus, the shield
skill can't provide more than +8 to DV). Shield skill marks are
gained when you manage to block an attack with your shield (e.g. the
attack would have hit without your shield DV bonus). A prerequisite
for gaining more shield skill marks is to use a shield that would
allow you to benefit from a higher shield skill. You also must not
fight with berserk tactics (see the 'T' command). When you are using
two shields, you will only gain the better skill bonus of the two, not
both, since two shields are too unwieldy to be used effectively.
The following table shows the number of required successful weapon
checks to advance to the level in question (after achieving a new
level you start collecting marks from scratch). Note that missile
weapons require but one-half as many marks.
Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Melee 15 25 40 65 105 170 275 445 720 1165 1885 3050 4935 7985 12920
Missl 7 12 20 32 52 85 137 222 360 582 942 1525 2467 3992 6460
NOTE: If your character is fighting too defensively, he won't get any
marks for successful attacks (which basically means that you should
not use the 'very defensive' and 'coward' settings of the 'T'
command, if you want to increase your weapon skills).
NOTE: The number of marks required to increase a weapon skill is
partially dependent on the class of your character. True spellcasters
(wizards, necromancers and elementalists) need twice as many marks as
listed above. Semi-spellcasters (priests and druids) actually need
50% more marks than listed above. Farmers are so skilled in the use
of polearms that they need 20% less marks to increase in their use.
All other classes need to collect the number of marks specified above.
NOTE: A character can hone his melee skills only to a certain amount
when fighting against the same monster. After a certain time (a
certain number of turns), he will have picked up all the specific
tricks and moves of the monster and will no longer gain any weapon
skills by fighting that specific beast. The more powerful a monster
is, the more you usually will be able to learn from it.
NOTE: Fighting with two whips at once is not recommended since this is
*very* difficult since you have to avoid getting entangled in your
weapons. Rules-wise this means that you will require a lot of speed
to fight effectively with these two whips.
Weapon Skills and Attack Energy
-------------------------------
Attacking with a weapon without the appropriate skill requires 1000
energy points. If you attack with a weapon you are skilled with, the
attack energy required is reduced according to the following table:
Skill 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Cost 1000 980 960 940 920 895 870 845 820 790 760 730 700 665 630 595
Fighting with two weapons costs [800 plus the maximum of the
two attack energy values for the weapons in question] energy points
(although possession of the Two Weapon Combat skill can lower this).
Primary Attributes
------------------
Basically, every character is described by eight attributes which
represent his abilities by birthright. Every attribute is rated from
1 to 99 (in theory). 10 is an average score, 8 is slightly below
average, 5 is quite bad, 3 is horrible, and everything below this is a
real hindrance. 13 is a good score, 15 very good, 17 exceptional, 20
very high and everything above this of epic proportions. It should be
remembered that the average PC is rated higher than normal
individuals of his (or her) race because PCs are meant to be true
heroes. The absolute maximum for all attributes is 99, which is
probably equal in power level to demi-gods.
The potential maximum attribute scores are based on the initial
attribute scores. The maximum for an attribute is dependent on the
base score and the player race. These maximums can only rarely be
surpassed by natural training. This is a long and arduous process.
Only magical methods can exceed these limits with ease.
Attributes are rated as either primary or secondary. Secondary
attributes are derived from primary attributes and are often greatly
influenced by your experience level, class and race.
The following attributes are used:
STRENGTH: Strength describes your ability to inflict damage in combat,
determines your carrying capacity and influences your chance to hit
opponents in melee combat. The initial hit points are also partially
based upon strength.
LEARNING: The learning score describes how easily your character
learns new things, how good the PC is at increasing skills and how
easily magical spells are learned. Your ability to read and write
(no, that's not automatic!) is also influenced by this score.
WILLPOWER: This attribute describes the strength of your will. The
higher it is, the better your PC is able to resist attacks affecting
his mind. Willpower influences your initial hit points and your
initial magic points.
DEXTERITY: This attribute rates your agility, nimbleness, speed and
many other things. A high dexterity score allows you to better dodge enemy
attacks and traps. PCs with low dexterity are clumsy and
slow-moving... easy prey for your enemies. Dexterity is also very
important when attacking with missile weapons.
TOUGHNESS: This attribute rates your physical resistance, your
endurance, your constitution and your resistance to pain. Toughness
is a major factor influencing the number of hit points of your
character.
CHARISMA: This attribute describes the personality of your character.
PCs with high charisma are outgoing, friendly and easily make friends,
while characters with low charisma are disliked by many people and
have difficulties interacting on a friendly and easy-going basis.
APPEARANCE: This attribute describes the looks of your character. PCs
with high appearance are good-looking and draw attention, while
characters with low appearance are unattractive or simply ugly but
also draw attention (unfriendly attention most of the time, that is!).
MANA: This attribute describes the luck of your character, his
attunement to the forces of magic and his resistance to magic. Mana
is a prime determinant for magical power.
PERCEPTION: This attribute describes the general perception ability of
your character. Perception is very important. It influences how far
you can see in dungeons. Characters with low perception have
problems finding secret doors, hearing noises and noticing certain
traps -- they also can't see very far in the dungeons. Characters
with high perception are very alert and notice slight details. They
have superior vision and good hearing.
Attribute Generation
--------------------
Attributes can be determined in two ways in ADOM. The easy way is
random attribute generation. Your attributes will be based on your
race and profession and a bit of luck. This means that your attributes
might be truly exceptional or pretty abysmal. The second way is
attribute generation by answering questions. Each question will
present you with a situation and four choices. Your selected choice
will modify your attributes in one or more ways. Please note that each
choice will raise one or more attributes and lower one or more other
attributes. Additionally each choice is balanced: if one attribute is
increased by an amount 'x', another attribute will be decreased by an
equal amount. The choice is yours, so to speak!
Secondary Attributes
--------------------
The following secondary attributes are used:
DEFENSIVE VALUE (DV): The defensive value determines how hard you are
to hit. It starts at 1, 10 is about average, and, in theory, it is
not limited in its value. The higher the value is, the harder you are
to hit. This value is influenced by race, class, dexterity,
equipment, burden level, hunger, and dozens of other factors.
PROTECTION VALUE (PV): PV determines how many points of damage are
stopped when your PC is hit by a physical attack. This value can be
positive (which means that you have adequate protection) or negative
(which means that your are carrying some kind of cursed items making
it easier for your enemies to inflict wounds upon you). This value is
influenced by your toughness, your equipment and several minor
factors.
HIT POINTS (HP): Hit points represent how much punishment your character
can take before dying. The higher this value is, the better for you!
Your maximal hit points are listed in brackets. Your hit points can
decrease through combat wounds, traps, magical attacks, and many other
things. As soon as your current hit points are lower than your
maximum hit points, you start to heal wounds. How fast you heal
injuries depends upon race, class, toughness, healing skill,
equipment, general conditions, and several minor factors.
POWER POINTS (PP): Magical power is described by a certain number of
power points. To cast a spell (if you are able to do so), you have to
spend a certain amount of power. If you do not have enough power
points to cast a certain spell, your life energy will be drained
instead. Be careful -- this might kill you! As an added side effect
abusing your body by channeling too much magic also might result in a
decreased connection to the mana flow of Ancardia... which basically
means that your Mana attribute might decrease over time. Your maximum
power points are listed in brackets. Power is influenced by mana,
class, race, experience and willpower.
Experience and Advancement
--------------------------
Each PC in ADOM is rated by his experience level. A character
starts at level 1 (a newly created adventurer) and might be able to
advance to higher levels by collecting experience points. Experience
points are mostly gained by killing monsters, but there might be other
ways to learn... try to find out for yourself.
To advance to a higher level, you have to collect a certain number of
experience points. How many points you have to collect for your next
level is determined by the following categories: race, class, and
attributes. Generally, you need more experience points to advance if
you are very good in one or more of these categories, you need
less experience points to advance if you are below average in one or
more of those categories.
Whenever you have earned a certain amount of experience points, you
increase in level. Increasing in levels is a very good thing to do
because this brings many benefits. Whenever you go up a level, you
get better in combat, receive more hit points and more magical power
(depending on your class and race). You are also allowed to increase
your skill values. The number of skill improvements depends on your
learning score. Finally, you get a chance to raise (or lower) your
attributes. This decision is made by the game and is heavily
influenced by your class, your experience level and your actions
during game play. There are finite limits to the number of times you
might be able to increase attribute scores in this way. Once you have
reached your natural potential, no more training of whatever kind will
help to increase attributes. Only magical means will further enhance
your attribute scores.
Magic & Spells
--------------
The world of Ancardia is steeped in powerful magic. Although these
forces have been far stronger in earlier ages and slowly seem to be
declining in might, they are still a major force to be reckoned with.
The world of Ancardia is the home of many powerful wizards of various
schools and specialization. Priests are also able to use magical
spells very similar to the ones utilized by wizards (although the
sources for these powers are very different).
All magic is fueled by mana, the magical energy called the fifth
element by some. In ADOM the mana attribute of the player character
is the major factor in determining how well he is able to channel
magical spells (although both race and profession also have great
influence on this).
Spells have to be learned from books. When reading such a book, the
character meditates about the forces and magical patterns which are
required to create the magical effect in question and attunes himself
to the mana flow of the world in such a way as to be able to activate
the specific spell. How well he is able to do this depends on a
number of factors -- among them the Learning attribute, the
Concentration skill, the class and more. ADOM uses a special number
to describe the current attunement to the mana flow of Ancardia for
each and every spell the character learns. The more often a spell is
cast, the less close the attunement of the character to the mana flow
will be as his actions change the mana flow and force him to re-attune
him by again studying spellbooks.
Thus this number decreases with each spell casting until it is finally
reduced to zero and the character is no longer able to cast the spell.
On the other hand, a character becomes more efficient in casting a
specific spell if he does so very often. Training allows him to
adjust the various factors involved in casting a spell until he
maximizes the gain from such a spell. This learning factor is
described by the term 'Spell Power'. The character needs to cast a
spell 'x' times to increase his power with that spell by +1. The
value 'x' depends on the current power (the better you already are,
the harder it is to improve) and can be determined like this:
If the current power is '+x', the character needs to cast the spell 'x
+ 1' times to become even more efficient. If the character is neither
a wizard, elementalist, druid, priest, or necromancer, this number is
tripled. If the character is either a magician (wizard, elementalist
or necromancer) and tries to cast a priest spell or if he is a cleric
(druid or priest) and tries to cast a wizard spell, this number is
doubled.
Power has various effects: it increases the range and/or damage of
combat spells, it heightens the effects of personal and healing magic
and so on. Each spell description lists those effects. Finally, high
power with a spell reduces the costs for casting such spells. For
each 5 levels of power with a given spell, the spell costs are reduced
by 1 power point per casting. Note that this reduction can't reduce
the cost to a level lower than half the original cost.
IMPORTANT: Power can never be increased to a level higher than twice
your learning score. If, on the other hand, your learning score is
reduced below a certain spell power, the power rating will remain at
its current level.
Spell Display
-------------
Pressing 'Z' will display all the spells you know and some additional
data concerning them. Following each spell you will notice several
numbers. The first one describes how well you memorized the spell. It
is decreased whenever the spell is cast (by an amount determined by
the power level of the spell, your attributes, and some other
factors). If this number is reduced to 0 or less, the spell is
forgotten and you are no longer able to cast it. The second number is
the number of power points you need to expend to cast the spell in
question. If you do not have that many power points, you can still
cast the spell. But beware -- this is very dangerous. The strain
imposed by casting a spell in such a way could kill you, if you are
not completely healed.
Afterwards a series of statistics follow which explain the spell
effects in more detail. The following values are possible:
P: x - The spell is cast with power 'x'.
R: x - The spell has a range or radius of 'x'. If the
range 'LOS' is given, this means "Line of Sight" -
as far as the PC can see.
D: x - The spell lasts for 'x' turns.
E: x - The spell effect is 'x'. Mostly this will be damage
caused or cured. If the term '+R*' appears in the
effect value this means that the effect decreases
with distance. You can assume that the modifier
is equal to the range R at distance 1, to
(range R - 1) at distance 2 and so on.
Casting Spells from Books
-------------------------
It is also possible to cast a spell from a spellbook if you already
have learned the particular spell. Doing so costs quintuple the
amount of power points usually required, takes up 3000 energy points
(casting from a book takes more time since you have to loudly invoke
the text) and does not reduce your current spell knowledge. It also
does not destroy the spellbook after a limited amount of readings,
either. Since casting a spell from a book simply consists of
following the instructions in the book, the spell power for
the spell in question is not increased.
Known Spells
------------
This section summarizes the various spells known in Ancardia. Please
note that it should be considered to be but a short summary of the
various spells -- there might be yet unknown powerful castings.
First the spell name is listed. If two names are given, separated by
a /, the first one is the name commonly used by members of the arcane
professions (wizards, elementalists and necromancers), while the
second name is the one used by members of the clerical professions
(priests, druids and paladins). Then you'll find in brackets the
profession groups specifically suited to learning the spell.
Effectively, this means that members of those profession groups will
have an easier time to understand and learn the spell. Increasing
power also is simpler for members of those groups. For them the costs
are determined as explained above. For members of the 'other'
profession group, the costs are doubled. For characters neither
having an arcane nor a clerical profession, costs are tripled.
Paladins using clerical magic only pay double the normal cost to
increase power. Lastly, you will find a description of the spell
effects.
The descriptions include formulae to determine range, damage and
duration for spells. These formulae use certain abbreviations:
W - Willpower of the PC.
M - Mana of the PC.
L - Level of the PC.
P - Spell Power for the given spell.
R - Maximum range (as determined by the range formula).
r - Remaining range points when target is hit.
It also uses a maximum function denoted as M{x, y}, which means "take
the maximum of x and y". The minimum function m{x, y} is defined
accordingly. Finally, the die-rolling notation is used (see the
respective section in the manual for details).
Example: A damage of M{L + 2, W - 2}d6 + (L + W) / 4 means that to
determine damage, you first choose the maximum value of your level + 2
and your willpower - 2. Roll the appropriate number of d6 and add to
the result a number determined by adding level and willpower divided by 4.
Confusing, eh? Feel assured that you don't need to understand this to
be able to play ADOM -- it just helps those die-hard tacticians.
MAGIC MISSILE / MINOR PUNISHMENT (Arcane)
This spell allows the caster to launch a minor energy bolt against his
enemies which is able to bounce off obstacles.
LIGHTNING BOLT / DIVINE WRATH (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell permits the user to launch a bolt of electrical energy from
his hands. Be careful as this bolt tends to bounce off obstacles.
IDENTIFY / ENLIGHTENMENT (Arcane, Clerical)
By invoking this spell, the caster is able to identify a previously
unknown item in his equipment.
LIGHT (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell lights up a magically or naturally darkened area.
DARKNESS (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell is the reversal of the Light spell. It magically darkens a
bright area.
CURE LIGHT WOUNDS (Clerical)
This spell cures one minor wound. 1d8 + 1 + P points of damage will
be restored.
KNOCK / DIVINE KEY (Arcane)
This spell unlocks and opens one locked door. Traps are not activated
by this spell but rather circumvented. The caster must stand adjacent
to the door.
DISARM TRAP (Clerical)
With this spell one trap can be deactivated permanently. The caster
must be adjacent to the trap to be disarmed.
FIRE BALL / MAJOR PUNISHMENT (Arcane)
This spell makes the caster explode in a violent fireball engulfing
everything in his vicinity. The caster is not harmed by the magical
energies. Note that the explosion even penetrates walls since the
magical energies creating the fire are built up on the elemental plane
of Mana and rock or stone on the material plane is no concern on the
plane of Mana.
ICE BALL / FREEZING FURY (Arcane)
This spell summons a deadly ice storm in the vicinity of the player,
consisting of hail and frozen crystals. The caster is not harmed by the
magical energies. Note that the storm even penetrates walls since the
magical energies creating the storm are built up on the elemental
plane of Mana and rock or stone on the material plane is no concern on
the plane of Mana.
LIGHTNING BALL / HEAVENLY FURY (Arcane)
This spell summons a violent hail of thunderstrokes in the vicinity of
the player. The caster is not harmed by the magical energies. Note
that the thunderstrokes even penetrate walls since the magical
energies creating the lightning are built up on the elemental plane of
Mana and rock or stone on the material plane is no concern on the
plane of Mana.
ACID BALL / RAIN OF SORROW (Arcane)
This spell creates a downpour of acid in the vicinity of the
character. The caster is not harmed by the magical energies. Note
that the rain even penetrates walls since the magical energies
creating the acid are built up on the elemental plane of Mana and rock
or stone on the material plane is no concern on the plane of Mana.
BLESS (Clerical)
Application of this spell blesses one person (no items!). The target
will be more effective in combat and also enjoys some more luck. If cast
on undead targets, those undead will be damaged.
SLOW MONSTER (Arcane)
The target of this spell moves and acts with half its effective speed.
CALM MONSTER (Arcane, Clerical)
Usage of this spell allows to calm down enraged monsters.
CURE SERIOUS WOUNDS (Clerical)
This spell cures a major wound. 2d10 + 2 + P points of damage will
be restored.
CURE CRITICAL WOUNDS (Clerical)
This spell cures a terrible wound. 4d8 + 4 + P points of damage
will be restored.
HEAL (Clerical)
This spells heals a life-threatening wound. 10d6 + 10 + P points of
damage will be restored.
CURE DISEASE (Clerical)
Application of this spell will cure a deadly disease, illness or
sickness.
NEUTRALIZE POISON (Clerical)
By using this spell, the caster is able to neutralize poisonous
substances in his blood stream.
INVISIBILITY / VEIL OF THE GODS (Arcane)
This spell hides the target from mortal eyes. Only by magical means
can the target be discovered. Be warned: attacks on others will allow
them to see you. There are also several kinds of beasts that are able
to see through such magical disguises.
DESTROY UNDEAD / DISPEL UNDEAD (Clerical)
This spell is particularly suited to annihilate undead creatures
completely. The caster must be adjacent to the target creature.
SLOW POISON (Clerical)
This spell slows down the effects of poison in one's body. Several
castings might even succeed in completely neutralizing the poison.
TELEPORTATION / ETHEREAL BRIDGE (Arcane)
This spell instantly transports the target to another physical
location. Without special magical means, the caster is unable to
control the place of arrival.
REMOVE CURSE (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell allows you to turn cursed items into uncursed items.
GREATER IDENTIFY / GREATER ENLIGHTENMENT (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell will detail the powers of one item, especially its hidden
powers (like the ability to grant special immunities or resistances
etc.).
EARTHQUAKE (Clerical)
This very powerful spell effectively causes the earth to shake. It's
especially useful in the underground to collapse tunnel systems, open
new passages and slay hordes of enemies. Be warned that some
locations are structurally too hard to be affected by an earthquake.
REVELATION (Clerical)
This spell reveals special abilities of the character (e.g. magical
resistances and immunities).
KNOW ALIGNMENT (Clerical)
This spell allows the caster to determine the alignment of one target.
CREATE ITEM / DIVINE FAVOUR (Arcane, Clerical)
Application of this spell will bring a random item into existence.
Artifacts can't be created but other powerful items definitely are a
possibility.
SUMMON MONSTERS (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell calls a number of monsters into existence... which sadly
are not necessarily peaceful.
PETRIFICATION (Clerical)
The target of this spell probably will be turned to stone... forever.
FROST BOLT / NETHER BOLT (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell causes an icy bolt to spring from the hands of the caster.
ACID BOLT (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell allows the caster to hurl a bolt of vicious and deadly
liquid at his opponents.
FIRE BOLT / HELLISH FLAMES (Arcane, Clerical)
Application of this spell allows the caster to hurl a fiery bolt at
his enemies.
STRENGTH OF ATLAS / LORDLY MIGHT (Arcane)
This spell allows the caster to carry tremendous loads. Beware -- his
combat strength is not increased, only his carrying capacity! You
should also make sure that you are not too overloaded when the spell
ends.
MAGIC LOCK / SEAL OF THE SPHERES (Arcane)
By using this spell, the caster can magically lock a door.
IMPROVED FIREBALL / INVOKED DEVASTATION (Arcane)
This spell is similar to its lesser cousin (see above) with the major
difference that it causes more damage and can be hurled at targets
far away. Note that the explosion penetrates even walls since the
magical energies creating the fire are built up on the elemental plane
of Mana and rock or stone on the material plane is of no concern on the
plane of Mana.
FARSIGHT (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell increases the range of view of the caster greatly.
WEB (Arcane)
This spell engulfs everything in its path in sticky webs, probably
slowing down or completely stopping the movements of weaker monsters.
STUN RAY / LESSER DIVINE TOUCH (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell dazes the targets and makes them move with little
coordination.
DEATH RAY / GREATER DIVINE TOUCH (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell instantly slays the target (if it does not manage to resist
in some way, that is!).
MAGIC MAP / KNOWLEDGE OF THE ANCIENTS (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell maps major parts of the currently unknown regions of the
area you explore.
MYSTIC SHOVEL / DIVINE DIGGER (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell allows you to penetrate stone in order to dig tunnels. Be
warned -- some materials are so hard that even magic won't have any
effect!
BURNING HANDS / BAPTISM OF FIRE (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell engulfs a target adjacent to the caster in searing flames.
SCARE MONSTER / HOLY AWE (Arcane, Clerical)
This spell is used to create terror and fear within living,
intelligent opponents.
Mindcraft
---------
The art of Mindcraft is a very strange discipline. Many believe it to
be just another type of magic, but the truly enlightened know that it
is a very different way of using one's inner strength and willpower.
Mindcrafters utilize their mental powers to generate astonishing
effects. The arts of Mindcraft and magic do not work very well
together. Only long meditation and inner peace will allow a person to
awaken the mental powers within, while magic seems to encourage active
and curious minds.
The following sections will describe the mental powers available to
Mindcrafters. The number in brackets mentions the level at which the
power will become available.
Be warned! The powers of Mindcraft come at a price. Artificial and
mindless beings are immune to mental powers and undead are a great
danger to all Mindcrafters. Their corrupted and insane minds are able
to backlash the mental powers upon the Mindcrafter, harming or killing
him. Additionally, walls are not able to block the powers of the mind
-- so be careful about what might be lurking behind the next wall
before wildly employing Mindcraft. Many beings don't like others
trying to toast their brains.
Your mindcrafter also might want to avoid contact with corrupted
monsters. Sages claim that corrupted minds will transfer some of the
corruption to the contacting mind.
Mental powers are fed with power points and if the character does not
have enough power points to activate the power, he is at a loss. Some
powers are continuous and cost power points each turn.
The following special powers are available in the game (W is the
shortcut for willpower, L for the level of the Mindcrafter):
Teleport Control (1) - The ability to control your destination when
teleporting.
Confusion Blast (1) - A linear blast which disturbs the minds of your
opponents and confuses them.
Confusion Wave (3) - Similar to Confusion Blast, but affects all
beings within a certain range.
Mind Blast (6) - A mental attack trying to destroy the brain cells of
the victims. Damage: [{(W + L) / 6} + 1]d5.
Mental Shield (9) - A mental defense, which affects both defensive and
protection values of the character. DV: + [(L + W) / 5], PV: + [(L +
W) / 8]. Continuous power.
Mind Wave (12) - A mental attack similar to Mind Blast, with the
difference that it affects all beings within a certain range.
Telekinetic Blast (15) - A projected force which might shatter doors
and is able to damage beings physically. Damage: [(W / 5) + L]d3
Eyes of the Mind (18) - A hypersense which allows the character to
sense creatures and beings within a certain range.
Greater Mental Blast (25) - A more advanced form of Mind
Blast. Damage: [{(W + L) / 8} + 1]d9.
Greater Telekinetic Blast (30) - A powerful force ball causing a lot
of physical damage to beings. It might even be powerful enough to
shatter stone. Damage: [(W / 5) + L]d6
Regeneration (35) - A defensive power which allows the Mindcrafter to
heal his wounds. Continuous power.
Teleport Self (40) - A power allowing the travel to remote places
within the blink of an eye.
Teleport Other (45) - Similar to teleport self, but can be used on
other beings.
Greater Mental Wave (50) - Similar to Greater Mental Blast, but
affects all creatures within a certain range.
Corruptions
-----------
The forces of Chaos slowly start to get a grip on the world of
Ancardia. Rumor has it that the dark magic used by the forces of
Chaos and their presence itself have corrupting effects on all living
beings on Ancardia and even on the environment itself. Strange
mutants have been sighted and formerly normal humans suddenly were
horribly changed.
Be prepared to be faced with these dangers and try to avoid becoming
transformed into a horrible being of Chaos. Although the powers might
seem advantageous, they nearly always will bring doom (or so they
say).
The Game
--------
ADOM is started by typing
adom
at your command prompt. After some moments the game will start.
After passing the title screen, you will have to choose whether to
start a new game, restore an old game or page through this manual.
The restore option will provide you with a list of available saved
games from which you can restore a game. Please note that you can't
restore a game when your character died in that game.
If you choose to create a new character, ADOM first of all will
randomly determine your birth date, your star sign and give some
details about the effects of the events surrounding your birth. Then
you will have to decide whether to choose a specific class and race to
play or whether you want ADOM to choose for you. In both cases you
will have to determine the gender of your character. This has some
influence on game play (in ADOM female characters are more agile, male
characters are slightly stronger). If you allow fate to decide the
details, ADOM will randomly choose the race and profession of your
character, otherwise you will be presented with lists for both from
which you have to choose.
Then you will have to enter a name for the character you are going to play.
The name has no further influence on game play but serves to
individualize your character. If you just press ENTER instead of
entering a name, the game will christen your character with a default
name, if the variable "Allow_Default_Names" is set to "true" in
"adom.cfg" or ".adom.cfg" (depending on your operating system).
Next, the background of your character will be described. The game
will mention your sex and race (in case fate is responsible for your
race) and then detail your life prior to starting your adventure. Every
character lives through four major phases of development: early
childhood, childhood, youth and young adulthood. For each phase
certain events are generated. These events serve to detail your PC
and influence his attributes. Finally, you will get to know your
class, your area of specialization (if available) and your starting
age.
After all this you will be dumped directly into the game. You are
assumed to have just entered one of the major valleys in the Drakalor
Chain and from that point on everything is based on your actions.
The Main Screen
---------------
Most of the time you will see the main game screen, which contains
most of the interesting information about your character, your
surroundings and your condition.
The following sample shows how a game screen might look:
------------------------< Begin Screen copy >----------------------------
The skeleton fails to hurt you.
################
#..../.%.......# #########
#.####.........######.......#
######### #.# #............../.......#
#.......### #.# ########/#######.......#
#......./.############# #.# #.# ######### #######
#.......#./...........############.###########.#####################.....#
####.######.............^..z@............................................#
#.# #....<......############.###########.#####################.....#
#.# #...........# #.# #######/# #.....#
#.# ##/########## #.# #.......# #.#####
#.# #.# #.# #.......# #.#
#.# ##/############ #.# #.......# #.#
####/#### #......^......# #####/### ######### #.#
#.......# #.....###.....# #.......###############################.#
#.>.....# #.....# #.....# #......./...............................#
#.......# #.....# ####### #.......#################################
######### ####### #########
Geffrey St:19 Le: 9 Wi:14 Dx:12 To:22 Ch: 8 Ap: 8 Ma:11 Pe:15 N=
DV/PV: 10/4 H: 27(27) P: 3(3) Exp: 1/139 D: 1 Sp: 100
-------------------------< End Screen copy >-----------------------------
The first two lines of the screens are reserved for messages which
explain certain events and actions. If more text is issued than fits
into those two lines, a (more) prompt will appear. To continue you
have to press SPACE (or Z). If you are expecting many messages in one
turn which you don't want to read, you also can press ENTER. All
messages will scroll through without waiting for a confirmation. If
you want to look at one of those messages later, you can still use the
':m' command (see below).
The last three lines contain information about your character in the
following order:
Name: Let's guess what this is :-)
St: The strength score of your character.
Le: The learning score of your character.
Wi: The willpower score of your character.
Dx: The dexterity score of your character.
To: The toughness score of your character.
Ch: The charisma score of your character.
Ap: The appearance score of your character.
Ma: The mana score of your character.
Pe: The perception score of your character.
DV: The defensive value of your character.
PV: The protection value of your character.
H: The hit points of your characters.
P: The magical power of your character.
Exp: The experience you have to collected up to now and your
experience level. The second number stands for the number of
experience points you already have earned, the first number
describes your current experience level.
D: The number of the current dungeon level.
Sp: The speed rating of your character. Optionally the number of
turns that have passed can be displayed in this area.
A sequence of up to two characters describing your alignment (more
about this in the section on alignment).
All lines between these two screen parts are used to display the map
of the current dungeon level or wilderness area (as far as you have
explored it). Specific characters are used to represent items,
monsters, locations, and other stuff.
The Monster Memory
------------------
One of the utilities provided by ADOM is the so-called monster
memory. This utility helps the player to memorize useful monster
data, like monster DV and PV, average hitpoints, number of attacks,
average damage, and special powers. The monster memory can be invoked
in two ways: either you 'l'ook around and demand more information upon
looking at a monster or you invoke the '&' command and enter the
name of a specific monster race (e. g. 'goblin' or 'white baby
dragon'). If you have encountered the monster before, you will
receive information based upon your observations. This can be as
little as the physical description to as much as complete data about
the combat stats and powers of a monster.
It is important to note that the monster memory takes into account the
abilities of your character. Based upon his Learning score, his
Perception score and some skills, it is more or less likely that the
character will learn something from his observations. This also means
that your character might mistake powers for something else. If a
monster resists a fireball due to its innate magic resistance the
character still will believe that the monster is immune to fire (just
to name on example). Only later experiences will remedy this
observation.
Additionally, the monster memory is not persistent. Between two games (that
is: from one character to the next) it will get erased. This is so
(compared to other games, which keep such a memory) because monsters
in ADOM are pretty dynamic. They have varying levels and can gain
experience like the PC. This effectively means that a monster can be
very different between two games. Since observations thus are very
subjective, it would be pretty misleading to keep such data between
two games. It is my firm belief that the monster memory should
serve to mirror the observations of the actual character and not those
of the player. If you want to have a hint through, use some sheets of
paper and a pen (or pencil).
The Display
-----------
During game play everything you encounter is represented by certain
symbols on the map. Symbols are simple colored characters. Some
symbols have more than one meaning. This section explains the various
symbols and their potential meanings.
--- Map Symbols (dungeon) ---
# Rock or wall = Water
/ Open door T Tree
+ Closed door 0 Pool or hive
. Floor, passage, tunnel + Tombstone
& Forge or other special places | Webs
< Stair leading upwards > Stair leading downwards
_ Altar * Hole
^ Known trap 8 Gate
--- Map Symbols (wilderness) ---
^ Mountains . Road
~ Hills = Water
& Forest * Entrance
" Plains or Swamp o Buildings
--- Item Symbols ---
[ Protective gear, shields \ Wands
' Necklaces ? Scrolls
( Hand weapons ] Tools
} Missile weapon ~ Bracers
* Rocks % Food
/ Missiles $ Gold
= Rings { Music instruments
" Books
--- Monster Symbols ---
Monsters are grouped into specific categories to make it easier to
distinguish them. The following scheme is used (with some
exceptions):
a Ants A Aquatic beings
b Bees B Bats
c Centipedes C Chaos creatures
d Dogs & other canines D Dragons
e magical Eye E Elementals
f Felines F Fantastic beasts
g Grungy humanoids G Ghosts
h Humanoids H giant Humanoids
i Insects I Imps & other minor demons
j Jellies & oozes J (unused)
k Kobolds K berserKers & barbarians
l Lizards L Liches
m Mimics M Minotaurs
n (unused) N Natural beasts
o Orcs O Ogres
p Pixies P Plants
q (unused) Q (unused)
r Rodents R Rust monsters
s Snakes S Spiders
t Townsfolk T Trolls
u Underdark humanoids U Unicorns
v (unused) V Vortices
w Worms W Wyrms
x grues X eXtra-planar beings
y (unused) Y constructs
z Zombies & other lesser undead Z greater undead
& greater demons @ (demi-)humans
[ animated armor * will o'wisp
The Player Character Screen
---------------------------
ADOM provides a screen with most of the important statistics you might
want to know about your PC. Usually (as per default command set) this
screen is invoked by pressing '@'.
The PC screen is divided into several parts dedicated to
certain aspects of the PC.
The upper left half of the screen is dedicated to the attribute scores
of your PC. It lists all the attribute names in the first column (in
yellow, if not yet maxed out or in brown if maxed out in the natural
way), followed by the current unmodified attribute score. The next
column lists the natural maximums for the attribute scores. They can
be raised by long and hard training, but usually only magic will be of
quick help when trying to pass these limits. (See the section on
attributes for more details.) The next column displays temporary
attribute bonuses (e.g. from certain potions), followed by a column
listing special bonuses (e.g. due to magical items). The last column
shows the total score for each attribute. If your attribute score is
raised, it will be displayed in green; if it's lowered by some means,
it will be displayed in red; if it's equal to the maximum score
possible, it will be displayed in brown. In all other cases yellow is
used.
The upper right half of the screen contains a list of miscellaneous
data. First you'll see the current speed rating. If you also enjoy a
temporary speed bonus, it will be displayed in square brackets. This
is followed by a verbal approximation of that rating. Then the screen
lists your current financial status, potential debts, the name of your
deity, and the elapsed amount of game time. The next entries are
concerned with your omens of birth and star sign. First you'll see
the number of the day on which you were born in the Ancardian year
followed by your star sign. Then you'll see the *current* month in
the game (both by number and by name). The next line describes the
*current* day in the game, both by its number in the current month
and by its absolute number in the current game year (so that you can
compare it to your birthday). Finally, the state of the moon (full,
new, waxing, waning) will be described. The last entry in that
section displays the age of your character.
In the middle of the screen you'll see the encumbrance data for your
PC. In order, you'll see the current encumbrance, the minimum encumbrance
to be considered burdened and the respective minimum levels for being
considered strained and very strained.
Below this, you'll see the data for melee combat, kicking, and missile
combat.
Miscellaneous Commands
----------------------
During game play, commands are issued by pressing one or more keys.
Whenever you find a description like 'C-x' you are expected to press
the Control-key and the key 'x' at the same time to invoke the
corresponding command.
The following default commands are normally available:
C-t Activate trap at current position
a Apply skill
< Ascend stairway & Leave location (in the wilderness)
Z Cast spell
C Chat with monsters
H Change highlight mode
T Change tactics
L Check literacy
E Clean ears
c Close door
w s Continuous search
( Create short character log
) Create verbose character log
[ Create screenshot
> Descend stairway & Enter location (in the wilderness)
: W Describe weather
! Dip (something) into (potion)
A Display skills and quick-mark skills
B Display background
P Display bill
: b Display burden levels
= Display configuration variables
\ Display chaos powers
: c Display companions
$ Display current wealth
C-e Display elapsed game time
@ Display extended character information
/ Display identified items
K Display kick damage
: k Display killed monsters
: m Display message buffer
M Display missile statistics
: w Display monster wound status
: g Display name of your deity
q Display quest status
R Display recipes
x Display required experience
V Display version
C-w Display weapon skills
W Display weapon statistics
D Drink
d Drop item(s)
C-d Drop items in a comfortable way
e Eat
l Examine environment
: d Extended drop
: p Extended pay
: u Extended use
g Give item to monster
h Handle something
i Inventory
C-i Invoke mindcraft
C-o Issue order to companion (reaction heavily depends on your charisma)
k Kick
C-l Look
: Z Mark spells
I Miscellaneous equipment
1 Move to the southwest
2 Move to the south
3 Move to the southeast
4 Move to the west
6 Move to the east
7 Move to the northwest
8 Move to the north
9 Move to the northeast
n Name monster/yourself
? Online help
o Open door
p Pay
; Pick up items primitively (fast)
, Pick up items
C-p Pick up items comfortably
_ Pray
Q Quit game
r Read
& Recall monster memory
C-r Redraw screen
O Sacrifice
S Save and quit game
s Search
F1 Set tactics to 'berserker'
F2 Set tactics to 'very aggressive'
F3 Set tactics to 'aggressive'
F4 Set tactics to 'normal'
F5 Set tactics to 'defensive'
F6 Set tactics to 'very defensive'
F7 Set tactics to 'coward'
: = Set variable
t Shoot/Throw missile
: s Swap position with monster
C-a Switch auto-pickup on/off
: t Switch the dynamic display (turns, speed, energy, gold, ammunition)
C-k Switch the required (more) key
C-u Unlock door
U Use item
C-x Use class power
m Use special ability
u Use tool
. Wait
5 Wait
w 1 Walk to the southwest
w 2 Walk to the south
w 3 Walk to the southeast
w 4 Walk to the west
w 5 Walk on the spot
w 6 Walk to the east
w 7 Walk to the northwest
w 8 Walk to the north
w 9 Walk to the northeast
F Wipe face
z Zap wand
For details about the dynamic display see the end of this section.
In the game you will encounter multiple screens containing tables,
lists, etc. Whenever you are given the choice to get out of one of
those screens by pressing the 'Z' key, you can also press the space
bar. The 'Z' key is always listed in the help lines because of
historical reasons (and because it's easier to display than the ' '
;-)
It is possible to redefine the keybindings (see the appropriate
section of the manual for details).
Movement
--------
You can move into eight directions by pressing the respective number key
displayed in the following movement grid:
7 8 9
\|/
4 -5- 6
/|\
1 2 3
To attack a monster, simply try to move into the field the monster is
standing on. This will result in a melee attack.
If you opt for faster movement you can activate the so-called
'walk-mode' by pressing 'w' followed by a direction key. This will
make your character walk into the chosen direction until he meets
something of interest. Movement will cease as soon as one of the
following things happens:
* Your direction of choice is blocked.
* A monster appears in your immediate vicinity.
* Items are lying at your current position.
* Something special (e.g. a stairway) is located at your current
position.
* A move will bring you into the immediate vicinity of a monster.
* You are stunned, confused or blinded.
* Your hunger status changes.
* You are bleeding, sick or poisoned.
Generally, activating 'walk-mode' is a good way to cover long distances
which have been explored before. To make full use of the vast array
of available tactical options, you should not use 'walk-mode' when
exploring unknown locations.
Walk-mode also allows the character to wait in place (e.g. to
regenerate lost hitpoints or power points). Just press 'w' for
walk-mode and the '5' for waiting in place. Walk-mode will abort if
a monster enters your immediate vicinity, your equipment weight or
your hunger level changes or 50 turns have gone by.
If you are using the numeric keypad remember to press NUM LOCK.
Speed
-----
Actions in real life rarely are synchronous. Beings rather act
individually, move with different speed and are either slower or
faster than others. ADOM simulates this by using a 'speed system'.
The core notion of this system is that every character and monster has
to collect a certain amount of energy to be able to act. Some beings
are able to gather this energy faster and thus can act at higher
speed, others gain this energy more slowly and thus act in a slower
way.
To be able to act once in ADOM your character needs to
accumulate at least 1000 energy points. Every acting being has a
'speed rating' (SR) and a current energy rating (CER). ADOM divides
each player turn into a number of segments. In each segment every
being on the current level adds its speed rating to its current
energy. Each being that passes the '1000 energy minimum' with its
current energy rating is allowed to act. Afterwards the CER is
reduced by 1000 (in most cases).
All Player Characters start with a basic speed rating of 100
which basically means that they can act once every 10 segments. This
rating can be modified by class (monks and beastfighters get faster
with more experience), dexterity (a score of 17 or higher can be
helpful), encumbrance level (the more you are encumbered the slower
you get), alcohol level (being drunk is not a good idea in all cases),
satiation level (a full stomach makes you move slower... starving
doesn't help either), your Athletics skill, and special items. Being
born under the sign of the Raven also helps.
Your energy can never be lower than 1 (although this spells
certain doom) and is not limited by any value. The only limit is that
you can act only once per segment (even speed scores of 2000+ can't
help in this respect... although they are impossible to attain in any
case).
Most monsters also have a base speed rating of 100, although
there are exceptions. Be prepared to face changing speed
monstrosities occasionally.
Finally you need to understand that some items don't increase
your overall speed score but might limit the energy costs for certain
actions (e.g. seven league boots could require you to expend but 500
energy points to be able to move -- thus you could move faster, but all
other actions would be carried out at normal speed).
This is also true for weapon skills which are able to reduce the
amount of energy required to stage an attack (see the section on
weapon skills for details).
SPECIAL NOTE: If you are setting your tactics level to 'coward' and
then simply move around without attacking anything, such a move only
costs 800 energy points *if* your hitpoints are reduced to one-third
their starting value or below (panic does that to you -- and since
ADOM basically is a heroic game we'll ignore other wound effects).
Remember this when you try to run away!
The Dynamic Display
-------------------
The dynamic display is used to present detailed information about the
actions of the player. It either can display the current turn number
(an internal game counter), the current speed rating of the display or
the energy cost of the last action of the player character. Usually
the current speed rating is displayed.
Note that the 'energy cost for the last action' display option does not
necessarily show the expected value for energy costs below 1000.
This is so because ADOM's internal rating system for action costs
relies on relative measurements (e.g. if your potion of speed results
in an 800 energy point cost for movement and due to your class you
also would be able to move for 800 energy points, this is scaled to a
cost of 100000 / {100 + [(100000 / 800) - 100] * 2} = 666 energy
points). If you don't understand the formula, simply look at the
source code. ;-) Not understanding it is *not* a sign of being stupid
;-))
Dice
----
Roleplaying games mostly use dice to determine random events. Paper
games rely on several kinds of dice -- most often 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-
and 20-sided dice are used. Computers are not limited by arbitrary
die forms and thus enjoy the freedom to use any kind of dice
imaginable as a random number generator.
Roleplayers use an abbreviated way of describing the number of dice to
be rolled to generate a random number. Basically a certain number of
dice is rolled, all the face values are added and maybe a modifier is
added or subtracted to generate a total. This is normally abbreviated
as
{x}d{y}+{z}
and means to roll {x} dice with {y} faces and finally to add the value
{z}. {z} can be positive or negative. If {z} is not mentioned, it is
assumed to be zero.
EXAMPLES: 1d20 means to roll one 20-sided die to generate a number
between 1 and 20. 2d6 means to roll two 6-sided dice to generate a
number between 2 and 12. 4d4+3 means to roll four 4-sided dice and
finally add 3 to generate a number between 7 and 19. 3d13-9 means to
roll three 13-sided dice and subtract 9 to generate a number between
-6 and 30.
The Inventory
-------------
Every PC normally carries quite a number of items -- some of them
belong to the initial equipment, others are found during the
adventure.
All items worn or equipped are displayed upon pressing the 'i'
key. If you want to change your equipment (either by wearing an
additional item or by removing an item currently used) you simply need
to press the letter preceding the body part in question. If an item
was equipped, it will automatically be removed. If no item was used
you will automatically be shown a list with items which might be
useful on that body part.
Items normally have to be identified by some means to get more than
just some general information. Some items are identified by using
them (e.g. weapons and armor), others have to be identified by magical
means. When identified, every item might list a number of values
which further describe the powers of the item.
Armor must be worn to have any effect. Weapons must be wielded to
have any effect. Rings, bracers, and necklaces must be worn to be useful.
Items are generally rated as uncursed, cursed or blessed. Cursed
items cannot be removed when worn and mostly do not function with full
effect. They also are susceptible to damage more often. Blessed
items are of very high quality and might exert some additional powers.
They are more difficult to damage. Uncursed items represent average
items.
Items also might be broken or rusty. There might be means available
to repair or improve such items... try to find out about this for
yourself.
In the following section, items are listed by category with all
possible modifiers. The following abbreviations are used to describe
the modifiers:
CHA - Number of charges remaining
DAM - Damage dice (given in the dice notation explained above)
DVM - DV modifier
MDM - Missile damage modifier
MEM - Melee attack modifier
MIM - Missile attack modifier
PVM - PV modifier
ATM - Modifier to a specific attribute
The following item descriptions are available. First the item type is
listed, then the possible modifiers follow. Not all modifiers always
appear, this depends on the specific item. The kind of visible
modifiers can be determined by the type of brackets surrounding them:
<bracers> [DVM, PVM]
<shield> (MEM) [DVM, PVM]
<armor> (MEM, MIM) [DVM, PVM]
<gauntlets> (MEM, MIM) [DVM, PVM]
<cloak> (MEM, MIM) [DVM, PVM]
<girdle> (MEM, MIM) [DVM, PVM]
<helmet> (MEM, MIM) [DVM, PVM]
<boots> (MEM, MIM) [DVM, PVM]
<wand> (CHA)
<melee weapon> (MEM, DAM) [DVM, PVM]
<missile weapon> (MIM, MDM) [DVM, PVM]
<missile> (MIM, DAM)
Any item (in theory) can be followed by {ATM}, which means that the
item in question grants the specified bonus to the mentioned
attribute. Any weapon can be followed by (p), which means that the
item is poisoned.
Finally, the number of charges for wands will only be visible if you
zapped that specific wand successfully or identified that specific
wand. In other words: if you identify 'tin wands' as 'wands of magic
missiles', you still won't know the number of charges of a newly found
'wand of magic missiles' (although it will be correctly identified in
all other respects).
Filtering the Stuff List
------------------------
Beside those items you carry directly on your body (which can be
viewed by pressing 'i'), you also have a backpack which might contain
large numbers of items (directly viewable by pressing 'I'). At times
you need to retrieve an item from that backpack and this can be a very
tiring process if you are carrying a large number of items.
Therefore ADOM contains a mechanism to filter the list of items in the
backpack, so that only certain item types are displayed and it's
easier to find the item you are looking for.
Whenever it is possible to apply a filter to the items in your
backpack, the last line of the screen will display the current filter
and the possible commands to select a certain item type. In all cases
(except for '#' -- which stands for all items), you can select a
certain category of items by pressing the symbol which usually
represents those items. The following keys are used to filter the
items in the backpack:
[ all wearable items
& all amulets and tools
, all bracers (this is an exception to the 'image rule' since some
systems wait for a second key to be pressed after the '~' used for
bracers and this would make this feature somewhat tiresome to use).
( all melee weapons
} all missile weapons
/ all missiles
{ all musical instruments
= all rings
\ all wands
! all potions
? all scrolls
" all books
% all food
$ gold
* all gems
Beasts of Burden
----------------
While many players seem to enjoy carrying around heaps of stuff, this
is not really recommended. If your PC carries a lot of stuff, he'll
get hungrier soon. This in turn means that you probably will have to
carry more food, which can get damaged and further burdens you. ADOM
uses several burden levels (from burdened over strained to very
strained and overburdened) to mirror this fact. Each burden level
comes with a growing need for food. Take care!
Shops
-----
On certain levels of the dungeon, adventurous merchants have opened
their shops to provide supplies for the various bold adventurers
exploring the dungeons. The risky environment is made up for by the
huge gains possible by selling rare (and even magical!) items to heroes
venturing down the dungeons. Since most of them are carrying large
amounts of gold, the trade seems to be going very well. Needless to
say that only daring and powerful merchants are willing to undertake
the risks of opening shops deep in the dungeons.
If you enter a shop, you will be expected to look around, barter and
buy stuff. You can leave without buying or selling anything, but
remember that at times shops might contain important or powerful
items.
To buy something in a shop, you have to pick it up first. The
shopkeeper then will block the exit (there seem to be so many thieves
around nowadays) and wait for you to pay (which is done by using the
'p' command). If you do not have enough money, you probably will have
to leave the item(s) behind.
You can also sell items in a shop to raise more funds. Not every
shop will buy everything as most of them are rather specialized
(e.g. on potions or scrolls). If you want to sell something, just
drop that item. The shopkeeper will immediately tell you how much he
is willing to pay and then you can decide whether or not to accept the
offer.
Wishing
-------
In ADOM you might encounter magical wishes. Wishes are a powerful
form of magic which allows a variety of effects.
ADOM supports two types of wishes. You can wish for abstract things
and concepts like friends, money, wealth, strength, health, and other
things.
You can also wish for items. Such wishes can be very useful, since
ADOM features many powerful and rare items. If you do not want to
wait for a certain item, just wish for it as soon as you receive a
free wish. Since wishes are powerful but not very precise magic, you
can only wish for very general items. For example, it's not possible
to wish for 6 blessed long swords (+6, 1d8+6), but you would rather
have to wish for long swords or mithril plate mails. If your wish is
not formulated precisely you might get something other than what you
are expecting -- so be careful!
Saving the Game
---------------
To save a game in progress you just have to press the 'S' key and
answer the following question with a 'y'. The game will be saved and
you can restore it later to continue your game. You should make sure
that you have enough free space on your disc before saving the game
as ADOM will otherwise crash. You need about 30000 bytes plus 12000
bytes per level that you have explored. Levels with lots of monsters
or items need more space. Generally three free megabytes should be
enough for any one game (no matter how deep you venture).
Note that the game will quit upon saving. Note also that
your save file will be deleted if your character dies. This is a
special feature of all roeguelike games. You are expected to win
without ever dying.
To restore a saved game, just start ADOM and type 'r' on the option
screen. If you choose that option a tiny menu will display the
available games to be restored (if there are any). Please note that
this menu only displays a maximum of 20 saved games (without telling
you that there might be additional saved games). This should be
sufficient for most purposes. Depending on your screen resolution
even less games might be shown (e.g. 16 under DOS).
How To Start -- A Beginner's Guide
----------------------------------
ADOM is not a simple game -- at least if you are really trying to win
and don't just play to have fun and pass some time. ADOM is also very
different from other roguelike games like Nethack, Angband and Rogue
in that it offers a lot more detail and uses a different approach in
certain respects. The following advice might be helpful for both the
hardened veterans of other roguelike games and beginners of ADOM:
* Try to talk to people. The 'C'hat command is an absolute necessity
to get anywhere in the game. At times it even pays to talk to
so-called monsters.
* Take care about your satiation. Finding enough food to survive is
important in ADOM. Once you learn the tricks you'll have no
problems to cope with this, but in the beginning this might be a bit
difficult. Make sure that you don't carry too much. Being burdened
(or even strained) means that you'll get hungry more often.
* Remember the 'T'actics command and also remember to run away. Doing
this in coward mode probably is a good alternative to dying in a
hopeless fight. Come back on a better day.
* Remember that it is possible to enter any wilderness area by using
the '>' command. If you feel the need to drink potions, zap wands
or whatever while traveling through the wilderness and ADOM won't
let you, enter a wilderness area first.
* Pleasing your gods by offering sacrifices is a wise thing to do. If
you are in dire straits and need help, they might listen to your
prayers.
* Know when to fight and when to run.
* If a dungeon seems to be impossibly difficult, maybe you should look
elsewhere first.
* There is a number of places and situations in ADOM which require
the careful use of tactics.
* Not every monster is meant to be defeated. It's possible to kill
everything but don't be surprised if some opponents put up a _very_
tough fight.
* Make sure that you have at least read the introduction in this
manual so that you understand what the game is all about.
* During the game, you should refer as often as necessary to the online
keyboard map ('?'-'K') and this manual ('?'-'M').
Appendix A: Credits
-------------------
This section has grow quite a bit over time. I doubt that one person
would be able to devise such a fun and complex game like ADOM (if you
believe the folks out there) in his own. This is especially true for
ADOM, which - over the years - has been shaped by the input of
literally thousands of people. Below you will find - in no particular
order - those folks, whom I still remember for their
contributions. Sorry to the many others I forgot to mention - your
inspirations will live onward through ADOM nonetheless.
Many people were involved in the creation of the initial version of
ADOM so long ago. At this point I'd like to thank my great testers,
who sacrificed their precious time to test the work of a madman.
Thanks (in alphabetical order) for their efforts in testing pretty
buggy alpha software and enduring endless program crashes go to:
* Thomas "Where are the keys to those doors?" Dembach
* Kilian "Do this... and that... and that... and that..." Guenther
* Tim "Lord Gek" Jordan
* Stefan "Infocom Man" Jokisch
* Nicole "Rabid Dog" Lubinski
* Michael "Wow... I can eat corpses?!?" Niewoehner
* Jens "I generally don't like games" Spitczok v. Brinski
* Jochen "That's not the fault of my Amiga!" Terstiege
* Andreas "Where's the 'fclose'?" Willenbrink
Miscellaneous credits (for inspiration, ideas, more testing and
similar contributions) go to:
* Boudewijn Wayers, for providing some space on his FTP site for this
game and for creating the first ADOM WWW page.
* Cenk Ergan, for providing the new official ADOM FTP site and for
providing web space (I yet have to use :-} ).
* Dan Shiovitz, for doing all the work necessary to create the newsgroup
rec.games.roguelike.adom.
* Richard Fowler, for maintaining the FAQ for ADOM. Direct all questions to
thinker@texas.net.
* Erwin Mascardo, for being the first FAQ maintainer.
* Sandra Whiting, for being a wonderful proofreader for the manual and for
creating a Winword-based manual.
* R. Dittmer, for creating another Winword-based manual (and he was the first
one to do so).
* Thomas Friedetzky, for creating a TeX-based manual for ADOM.
* Daniel Quaroni (goat@pelican.cit.cornell.edu), for maintaining the
spoiler files for ADOM.
* Jason Konrad MacEachern, for being one of the first two spoiler file
maintainers and helping to get them started.
* Erwin Andreasen, for providing a termcap entry for Linux, which seems to
solve the color problems many people seem to have.
* Jochen Terstiege, for his tireless efforts and support while porting
ADOM to the Amiga, while debugging Windows 95 to make it work with
ADOM and for his endless zeal in searching for bugs.
* Simone Heidenfelder, for her help in creating the star signs for ADOM.
* Evan Gibson, for providing a launcher interface to ADOM for OS/2.
* Jonathan Santaana, for proofreading many of the text files.
* Eric Bazin, Matt Chatterley, Aaron Dutton, R. Dittmer, Frank
Duphorn, Bridget Farace, Evan Gibson, Jeff Goodson, Adam Horowitz,
Ken Iwasa, Tim Jordan, Nicholas Kenyon, John Lame, Perttu Laurila,
Cameron Lay, Philipp Lucas, Derek Ludwig, Joshua Malmquist, Erwin
Mascardo, Jonathan Santaana, Don Stauffer, Greg Wheatley, Gerry Kevin
Wilson and Krey Younger for providing (some really great) suggestions.
* Raymond Martineau, for being the most persistent and innovative
bug reporter I ever had to suffer from (boy, you wouldn't believe the
bugs he managed and manages to find in ADOM -- I usually don't
;-). And for being a constant source of great - and weird - ideas.
* Michael Allchin for being the first one to send a postcard (see
the introduction in this manual or section E of the general readme
file for more information about this topic).
* Mike Sands from New Zealand, for sending the most original postcard I
have received up to now (although Richard Fowler is a close second).
* Jurriaan Kalkman, for being the first to provide some great songs for
the Mad Minstrel.
* Evan Gibson and Jeff Goodson, for providing additional songs for the
Mad Minstrel.
* Dave Decot (for a certain scroll -- wherever you are, contact me)
* Many thanks to Greg Wooledge, Bill Hodgeman, Christian
Schlittchen, David G. Kahane and Olaf Weber for doing some low-level
debugging in 099g7 to find the cause for an annoying crash.
* Thanks to Boris Blazevic for giving me the decisive hint for fixing one
of the most annoying bugs ever.
* Thanks to the "Epsilon"-Testers of ADOM 0.9.9 Gamma 9 (Richard
Fowler, Stefanie Woll, Barry Kearns, Chris Ingersoll) without whom
that version would have been delayed even more.
* Special thanks to the "Epsilon"-Testers of ADOM 0.9.9 Gamma 10 who
put up with five prerelease versions and helped to ensure that Gamma
10 will be a hallmark of stability for versions to come -- you did
great work (in no particular order): Lana Bowman, Katie E. Sehorn,
Andy Williams, Richard Fowler, Stefanie Woll, Barry Kearns, Christian
Caesar, Derek Ludwig, Greg Wooledge, Joseph W. DeVincentis, Martin
Gelter, Raymond Martineau and William Tanksley.
* Very special thanks to the prerelease testers of ADOM 1.0.0 who made
sure that I finally got it finished and provided very helpful input
while suffering through a number of prereleases (in no paticular
order): Markku Rikola, Olli "Shader" Juhala, Stephen Mackey, Adrian
Bancilhon, Andy Williams, John Rowat, Julian Day, Paul G. Nimmo,
Teemu Kokki, Olivier Benard, Aaron Dutton, Raymond Martineau, Joni
Toivanen and Conrad Brekke. A few names are missing and will be
added ones the respective persons (you know who you are) get around
to send me their full data. Folks, you are missing out on something!
* Special thanks to Martin Gelter for providing the decisive hint required
to find the nasty color bug in ADOM 0.9.9g9 and g10.
* Thanks to Dravid Brady for a very interesting discussion about cheat
protection features.
* Thanks to Mike Anderson for some ideas on maze generation.
* Thanks to the late Robert E. Howard for a great poem about a (the?)
Mad Minstrel, which was added to ADOM 1.1.0 at the suggestion of
Benjamin Keller.
Credits for the monster memory
------------------------------
First of all, I have to thank all folks who pushed me again and again
to add this feature. You were all right... it adds so much to the
game that it was really worth it.
Then there were many who provided descriptions for monsters or refined
existing monsters -- thanks to all of you since you have really helped
to make ADOM a much better game:
Josef Addleman, Ryan Allan, Laurence R. Brothers, Matt Chatterley,
John M. Cho, Torsten Edelmann, John Thomas Flanagan, Florian Gerich,
Chris Ingersoll, Stefan Jokisch, Chris D. Koeberle, David Loewenstern,
Dwight McDowell, John Michaud, Tom Nowacki, Adam K. Rixey, Tom
Sanders, Katie Sehorn, Ashe Stickney, William Tanksley, Adam Taylor,
Aaron P. Teske, Kevin Wilson, Greg Wooledge, Peng Zhou
Special thanks in this respect go to Richard Fowler and Stefanie Woll
for doing so many monster descriptions that I'm still marvelling at
their enthusiasm and perseverance. Richard in particular wrote up
more descriptions than anybody else without ever complaining --
without his extreme perseverance and talent, ADOM 0.9.9 Gamma 7
probably would have taken a lot longer to complete than it took in any
case.
Another slew of special thanks go to Ronald Neumann, who provided me
with 264 (!) wonderful monster descriptions for ADOM 0.9.9 Gamma 13,
which were used to replace a few of the older ones and add variants to
many descriptions.
Credits for providing additional question blocks for attribute determination:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marek Baczynski, Tim Daniell, Tyler Davis, Julian Day, Bruce
Greenwood, Juuso Heimonen, Greg Howard, Olli Juhala, Jurriaan Kalkman,
Yves Lorat, Jonatan Semenoff, Fiera Smith (Katie Simpson, sorry, had
to do it ;-), Juha Suvanto
Credits for additions to the source code go to:
-----------------------------------------------
* William Tanksley, for providing a new random number generator for ADOM
with lots of possibilities and for many helpful comments about improving
the source code in general.
* Raymond Martineau for patching the DOS version of PD Curses to
remove an annoying bug related to pressing keys quickly and getting
stuff displayed on time.
* Ross Morgan-Linial for suggesting to use run length encoding for
save files in times long gone by - when the game really needed it.
Credits for various minor tidbits of ideas go to:
-------------------------------------------------
Jon Abbott, Shawn Adams, Atte Aholainen, Ryan Allen, Anders Andersson,
Brian Angeletti, Julian Arnold, Ola Augun, Ben Bagley, Charlie Ball,
Ian Barkley-Yeung, Jason Barnes, Petr Bartos, Thomas Beaumont, Florian
Beck, Ian Michael Bell, Holger Bettag, Adam Biltcliffe, Jakob
D. Bindslet, Tobias D. Bindslet, Robert Blair, Sam Blanning, Erik
Bock, Erik Inge Bols�, Douglas Bonar, Mike Bowen, Lana Bowman, David
Brady, Tristan Brightman, Jackson Bross, Laurence R. Brothers, Liam
Bryan, Harald B�sching, Jeff Butler, Paul Byrne, Massimo Campostrini,
Christian Caesar, Bennett V. Campbell, Brian R. Carl, Dave Carr,
Matthew Carson, J. B. Cattley, Melvin Curran, Nikolaus Davidson,
Zachary Sundance Davies, Julian Day, Gregory Dean Dearing, Robert
DeLoura, Paul Derbyshire, Alexander Deubelbeiss, Simon Devet,
Alexander Dressler, Alexander Deubelbeiss, Noah Dowd, Leen
Droogendijk, Nick Duffek, Martha Dumas, Kieron Dunbar, Aaron Dutton,
Torsten Edelmann, Martin Fanta, Robert Fermier, Mike Ferry, John
Thomas Flanagan, John Fouhy, Richard Fowler, Lucas French, Martin
Gelter, Florian Gerich, Daniel Giaimo, Jeff Goodson, Morris Greenberg,
Nicole Hall, Sami Hangaslammi, Richard Harang, Jori Heiskanen, Chris
Herborth, Tuomas Hietala, Eben Howard, Mark Humphreys, Eugene Hung,
Robert Hutchins, Ville Huuskonen, Chris Ingersoll, Christopher Jeris,
Robert Johnston, Charles Allen Jones, Olli Juhala, Jurriaan Kalkman,
Joel Kamentz, Jonathan Katz, Dan Kaufman, Barry Kearns, Chris Keiner,
Benjamin Keller, Richard Kenan, Janne Keskinarkaus, Eino Keskitalo,
Kai Kinnunen, Sami Kivela, Teemu Kokki, Antti Kokkonen, Edward Kolis,
Bojan Kopitar, Karl A. Krueger, Tero Laiho, Jeff Lait, Timo Laitila,
Luc Lam, Viljami Lappalainen, Nicholas Lawson, Tommi Leino,
Pierre-Emmanuel Leonard, Tommi Lind, Timo Lindfors, Bj�rn Loesing,
Daniel Lundberg, Sami Luoma-Pukkila, Mark D. Mackey, Kevin Magee,
Magnus Malm, Joshua Malmquist, Aziz Manva, Dan Martin, Raymond
Martineau, Paul Marshall, Joe McCauley, Michael Meadows, Russ
Melanson, Justen Meltz, Ed Morris, Paul L. Mosquin, Lee Morgan, Al
Morgan, Ross Morgan-Linial, Juergen Neitzel, Ronald Neumann, Michael
Niedecken, Tom Nowacki, Uriah Otting, Dirk Jan Out, Kyle Elisabeth
Overstreet, Brian J. Parker, Mikko Parviainen, P�ivi Pasi, Lauri
Pekkarinen, Nick Pelis, Kent Peterson, George Petryk, Thomas Pittman,
Brian M. Pope, Darren Purdy, Dustin Ragan, Tommi Raina, Ted Rallis,
Anand Ramakrishnan, Martin Read, Markku Rikola, Ian Roberts, Will
Rogers, Dmitriy Rogozhnikov, Daniel Roth, John Rowat, Daniel Rutter,
Osku Salerma, Jussi Salomaki, Igor Savin, Zach Schaible, Andrew
Schoonmaker, Edward Schwank, Katie E. Sehorn, Linus Sellberg, Richard
Sheaves-Bein, Mark Shipton, Piotr Sieklucki, Petri Sihvola, Jan
Silander, Aaron B. Simpson, Andrew Skalski, Ole Martin Skar�s, Joe
Slater, Dennis Smith, Christian Sommerer, Frank Thomas Sronce Jr.,
Nicholas Stallard, Walt Stoneburner, Brian Stricklin, Kjetil
Svendsberget, Casey Tan, Adam Taylor, Chuan-Tze Teo, Will Thompson,
Ijon Tichy, Gwenael Tranvouez, Erno Tuomainen, Uoti A. Urpala, Andrew
Vance, Kimme Varrio, Simon de Vet, Naumov Vladislav, Ryan Vurlicer,
Tim Wadsworth, Eva Walterson, Markus Warg, Olaf Weber, Mason Wheeler,
Steven A. White, Alexander Wilkins, Andy Williams, Dan Williams,
Stefanie Woll, Johann Wolovich, Martin Woodard, Greg Wooledge, Leszek
Wronski, Scott Yost, Lev Zakrevski, Vadim Zeitlin and Peng Zhou
Credits for bug reports go to:
------------------------------
Matti Aalto, Are Gunnar Aar�, Travis Acton, David L. Adam, Josef
Addleman, Adina Adler, Fernando Espinosa Aguilar, Steven Aitkin, Ben
Allen, Jason Allen, Mats Andtbacka, Erwin Andreasen, Brian Angeletti,
Craig Arnold, Julian Arnold, Antti Arola, Erik Aronesty, Sergey
Arseniev, Alex G. Arzamastsev, Jon �slund, David Assaf, Robert Au, Ola
Augun, Victor R. Austin, Penny Baker, Mike Bandsmer, Scott Barcik, Ian
Barkley-Yeung, Jason Barnes, Aurore Baron, Fabien Baron, Eric Bazin,
Tom Beaumont, Richard Beigel, Charles Bell, Chip Bell, Victor Bell,
Richard Benjamin, Olivier Benard, Timo Berthold, Brian Bibeault,
L. Biegaj, Adam Biltcliffe, Neil Blaber, Dan Blandford, Sam Blanning,
Eric Bleich, Eric Bock, Erik Inge Bolsoe, Lana Bowman, Konstantin
Boyandin, Tigh Bradley, Michael Brassell, Gareth Brisbane, Adam Paul
Bronson, Jackson Bross, Laurence R. Brothers, Larry Brown, Owen Brown,
Baldur Brueckner, Liam Bryan, Harald Buesching, Pavel Bulanov, Fritz
Burnell, Barry Burns, Gareth Bushill, Peter Bystrov, Christian Caesar,
Greg Cambridge, Massimo Campostrini, Abilio Carvalho, J.B Cattley,
Bobby Chan, Paul Chapman, Kok-Leong Chin, Leslie Choong, Will Chose,
Scott A. Christensen, Bruce Coe, Scott Cohan, Mathias Cohen, Rick
Cooley, Kipling Cooper, Gian Paolo Costantino, DeWitt Clinton, Greg
Cooksey, Orlando de la Cruz, Marek Ctrnact, Frits Daalmans, Zachary
Sundance Davies, Jeff L. Davis, Adam Dawes, Warrick Dawes, Greg Day,
Julian Day, Daniel Josef Dekok, Jeff Derenne, Steven desJardins,
Alexander Deubelbeiss, Simon Devet, Joseph W. DeVincentis, Graeme
Dice, Kristin Dill, Tomas Dill, Dominic DiPalantino, David Dobbs,
Ondrej Dobias, Antonio Dolcetta, Leen Droogendijk, Gerry Drouing,
Michel Dubois, Nick Duffek, Kieron Dunbar, Conrad Dunkerson, Chris
Dunthorne, Frank Duphorn, Krid Dusitsin, Aaron Dutton, Grant Dvorak,
Peter Ebbeson, Torsten Edelmann, Michael F. Ehlers, Erno Ekebom, Jacob
Eliason, Tony Elmroth, Keith Ellul, Ben Esacove, Diego Essaya, Chris
Evans, Georgy Evseev, Martin Fanta, Bridget Farace, Robert Farnik, Yee
Foo Fatt, Michael C. Ferguson, Robert Fermier, Mike Ferry, Piotr
Figiel, Timothy K. Firman, Paul Firth, Dean Fitzgerald, John Flanagan,
Steve Flynn, Johan Forsberg, John Fouhy, Richard Fowler, Eric Fuller,
Lewis Futrell, Ben Thomas Galehouse, Alan Gallauresi, Jamie Gannon,
Ashley Garrett, William Gauvin, Manuel Gebauer, Martin Gelter, David
Gerber, Svante Gerhard, Daniel Giaimo, Evan Gibson, Robert E. Gibson,
Christopher J. Gibson, Jesse Gillis, Joe Giroux, Jens Gislev, Patrick
Goguen, Jeff Goodson, Richard Graham, Bryce Greathouse, Jonathan
Michael Greenberg, Morris Greenberg, Bruce Alan Greenwood, Jason
C. Griego, Joe Groszkiewicz, Matthew Grove, Rafal Grymuza, Richard
J. Haag, Jesse Christopher Hadden, Tuomo H�m�l�inen, Walter Hafner,
Jason Haley, David Hall, Sami Hangaslammi, Tom Hanlin, Richard Harang,
John William Harris, Cody Hatch, Sascha Hatzl, Dag Trygve Truslew
Haug, Joseph R. Hauser, John Mark Hawley, Jarkko Heino, Harri
Heinisuo, Jukka M. Heiskanen, Malte Helmert, Teemu Helppi, Philipp
Hendricks, Gottfried Herold, Iiro Hietala, Karl Hiller, Eric Hilsdale,
Patrick Hjelt, Jouni Hokkinen, Adam Horowitz, Paul Houghton, David
Howdon, Dennis Householder, Thomas Houser, Eugene Hung, Markku
Hunnakko, Jim Hunziker, Iris Hupkens, Robert Hutchins, Diane Hutton,
John Hutton, Ari Hyttinen, Eino Iivari Ii, Lauri Ilvas, Chris
Ingersoll, Rob Ingersoll, Eric Robert Jablow, Mario James, Johan
S. Janssen, Raf Janssens, Asbj�rn Jensen, Christopher Jeris, Josh
Jersild, Robert Johnston, Stefan Jokisch, Sheldon B. Jolson, Charles
Allen Jones, Tim Jordan, Nuutinen Juha, Olli Juhala, Jani K�rkk�inen,
David G. Kahane, Jurriaan Kalkman, Jaakko Kalliosalo, Martha
B. Kapouch, Karel Karlik, Mikko Karonen, Matti Karppanen, Howard Katz,
Evan Kaye, Robert Kazmierczak, Barry Kearns, Benjamin Keller,
T. J. Jankun-Kelly, Richard Kenan, Juha Ker�t�r, Janne Keskinarkaus,
Eino Keskitalo, Jens Kessler, Bartek Kijanka, Tuomas Kilpel�inen, Timo
Kiviluoto, Jani Kivisola, Panu Klemola, Chris D. Koeberle, Sampo
Koistinen, Edward Kolis, Risto Koljonen, Elmar Kolkman, Mikolaj
Konarski, Bojan Kopitar, Yuri Kopylovski, Peter Kosinar, Matt Kracht,
Juha Krapu, Tom Kronmiller, Karl A. Krueger, Jonathan A. Kullnat,
Miikka Kulmala, Antti Kuusela, Jussi Laakso, Scott Vander Laan, Paul
Labuda, Jan Lagerman, Juha-Pekka Laine, Jeff Lait, Timo Laitila, John
Lame, Jaakko L�ms�, Jukka A. Lang, Justin Larue, Christian Lassem,
Perttu Laurila, Ammon Lauritzen, Michael A. Laux, Nicholas Lawson,
Clark Lawton, Craig Lay, Christopher Lee, Ville Lehtinen, George
Leidolf, Tommi Leino, Ville Leminen, Tony Leneis, Jerry C. Lin, Terry
C. Lin, Stephen Lin, Tommi Lind, George C. Lindauer, Ilkka Lindblom,
Oskar Linde, Emilia Linden, Miika Linden, Tuomas Lintunen, Tomasz
Lisowski, David Lodge, David Loewenstern, Nicole Lubinski, Philipp
Lucas, Lapo Luchini, Derek Ludwig, Tomas Lundqvist, Mark Mackey,
Stephen Mackey, Matthew Maclean, Kevin Magee, Edvard Majakari, Timo
Majuri, Joshua Malmquist, Aziz Manva, Jens Markmann, Paul Marshall,
Dan Martin, Raymond Martineau, Erwin Mascardo, Chris Mathews, Paul
Matlock, Lisa Maynard, Robert N. M. McCrea, John McGrady, David
McGrath, Dave McKee, Chuck McKenzie, Shea McNamara, Michael Meadows,
Jason Melancon, Martin Meldrum, Justen Meltz, Mark Mercer, Teemu
Meril�inen, Aki J. Moilanen, Mikhail Moldavskiy, Jason Monson, Galen
Morgan Moore, Lee Morgan, Jacob Morzinski, Beth Moscato, Paul
L. Mosquin, Stanislav Muhametshin, Katy Mulvey, Jarmo Muurim"aki,
J. Murphy, Marko Musnjak, Jan Erik Mydland, Peter Nadeau, Juhan-A
Nakkalajarvi, Jefferson Ng, Yen Nguyen, Daniel Nielsen, Antti Niemela,
Yrjo Sakari Niemela, Markus Niemi, Michael Niewoehner, Toni Nikkanen,
Blair Nilsson, Ivar Nilsson, Tyler Novak, Keir Novik, Tom Nowacki,
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, Shawn Oakey, Georg Oberwinkler, Anders Olin, Eric
Olsen, Ronny On, Dale Ondeck, Gunnar Opsommer, Uriah Otting, Alexander
Ovchinnikov, Niilo Paasivirta, Boris Paleev, Rob Palkowski, Jori
Palom�ki, Lena Pammer, Brian J. Parker, Kris Parker, Tom Parker, Mikko
Parviainen, Paivi Pasi, Kenneth Paulson, Steven Pearson, Lauri
Pekkarinen, Nick Pelis, Michael Perelmutter, Eero Permi, Stefan
Perrson, Kent Peterson, Pekka Piispanen, Pasi Tapani Pirhonen, Antti
Pitk"am"aki, Thomas Pittman, Leon Planken, Anthony Polito, Joseph
Price, Colin Pritchard, Petr Prokop, Konstantin D. Prots, Sami
Luoma-Pukkila, Darren Purdy, Alexander Purikov, Serge Purikov, Joska
Pyykko, Julie Rak, Brian Ramos, Michael Rams, Jari Randelin, Jarkko
Rantavuori, Toni Rasanen, Risto Rautanen, Derek S. Ray, Martin Read,
Sam Reisner, Judd Reiffin, David Rekowski, Lari Rissanen, Yonatan Ivan
Rivera, Adam K. Rixey, David J. Robertson, Steve A. Robinson,
Jean-Philippe Rodriguez, Dmitriy Rogozhnikov, John Rowat, Gerald
W. Rutsch, Daniel Rutter, Rich Ryker, Jason Sabback, Zead Said, Osku
Salerma, Jussi Salom�ki, Paavo Salonen, Mika Salovaara, Steven Salter,
Tom Sanders, Mike Sands, Colin Sansam, Nate Sarbin, Igor Savin, Brian
Saul, Ben Sayer, Giuseppe Scarpi, Mark W. Schmelzenbach, Jonathan
Schmidt, Martin Schuster, Edward Schwank, Markus Schwarz, Michael
Searle, Zoe Seekins, Linus Sellberg, Jano Senko, David Shafer, Scott
Shaw, Richard Sheaves-Bein, Adam Sherron, Mickey Sheu, George
Shevchenko, Mark Shipton, Andrew Shkolnikov, Scott Shorter, Piotr
Sieklucki, Michal Sienkiewicz, Petri Siira, Kaarel Sikk, Simone
Silvestrini, Erlend Simonsen, Aaron B. Simpson, Pasi Siren, Andrew
Skalski, H�vard Sl�ttbr�ten, Benton G. Smith, Zach Smith, Dave
Slutzkin, Klaus Sommerer, David Soule, Frank Sronce, Toni Stauffer,
Benjamin Stein, Matthew Stephans, Peppe Stolpe, Dougy Stones, Dave
Storey, Brian Stricklin, Kenneth Strom, Konstantin Stupnik, Mika
Sutinen, Kjetil Svendsberget, Martin Svensson, Joni Syri, Bruno
Tabbia, Adam Taylor, Avier Taylor-Paul, Chuan-Tze Teo, Matthew
Terrington, Jochen Terstiege, Justin Thiessen, Mirko Thoele, Kyle
Thomason, Marcy Thompson, Will Thompson, Juha Tiensuu, Russ Todd, Joni
Toivanen, Olli Tiainen, Gordon Tran, Matthew Trevor, Mattia
Trivellone, Erik C. Troberg, Jurek Trzepla, Jani-Pekka Tuomaala, Erno
Tuomainen, Chris Underwood, Mark Underwood, Uoti A. Urpala, Otto
Urpelainen, Tuukka Urpi, Kimme Utsi, Toni Vaatainen, Olivier
Della-Valle, Andrew Vance, Jeff Vandenberg, Kimmo Varrio, Kassandra
Velez, Peter H. Verder, Felipe Villar, Oleg V. Volkov, Alexander
Volodkovich, Esa Ilari Vuokko, Ryan Vurlicer, Henning Wackernagel, Tim
Wadsworth, Ted Walker, David F. Wall, Michael Wallace, Rachel
Walmsley, Markus Warg, Pete Warren, Justin Webb, Olaf Weber, Peter
Weisberg, Nathan Weismuller, Alex Weldon, Mason Wheeler, David
Whitcombe, Steven White, Matt Whitfield, Sandra Whiting, Herb Whitney,
Aaron Williams, Andy Williams, Jason Willoughby, Andrew Wilson, Gerry
Kevin Wilson, Dan Winsor, Randy Wolgast, Martin Woodard, Greg
Wooledge, Rowan Worth, Stephan "W" Wrammerfors, Leszek Wronski, Ian
Barkley-Yeung, Yung-Beom Yoo, Scott Yost, Krey Younger, Russ Yuncker,
Rodrigo Saldana Zarate, Ben Zealley, Colin Zealley, Yoyo Zhou, Sergei
Zhukovsky, Arkady Zilberberg, Frank Zittlau and Varga Zoltan
Appendix B: Customizing ADOM
-----------------------------
It is possible to set certain default values for ADOM with the
standard configuration file. The name of the file and its location
depends on the system you are playing ADOM on. The system-related
readme file (readme.linux, readme.dos or readme.amiga) accompanying
this distribution will give you more details about this. The
configuration file can contain certain variables which control parts
of ADOM's behaviour. This file is a plain ASCII file.
Generally a line in the configuration file can start with or without a
'#'. If the line starts with a '#' it is considered to be a comment
and will be ignored. Otherwise ADOM expects to find something that
looks like this:
<variable> = <value>
For example a line might contain the following text:
Name = Big Bang
or
Recovery = 400
ADOM recognizes a certain number of variables which have a specific
meanings. Each variable must have a value of a certain type. Allowed
types are strings, numbers (only whole integers) and Boolean values
('true' and 'false'). Strings which contain whitespace must be
enclosed by ' (see above).
ADOM variables also can be set during the game with the ': =' command
which requires the user to enter a line in the format explained above.
Invalid variables will be highlighted in red color.
The following variables are currently recognized:
Allow_Default_Names
*******************
true, false: defaults to 'false' and allows you to determine whether
the default names provided by ADOM for you will be used or not if
you press ENTER when asked to input a name
Auto_Open_Doors
***************
true, false: will ask automatically whether you want to unlock a
locked door (if you have the appropriate key)
Auto_Lock_Doors
***************
true, false: ADOM will automatically ask you whether you'd like to
lock a door while closing it, if you have an appropriate key. By
default this variable is set to 'true'.
Auto_Lock_Nearest
*****************
true, false: if set to true, the targeting code (used for missile
weapons and a few spells) will automatically use the nearest monster
as the new target, if no monster was locked before.
Auto_Pickup
***********
string containing the symbols of items chosen from the following
categories, which are to be picked up whenever you move on a field
containing items of that type:
[ Armor, shields, cloaks, boots, girdles, gauntlets and helmets
* Gems
o Rocks
] Tools
' Necklaces
( Melee weapons
} Missile weapons
/ Missiles
= Rings
\ Wands
! Potions
? Scrolls
~ Bracers
% Food
$ Gold
{ Instruments
" Books
Auto_Select_Doors
*****************
true, false: if set to false, ADOM won't try to determine the appropriate
door in the vicinity of your PC when you try to open or close a door. The
default value is true.
Base_Delay_Factor
*****************
number: determines the number of hundreds of a second ADOM delays
actions (like two steps for a fireball, etc.). The default value is
10. To prevent input errors ADOM only accept values in the range
of 0 to 100.
Check_Item_In_Hand
******************
true, false: if set to 'true' you will be asked if you want to wield
an item other than a pick axe, a torch or a melee weapon
Class
*****
any of the available classes
Class_Mask
**********
string consisting of characters chosen from the following list:
a - Fighter
b - Paladin
c - Ranger
d - Thief
e - Assassin
f - Wizard
g - Priest
h - Bard
i - Monk
j - Healer
k - Weaponsmith
l - Archer
m - Merchant
n - Farmer
o - Mindcrafter
p - Barbarian
q - Druid
r - Necromancer
s - Elementalist
t - Beastfighter
If you choose to randomly select your class (with the 'F'ate option
during character creation) the classes in 'Class_Mask' won't be
selected. Thus you can cross out certain classes you do not like.
Colored_Menus
*************
true, false: if set to 'false' you won't have to endure the colored
menus (and yes, there probably will be configurable colors for the
menus at some point in the future although it's pretty low priority
for me).
Colored_PC
**********
true, false: if set to 'false' the player icon '@' will be displayed
in white -- otherwise the color is dependent on your class.
Compact_Kill_List
*****************
true, false: if set to 'true' the final kill list will be compacted by
printing more than just one killed monster type per line.
Display_Key_Code
****************
true, false: if set to 'true' you will see the keys you pressed during
a multi-key command
Fast_Missile_Readying
*********************
true, false: will prompt you whether you want to add a (heap of)
missiles to your missile slot when the missile slot is empty
Fast_More
*********
true, false: if set to 'true' any key will be accepted when the
'(more)' prompt is displayed. Setting this variable to 'true' is
equivalent to pressing 'C-k' once at the start of the game.
Fated_Gender
************
true, false: if set to true, ADOM will select the gender for your character
Item_Status_Color
*****************
One of the following constants:
blue
green
cyan
red
magenta
brown
light gray
dark gray
light blue
light green
light cyan
light red
light magenta
yellow
white
This definition determines the color of inventory entries that have been
succesfully identified. The traditional setting is 'light gray'.
Low_Hitpoint_Warning
********************
true, false: if set to true ADOM will beep (or flash the screen if
beeping is impossible but flashing is possible on your system) if the
hitpoints of your character fall below 20% (or 15 -- whichever is
lower).
Message_Buffer_Size
*******************
A number, which describes the size of the message buffer in lines. The
value is required to be between 50 and 10000.
Metric_Measuring
****************
true, false; if set to true, your height and weight will be printed
according to metric measuring
Name
****
the default name for your PC
Nice_Stuff
**********
true, false: if set to true the stuff list will display cursed items in
red and blessed items in green.
No_Book_Spellcasting
********************
true, false: If set to true you no longer will be prompted about
whether to learn a spell from a book or cast it from the book.
Persistence
***********
a numeric value; determines the number of steps that will pass when
you use the 'walk mode' to search in one place (see -> Continuous
search via 'w s'); the default value is 20
Questioned_Attributes
**********************
true, false: determines whether the player will be allowed to determine
the PC attributes by answering questions. The default value is 'true'.
Quitters_Allowed
****************
true, false: if set to 'true' all games in which you quit will also be
recorded in the highscore
Race
****
any of the allowed races -- don't forget the ' for races like High Elf
Race_Mask
*********
a string consisting of one or more of the following characters:
a - Human
b - Troll
c - High Elf
d - Gray Elf
e - Dark Elf
f - Dwarf
g - Gnome
h - Hurthling
i - Orc
j - Drakeling
If you choose to randomly select your race (with the 'F'ate option
during character creation) the races in 'Race_Mask' won't be
selected. Thus you can cross out certain races you do not like.
Random_PC
*********
true, false; determines whether a randomly rolled character will be
used each time you start ADOM
Recovery
********
a numeric value; determines the number of steps that will pass when
you use the 'walk mode' to wait in one place; the default value is 50
Reload_Missiles
***************
true, false: if set to true, ADOM will query you, whether you want to
equip another missile once you run out of ammunition.
Reverse_Message_Order
*********************
true, false: determines the order in which the messages are displayed
in the message buffer; true means that the latest messages will be
displayed at the bottom, false means that the latest messages will be
displayed at the top; 'true' is the default value
Sex
***
male, female
Short_Log_Format
****************
string: the string is used by ADOM to create a log file. The string
contains one character for each set of information to be included in
the log file. The following options can be used:
a: Achievements (attribute changes, ...)
b: Background of the PC
c: Spells
d: PC data (attributes, ...)
e: Effects of corruption
i: Items in the inventory
k: Kill list of the PC
l: Skills
m: Items in the backpack
s: Screenshot
w: Weapon skills
The default is: "dbim".
Show_Experience
***************
true, false: if set to 'true' ADOM will display all experience points the
PC gains
Sorted_Skills
*************
true, false: if set to 'true' the skill list will be ordered
alphabetically
Starvation_Warning
******************
true, false: if set to 'true', ADOM will beep if you are in danger of
starving.
Uncursed_String
***************
string: some people don't seem to like the word 'uncursed' ADOM uses
to describe an item that is neither cursed nor blessed. You can
define an alternative by using this environment variable. Be careful
about what you do since ADOM does not check your definition and using
'cursed' or 'blessed' is possible, too. Moral: he who confuses
himself gets what he deserves.
Verbose_Level_Messages
**********************
true, false: defaults to 'false'; if set to 'true', level messages
will be displayed whenever you enter a special level, otherwise only
on the first time
Verbose_Log_Format
******************
string: This string has the same format as 'Short_Log_Format'. ADOM
internally does not care about the format of the two strings (and
which one is longer). The intention of these two environment
variables simply is to allow the user to have two different means of
creating a logfile. The default is: "sdbwcleimka".
Walk_Carefully
**************
true, false: if set to 'true' ADOM will abort from Walk-Mode as soon
as you spot a non-tame monster.
Zap_Wands_In_Hand
*****************
true, false: if set to 'true' ADOM will ask whether to zap wands
currently equipped in the left or right hand. Otherwise such equipped
wands will be ignored.
If you initially do not have a configuration file, ADOM will create
one for you.
APPENDIX C: Command Line Options
--------------------------------
ADOM can be supplied with some command line options to make it do
certain things. Up to now the following command line options are
supported:
-b: display the license for the game binary
-c <file>: forces ADOM to use <file> as configuration file
-d: display the directories being used
-D: display meta-game data
-h: display the available command line options
--help: display this help text
-k: use the standard keymap
-l <name>: load the saved game <name>
-m: use monochrome display
-n: forbids ADOM to use any configuration file
-o: prints the used compiler options
-r: create keymap reference file 'keyref.kbd'
-s: displays the complete highscore
-S: dump complete highscore to 'hiscore.doc'
-t<maxnum>: save RNG test in 'rngtest.txt'
-T<maxnum>: save RNG series test in 'rngstest.txt'
-v: display the current version of ADOM.
The syntax for calling ADOM with options is:
adom [-b] [-c <file>] [-d] [-D] [-h] [--help] [-k] [-l <name>] [-m]
[-n] [-o] [-r] [-s] [-S][-t<maxnum>] [-T<maxnum>] [-v]
Important note: If you have changed the default keymap, but would like
to have a reference file of the original bindings, you need to call
ADOM like this:
adom -k -r
(It's important that the '-k' is set before the '-r'!)
APPENDIX D: Customizing the Keymap
----------------------------------
ADOM allows you to customize the keybindings used during the game for
invoking commands to a certain extent. When ADOM is started it
searches for a file called 'adom.kbd' (or '.adom.kbd' on Linux
systems) in your data directory (call 'adom -d' to determine your data
directory). This file contains a description of its syntax, which
should answer all questions. Customizing a keymap to a very specific
system requires quite some work on your side if you want to use
special keys and such stuff (you will need to know the ASCII codes
your system generates when a special key is pressed).
Note that customization is possible only to a certain extent.
If you would like to have a printed reference of your own keymap
bindings at hand, you can enter
adom -r
at your command prompt. This will make ADOM to create a file called
'keyref.kbd', which contains the current bindings and can be printed
on any line printer. Check it for the details about how to define new
key bindings.
