BLACK DRAGON INTRODUCTION BLACK DRAGON, one of CompuServe's online games, is played in a ten-level labyrinth/dungeon with each level being a 15 x 15 grid. The object of the game is to build up a character capable of surviving all ten levels in order to ultimately confront and defeat Asmodeus who dwells on Level 10. (The direct access address for BLACK DRAGON is GO GAM-590.) When you first start the game, you'll be asked to enter a saved character's name or to press the key to create a new character. When you create a new character, the game randomly rolls three 6-sided dice for six attri- butes: Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, Wisdom, Intelligence, and Hit Points. If you roll low stats, answer "N" to roll a new set of stats. Try to create a character with at least 16 HPs (Hit Points) and a STR (Strength) of at least 14. After you've created a satisfactory character, give it a name, and you're ready to start. As the game progresses, your stats will be increased by potions, books, and EPs (Experience Points). Note, too, that these stats can just as easily be decreased by potions and books. Books are purely random as to their benefits or detriments; however, potions can be examined to determine whether or not they are good. Prudence and caution are advised for reading books; when in doubt, DON'T DO IT! Also, never assume that books purchased from vendors are safe; they almost never are. To help you locate stairways and pits, I've numbered the grids, from left to right and top to bottom, 1 through 15. Therefore, the upper left-hand corner of each level in the labyrinth is 1-1; the lower right-hand corner is 15-15. The first number given in a coordinate will always be the column; the second number will always be the row. STRATEGIES FOR SURVIVING LONGER THAN A FEW MINUTES On your first ventures into the labyrinth, never stray far from the upstairs (12-8). When you leave the labyrinth, your HPs and spells are automatically restored to their top levels; they're also restored to full when you do a SAVE within the labyrinth. After battles or encounters with exploding chests, HEAL to restore some (or all) of your HPs. (Each HEAL uses one cleric spell.) Experience earned during fights and gold (and gems) taken out of the labyrinth all go toward gaining you your next experience level. Gold found and spells purchased from the vendor cannot be taken out of the labyrinth; however, magic items and arrows found in chests, and stat increases acquired from the usage of potions and books remain intact. The labyrinth is reset each time you exit, and monsters and items are replen- ished in random positions. Always explore as much as you can (especially if you were lucky enough to have purchased or found a potion of Treasure Finding) before exiting to gain experience levels faster. When you start gaining levels and finding magic items, it's a good idea to save your character file. If you're in the labyrinth, type SAVE. This will save your current location in the labyrinth and end the game. The next time you play, you'll start in the labyrinth where you stopped. If you're outside the labyrinth, type QUIT to save your game. When you play again, you'll start outside the labyrinth. CAUTION: Typing QUIT while inside the labyrinth does NOT save your game! There is a special area on CompuServe where files you've created are saved. To get to this area, type GO FILES. Here, you'll find a menu of commands you can perform on your files. Select item #7 (COPY a file). When you're asked for the file name, type DRAGON.DAT (this is the file containing your saved BLACK DRAGON character file). Next, you'll be asked for the destination file. Call this file whatever you want, but be sure you use a file extension of .DAT (I called my destination file WIZZY.DAT). Doing this little housekeeping chore insures that your character will keep progressing. Should you die (and you will!), GO FILES, select item #7, and this time use the file name you copied your DRAGON.DAT file to previously, and call the destination file DRAGON.DAT. This restores your character file to where it was when you last saved the game. To summarize: SAVING THE GAME --------------- File Name: DRAGON.DAT Destination File: NAME.DAT RESTORING THE GAME ------------------ File Name: NAME.DAT Destination File: DRAGON.DAT Continue to explore the labyrinth close to the exit until you have gained a level of experience. When you've gained two or three levels, venture a bit farther away from the exit until you can win all your battles with little or no HP loss. Remember to save often! Soon, Level 1 will seem so boring, you'll be ready to tackle Level 2. MOVING AROUND IN THE LABYRINTH Travel is accomplished by typing N, S, E, or W to indicate a compass direction. When you come to a stairway, you'll be told which direction it goes and asked if you want to use it. Answer "Y" to use the stairway or "N" to bypass it. An accurate map is a MUST in this game. If mapping's not to your liking, there is a complete set of maps available in the Gamers' Forum's LIBrary 9 (Computer RPGs) under the file name BLKDRG.MAP. Download the file, print it out, and keep it handy for your explorations. Every now and then, you'll find a room in the labyrinth which is completely enclosed (e.g., no visible means of entry). Use the PASS magic spell to pass through the wall. If you've bought (or found) a potion of ASTRAL FORM, this action won't cost you a magic spell. If you should inadvertently stumble into a pit, use the "+" key to return to the level you were on when you fell (this action uses two magic and two cleric spells). Or, if you don't mind where you'll wind up, cast a TELEPORT spell to go to a labyrinth level of your choice; the drawback is that you'll wind up in a random spot on that level. NOTE: You must have the Wand of Teleportation in order to use the TELEPORT spell. CAUTION! If you're going to use the "+" key, be sure you move over one square before going back up to the previous level, or you'll wind up over the same pit and fall right back down. Falling into pits will reduce your HPs dramatically, as will the stronger monsters just waiting for your poor body to fall down to their waiting fangs and talons; I would advise you not to do this too often. MONSTERS WHO DO STRANGE THINGS TO YOU Oh, sure, there are Elves and Pixies and the odd Doom Dog or two waiting for you down there. But what other horrors lurk? Well, there's the Vampire Bat which picks you up and deposits you elsewhere in the labyrinth (luckily, on the same level, but sometimes over a pit). Then, there's the Floating Energy Mass which saps your HPs, and if your purse is exceptionally rich, monsters run away with all your gold. But the worst of the lot is the Wight. Not only does it whittle away at your HPs, it also drains your experience levels. You can just about plan on making a trip to restore your saved file when you encounter this thing in the early stages of the game. If your DEX is high enough, you can try EVADING monsters when you confront them in the corridors. If you can't evade them, try BRIBEs. If you offer them enough gold (usually half of what you're carrying), they'll let you off the hook; otherwise, fighting is just about your only recourse. If your WIS is high enough, you can try using MAGIC or CLERIC spells: use cleric spells on undead monsters, spirits, and wights; use magic spells on all other monster types. Be careful, though: magic spells have a nasty habit of backfiring, but cleric spells never do. (Note: Successful bribes and evasions do not gain experience points!) Remember, too, that you can't evade Death. Fighting seems to be the best defense against all monster types. With the exception of the monsters on lower labyrinth levels, those on the upper level have an experience level of 1. Level 1 monsters can be found on any level, but once you venture down to Level 2, you'll find monsters of every level of experience waiting for you. The monster on level 1 with the highest number of HPs is the Level 1 Black Dragon. Once you've increased to Level 2 or 3, you should be able to beat it with little or no HP loss. Black Dragons are very important monsters: they usually carry chests containing magic items. When you're REALLY strong, you can start fighting Vendors. Be forewarned, though: Vendors are tough, they can cast magic spells, and they often have as many as or more hit points than Asmodeus. Also, if you fight a Vendor, all the others you meet on _any_ level of the labyrinth will automatically fight you. Their antagonistic attitudes will prevail until you succesfully bribe one; the others you meet will trade with you after that. The treasure to be gained from Vendor-fighting can be worth the trouble: very strong characters should (A)ttack Vendors at the first opportunity. POTIONS, BOOKS, CHESTS, AND MAGIC ITEMS Earlier, I mentioned being able to tell whether or not a potion was good. When you buy or find a potion, always (E)xamine it first. This action uses one cleric spell, but it's worth it. If the spell fails, you can continue to examine it until you receive an answer. If you use up all your cleric spells without successfully ascertaining a potion's nature, it's better to (L)eave the potion than to risk (D)rinking it. When you find a Vendor, if you have enough gold, always buy a potion. Eighty-percent of the time, the potion is good. Never buy books: you'll find them all over the place, and they're almost never worth spending gold on or reading. If you do decide you're going to read books, save your character file often: once you've found a book, you can't save your game or quit until after you've read it, usually with detrimental decreases of your stats. If you're getting low on spells, buy them from the Vendor if you have the gold. You may find spells and potions in chests, but chests are found infre- quently just sitting around the hallways (unless you're under the influence of a Treasure Finding potion), and are usually hard-won by battling Black Dragons. As you gain in levels of experience, though, about 50% of the monsters -- not just the Black Dragons -- will be carrying chests, and you'll find them littering the hallways once you've gone into the lower levels and returned to the upper levels. When you do chance upon a chest, you can (E)xamine it to learn what the chest contains for one cleric spell. If you choose not to examine it, (D)isarm it -- NEVER simply (O)pen it unless the disarm action states the chest is not trapped. Sometimes you'll be told you can't open the chest; then, use the (P)ry command to open it. Chests can contain tons of gold, gems, potions, books, spells, magic items, arrows, and/or other chests. Open chests you find within other chests using the method described above. Only chests contain magic items. The nature of the magic items you'll find increases in value and helpfulness as you delve deeper into the labyrinth. On Level 1, expect to find a Helmet of Defense, a Ring of Protection, and Boots of Levitation. Note: To use the levitation properties of the boots, you MUST turn them on using the LEVIT spell. After acquiring the boots, using LEVIT does not require a magic or cleric spell; once you have the boots, turn LEVIT on and forget about it. When you exit the labyrinth, the boots automatically turn themselves off; remember to turn them on again when you reenter. Always SAVE your game as soon as you find a magic item! Later in the game, the arrows become extremely important. Try not to use them until you start exploring Level 6 and lower. Arrows work on all monster types except Asmodeus. MAGIC ITEMS: WHAT THEY BUY YOU As mentioned above, the Boots of Levitation aid you in crossing safely over pits. Sometimes, though, they will fail -- especially on level 3 and lower -- and there's nothing you can do about it except be ready for the occurrence by staying healed or as close to your maximum number of HPs as you can. The Wand of Teleportation will allow you to use the TELEPORT spell at no cost of magic or cleric spells. Teleporting takes you from one labyrinth level to another and deposits you in a random position. You can also teleport to a random position on the same labyrinth level. Note that you cannot use the Wand to exit the labyrinth completely: only the use of the stairways or the "+" key will do this. CAUTION: The Wand of Teleportation has a limited number of uses. Unless you have a very strong character who can make it back up to the surface by climbing stairs without fear of monster attacks, it is best to save the Wand for teleporting your poor, near-to-dead body out of the lower levels to one on which you can survive. The Staff of Healing is a marvelous gadget! Having one in your possession allows you to fully heal yourself without using cleric spells. Once it's in your inventory, when you cast HEAL, you'll be asked whether you want to use the Staff. If you say "Y," you'll be completely healed up to your full HPs. If you say "N," you'll be healed the usual random number of HPs at a cost of one cleric spell. CAUTION: Do not use the Staff of Healing indiscriminately! It has a limited number of uses; when it's used up, it vanishes from your inventory. The Ring of Invisibility allows you to turn yourself invisible using the INVIS spell at no cost of magic or cleric spells. Being invisible has its pros and cons, however. On the plus side, monsters won't see you. The down side is that while invisible, you won't find any treasures. Note that magic items which have a limited number of uses will be found again; so, if your favorite toy disappears, just keep disarming and opening chests: you'll soon find a replacement. Consequently, items of protection (such as shields and helmets) will not be found again once you've acquired them; you'll never have more than one of each magic item in your inventory at any time. In addition to the magic items which give you free use of the magic spells available in the game, there are protective items which add to your strength, endurance, and dexterity. Some of these are the Helmet of Defense, Sword of Sharpness, Armor of Valor, Elven Boots, and Ring of Protection. ET CETERA Type HELP at any time during play to see a list of the valid commands. Most commands can be abbreviated to one or two letters; some require additional letters to avoid conflicts (INVEN and INVIS are just two of these commands). Additionally, you can type GUIDE to see a list of the commands available and what each does. Be careful not to type (K)ill: if you answer the response incorrectly, you will destroy your current character. Type DATA (or "D") to see your character's stats. This is useful (and a time saver) when you bump into a vendor. When you're asked for your response, type "D" to see how much money you're carrying: there's no sense (T)rading with the vendor if you haven't got enough gold to buy anything. During monster encounters, your command prompt changes to "Fighting:". Valid responses during battles are (F)ight, (A)rrow, (M)agic, (C)leric, (B)ribe, and (E)vade. If you try a bribe, you'll be asked how much gold to offer the monster. If you don't offer at least half of what you're carrying (sometimes, more!), the monster simply laughs at you and attacks. If your DEX isn't very high and you try to evade, the monster will be amused and attack. Fighting and spell attacks are much more satisfying and successful. "F" means you're just bashing away at the monster for all you're worth using whatever weapon you're carrying. Typing "A" means you're firing an arrow at the monster (you must have found arrows before this command is available). If you decide to try using a magic or cleric spell against the monster, you'll have a choice of four different spells for each spell type at your disposal. Using magic gives you a choice of Fireball, Lightning, Plague, and ESP. Using cleric gives you a choice of Pray, Dispell, Holy Word, and Exorcise. LABYRINTH LEVEL DETAILS The following paragraphs will give the placement of pits, stairways, enclosed rooms, blocked areas, and wrap-around walls for the various levels. If you're not going to do your own mapping, you should print out the maps in the BLKDRG.MAP file (LIBrary 9, Computer RPGs) and note these locations directly on the maps. Remember that the coordinates are given in column-row sequence. NOTE: You can use the (P)ass spell to move through the perimeter walls to their opposide sides (e.g., you can (P)ass from the western side to the eastern side). LEVEL 1 There are two upstairs (12-8 and 2-14) and five downstairs (3-1, 14-3, 9-14, 14-13, and 14-15). There are two pits (5-3 and 8-10) and one enclosed room (14-14). LEVEL 2 There are five upstairs (3-1, 14-3, 14-13, 9-14, and 14-15) and four downstairs (11-2, 10-7, 11-9, and 8-15). There are two pits (7-6 and 14-11) and one L-shaped enclosed room which encompasses 4-11, 4-12, and 5-12. LEVEL 3 Other than the perimeter, this level has no walls whatsoever. The designer did, however, place room-dividers where pits and stairways are located. There are four upstairs (11-2, 10-7, 11-9, and 8-15) and six downstairs (8-1, 6-3, 13-3, 13-6, 2-11, and 6-12). Note that the downstairs located at 13-3 and 13-6 do NOT have a corresponding upstairs on Level 4! The pits are located at 11-1, 4-2, 8-4, 12-4, 2-5, 5-5, 10-5, 6-6, 7-6, 9-6, 11-6, 2-7, 9-7, 3-9, 4-9, 9-9, 12-9, 14-10, 10-12, 6-13, 5-14, 7-14, and 11-14 (whew!). LEVEL 4 There are four upstairs (8-1, 6-3, 2-11, and 6-12) and three downstairs 10-4, 8-10, and 8-12). There are no pits at all, and one enclosed room (10-5). LEVEL 5 You'll need to make frequent use of the Pass spell on this level. Make sure you have plenty of magic spells before coming down here. The grid is cordoned off into four main sections: the largest section covers a rough triangle from 1-1 to 15-11; the next largest is roughly square covering from 1-6 to 10-13; the last two sections are basically oblong with the first covering from 1-13 to 7-15, and the latter from 8-14 to 15-12. This level also features two wrap-around walls on its east boundary; however, these are only one way: they'll take you to the west boundary, but you won't be able to return to the east side using the same method except with the (P)ass spell. There are three upstairs (10-4, 8-10, and 8-12) and twelve downstairs (2-1, 8-2, 8-3, 8-12, 1-5, 5-6, 6-8, 11-10, 2-11, 12-11, 6-13, and 11-14). There are pits at 8-4, 14-4, 6-11, 15-11, 1-12, 15-12, and 10-15. The two wrap-around walls are located at 15-11 and 15-12: the one at 15-11 will allow you to explore the second largest section of the level, while the one at 15-12 takes you to the enclosed room at 1-12. There are four enclosed rooms (10-5, 1-5, 1-12, and 6-14). LEVEL 6 As with Level 5, you'll need to use the Pass spell several times to fully explore this level. Level 6 is divided into two main sections: the larger covers the grid from 11-1 on its north left-most edge and down, diagonally, to 1-8; the smaller starts at 1-1 on its north left-most edge, east to 10-2, and south, diagonally to 1-7. Tucked into these divisions are three enclosed areas which are a bit larger than "rooms." There are twelve upstairs (2-1, 8-2, 8-3, 12-3, 2-5, 5-6, 6-8, 11-10, 2-11, 12-11, 6-13, and 11-14) and three downstairs (13-2, 12-7, and 1-15). There are pits at 7-2, 4-5, 6-5, and 2-7. The enclosed rooms are at 12-3, 2-4, and 6-14. LEVEL 7 This level has a small and large division. The smaller starts at 11-1 and runs south and east to 15-11. The rest of the level has a continuous path with the exception of one enclosed room at 7-4. There are three upstairs (13-2, 12-7, and 1-15), three downstairs (2-1, 7-3, and 4-7), and five pits (8-1, 11-2, 6-7, 7-9, 9-9, and 7-11). Note that some of the pits have spikes in them waiting to impale you should your Boots of Levitation fail: Stay healed! LEVEL 8 There are no pits on this level, and two enclosed rooms: the larger is near the upper left-hand corner of the grid at 1-2 and runs south to 7-7; the smaller is in the extreme southeastern corner at 15-15. There are three upstairs (2-1, 7-3, and 4-7) and only one downstairs at 12-9. Make sure you have the Wand of Teleport or have sufficient cleric and magic spells to use the "+" or "-" command: the downstairs is strictly one way; there are NO upstairs on Level 9! LEVEL 9 As mentioned, there are no stairways leading up to Level 8, so you'll need to use other means to return to the surface if you have to. There are four downstairs (9-5, 3-9, 11-11, and 11-12) and four pits (14-6, 2-11, 7-12, and 13-12). There are three small enclosed rooms at 8-5, 12-15, and 15-15. The downstairs at 9-5 has no corresponding upstairs on Level 10. LEVEL 10 This is the final level in BLACK DRAGON. Here, you will confront Asmodeus and vanquish him (hopefully). There are no pits or downstairs on this level. There are three upstairs (3-9, 11-11, and 11-12), two enclosed rooms (3-3 and 9-5), and Asmodeus is located at 4-12. Before confronting Asmodeus, your character should have at least 400 HPs. Asmodeus throws fireballs at you which can levy from 90 to 125 HPs damage. The magic arrows do NOT work against him, but a cleric Exorcise spell appears to keep him from hitting you every time, and it will inflict damage on him. Fighting also works, and remember that magic spells can backfire and inflict damage on you both. Good luck! After you've killed Asmodeus, fight your way back to the surface (yes, the monsters will still be willing to hinder your escape) to earn your final reward, and to read your name with pride in the Hall of Fame! BLACK DRAGON is from Bob Maples, licensed to CompuServe Information Services. This walkthru is copyright (c) 1992 by Barbara Baser. All rights reserved. Not to be distributed without permission.