Here is an excerpt from a guide written before Kulthea was changed to Elanthia and Kelfour's Landing was renamed Wehnimer's Landing. Most of the information is still applicable. Parry is now called STANCE, where stance defensive is the old parry 100, and stance offensive is the old parry 0. Oghier Sleepytoes is the original author of this guide, therefore nothing has been changed until I get his permission ;)
ETIQUETTE
You don't need to be polite in GSIII. It's perfectly acceptable to
roleplay a churlish goon who hates everybody not lucky enough to
be a dwarf, halfling, etc. However, there are some rules that we,
as players, follow. These are OOC, out-of-character rules that
enhance the game for all of us. People take these very seriously.
First, stay in character while in public. If there's a group in
Town Square trying to roleplay, don't stand there and talk aloud
about what a jerk that Bill Clinton/ Newt Gingrich/ Barney the
Dinosaur is. If you and your friend want to discuss the latest
on OJ Simpson, go to a private place or whisper the conversation.
When hunting, don't poach. If you enter a room and see someone
battling a critter, do not jump right in to the combat. That's
their hobgoblin, not yours. If you want to join up, ask. Most
people will agree.
Similarly, don't hog all the critters. The more popular hunting areas
can get very crowded. Sometimes, it's a lot better if people join
up into groups rather than have a bunch of soloists racing to find
the next forest troll. Remember, if you team up to kill a critter,
you can all get a full share of exp.
If you are in a group, let everybody have a chance to hit the critter,
so they can learn, too. If you're a claidhmore-swinging fighter or
an ambushing thief, you may have to change your tactics a bit.
Otherwise, everything may be dead before the mage can get off her
first shockbolt ;)
In town, there are many folks that can provide valuable services.
Healers can remove your wounds, thieves can pick open your chests,
bards can sing to unusual items and learn about their magicks, etc.
Many of these people expect some kind of tip, or at least a polite
thank you. Thieves, in particular, sometimes require a 'scoop,' or
a small share of the silvers in any chest they pop. If you're
smart, you'll offer before they ask ;)
Most of all, try to add something unique to the world. GSIII started
as a small game on Genie. In the old days, there were only a few
regulars, and everybody knew everybody else. Now, the game is much
larger. We do not, however, want to become just another MUD, an
arena for powergaming. It's more important to become an interesting
elf or halfling than it is to become level X.
HONEST OGHI'S SURVIVAL TIPS
-Make friends. You may be the best thief ever born, but you'll do a
lot better if you team up with some mages, rangers, etc. Before
your combined abilities, no critter can survive! Well, fewer critters,
anyway ;)
-Before you leave town, type INV. Make sure you have a weapon in your
right hand to parry with. If you use a shield, make sure it's in your
left hand. If they're reversed, SWAP.
-You can't parry without a weapon in your right hand, unless you are
a brawler.
-Do not sit, lay down, or kneel in the wilds. You are a lot easier
to hit when you're down.
-If you're trying to swing at the second orc in a room, it's KILL
SECOND ORC. Similarly, if you want to drag the third chest in the
room northeast, it's DRAG THIRD CHEST NE.
-Check out the SET command. You'll see a series of options that allow
you to customize the information you see. Experiment to see what settings
you like best.
-To whisper to someone, it's WHISP , i.e. WHISP
STROM You gonna finish that stew?
-Learn to Parry-Tag. This is a trick of timing you can use on slower
critters. Basically, you parry 100 until the critter attacks. Then,
you quickly parry 0, attack, and try to parry 100 again before the
critter swings again. This is an effective, but dangerous game. If
the critter is quicker than you, you're in trouble. If another
critter walks into the room at the wrong time, you're also in
trouble. But try it - it's fun!
-Here's another good trick, the Slash-Leave-Bash. If you slash
a sentient creature such that it is bleeding, either hide or leave
the room. Then, wait a few seconds. The critter may decide to sit
and tend its wounds. Naturally, this is when you barge into the room
and bash it good. This will work on critters such as kobolds and orcs,
but wolverines, worms and such won't sit. They're not smart enough,
or dumb enough, to know first aid ;) To see if a critter is bleeding,
LOOK .
-If this is your first character, level two is the hardest level you'll
ever gain. It does get easier :) Not a whole lot easier, though.
Simutronics has done an excellent job preventing Monty-Haul syndrome
in GSIII, and advancement is never simple. Characters develop over
a period of years, not weeks. Take your time and enjoy the ride :)
-Wear arm and leg greaves. They will reduce the damage you take
from certain critical hits. It's still possible to lose a limb
while wearing them, but it's less likely. Helms are also a smart
purchase, as they'll help keep your skull intact.
-To pick locks, you need a lockpick. The command is PICK - WITH
MY LOCKPICK. To disarm traps, it's DISARM
- . At level one,
you're going to be terrible at picking locks, and you'll be a lot
more likely to set off a trap than disarm it. Hold off using these
skills for a level or three.
-Rapiers are very nice weapons against unarmored opponents. They don't
do as much cps damage as a broadsword or a falchion, but it's a lot
easier to hit. Also, puncture crits tend to be deadly. Rapiers
are, however, prone to breakage, so they're best used against a critter
that fights with its claws. A foe without a weapon cannot break your
blade.
-Those drake falchions are wonderful OHE weapons. Every once in a
while, they'll give your foes a little extra surprise.
-If you're a crusher, look for a morningstar. They're fairly fragile,
and they can be hard to find, but they hit like a ton of trolls.
-You'll see some folks swinging claidhmores, a massive two-handed
weapon. Claidhs tend to be dull, generally -10 to hit. But if you
do hit, your foe will be a bloody mess. Claidhs have an enormous
bonus to critical hit rolls. There are a few fighters that combine
ambush ability with a claidh. They can tear up trolls but good ;)
-Small statues contain the spell 'Alkar', from the open channeling list.
This spell grants a powerful defensive bonus (+25), but it only lasts
a short time (30 seconds per level). These items won't do you much
good at low level, but you can give them or sell them to lords and
ladies. They're a good way to curry favor ;) When found, a statue
contains four 'rubs', or charges.
-Most wands contain directed spells. Iron and Silver wands fire
shockbolts. Gold wands have firebolt. Metal wands chill your foe
with a cold ball. Oak wands cast the Unstun spell. All of these
have limited charges.
-Some people carry around a first-aid kit of herbs: Akbutege Leaf
heals cps damage, Edram Moss helps bleeding limbs, Pasamar Grass can
staunch the flow of blood from your torso, and Arfandas Stem will
lessen those nasty head wounds.
-Roleplay! Stay in character all the time. People will like you if you
do. You'll find yourself awash in hunting partners, and lord and lady
types will be *far* more willing to help you with advice, spells, or
silvers. Longtime players tend to be true-believers, folks who really
care for the Shadow World. If they think you're the sort that will
add something unique to the game, some of them will go out of their
way to ensure you receive extra help.
-Many folks do not stick with their first characters. Once you have
a better feel for the game, you may decide it would be more fun to
play a ranger/ healer/ mage, etc. You may also realize that your
60 Strength Halfling Bard can't hit a comatose goblin in combat,
and all that training in Plate Armor isn't doing you much good ;)
Don't be afraid to 'reroll.'
-Once you do know what class it is you'd like to play, try to find
a veteran of that class. Most lords and ladies will be happy to
chat with you for a bit about their skills.
-Parry smart. Start every combat at a high parry level, then try to
lower your parry to the point where you can hit the orc, but he can't
hit you. You could also try to parry-tag.
-Gold rings are neat items. They can teleport you. To use them,
they must first be set. A ring you get from a player may already
be set to a destination. A ring you find on a critter is not set.
To set a ring, wear it and turn it. If you walk someplace, you can
remove the ring and wear it, and you 'port to the place it was set!
Now, the ring is automatically set to the place from which you 'ported.
Try not to use rings when carrying large amounts of silver, as the
Navigators will get you eventually. Who are they? You'll learn
sooner or later :)
-Don't forget to search critters once you kill them. That's where
treasure comes from!
-Sometimes, you can find special magick items on a critter. These
range from gold rings, small statues, and the like, to truly
powerful and unique items. You cannot find the more powerful
treasures on a critter unless you can learn from it. In other words,
if you're 24th level, you won't find an artifact by slumming in
the kobold forest.
-GameMasters are Simutronics employees. Many of them work for little
to nothing. All of them are knowledgeable folks who care deeply about
the game. If you need to talk to one, type ASSIST. If they refuse
to help you, do not get angry. There are strict policies they must
follow. You should read over the GSIII Policy docs in the Simutronics
library.
-Don't try to B.S. a GameMaster. As you play, the game tracks many
of your actions. By looking at your log, a GM can tell a great deal
about your recent activities. Simutronics tends to deal with cheaters
in a harsh fashion.
-You can store stuff in lockers. There are lockers in Moot Hall,
which is one step east of Town Square Central. These are public
lockers, and anyone can use them. You will have your own locker,
and it will hold up to 10 items. Note that there is a small charge
for using these. Within Moot Hall, go east a few steps. Then, GO
OPENING, OPEN LOCKER. You can put stuff in it, or take stuff out.
-Moot Hall also houses the debt collector. When you have a debt to
pay, go into Moot Hall, GO OFFICE, then PAY
. Oh, bring
silver, too ;)
-There are organized houses in town. They have been formed by
various groups of friends, and they have quite different makeups.
Many will accept applications from new members beginning at level
five. Houses have, among other benefits, much bigger lockers,
and you needn't pay a locker fee.
-You can only carry a certain amount before you are encumbered. The
amount you can carry is dependant upon race, strength, and constitution.
Halflings can carry very little. High Men can just about carry halflings.
The other races are in between. You will know you are encumbered when
your round-time to swing a sword increases above 5 seconds. You will
also have trouble manuevering if you are heavily-laden.
-Macros help a lot. I use several sets, and switch between them. At
present, my main set of macros reads PARRY 100, PARRY 60, PARRY 20,
PARRY 0, PREP 410, PREP 412, CAST SENTINEL, KILL SENTINEL, KILL
SECOND SENTINEL, KILL BANSHEE, PUT MY LONGSWORD IN MY SHEATH and
WEAR MY SHIELD. As you can see, these are all combat-oriented,
tools for hunting stone sentinels and banshee. When fighting
critters like that, I like to use macros. Otherwise, my hunt-and-peck
typing may result in the poor dwarf getting swallered up. ;)
-When attacking a critter, type out at least three letters of its
name. Otherwise, you risk killing a character with a similar name.
I still flinch when I remember Artuero, the land's first Legend Thief,
battling back against invading ogre mages. He typed 'KILL OG' just
as I, Oghier, entered the room. Oh, well - it only hurt for a second.
-When picking a name, don't choose something like 'Goblin' or 'Titan'.
In the wrong area, people will swing at you by accident. Similarly,
don't name a character 'Ford Pinto', 'Klingon Dude' or 'Bella Abzug.'
Such names do not fit the Shadow World context, and people will find
them annoying.
-Don't bother with Riding skill. We haven't found any horses yet.
-Bows and Thrown Weapons are not implemented. They likely will be soon,
so you might want to study them. But don't make them your only weapon
skill.
-What do you do if you're out hunting, and your buddy gets stunned?
Act quickly, or that stun could last the rest of his (short) life ;)
The best thing to do is to drag him out of danger. If you're the
group leader, simply walking out won't help, as the stunned fellow
cannot follow. You should, instead, PARRY 100, WEAR SHIELD, DRAG
, ie DRAG BERR EAST. If you're not very strong,
or the other fellow is very big or heavily-laden, this may take
several tries.
-You regain power points every two minutes. Each pulse, you regain
your max pps/ 10. So, if you have 39 pps, you regain 3 pps each pulse.
At a node, this rate doubles. All of TS is a node.
-To cast a spell, you must first prep it. The command is PREP <#>,
for example, PREP 401 for Warding I. The amount of time it takes
for the spell to be ready depends upon your level relative to the
spell's level. Eventually, spells will be ready the instant you
prep them. Once it is ready, CAST . If it's a shockbolt,
CAST ORC. If it's a defensive spell, just typing CAST will cast it
on yourself.
-Spells cost their level in pps to cast. Bard songs are an exception
to this - they're very complicated ;)
-Bard base spellsongs work very differently than all other spells. You
still PREP #, but you don't cast these spells, you SING .
-If you cast a spell requiring more pps than you have, you will
need a healer.
-Hunt in groups! When I was just a little dwarf (no cracks, you!),
I used to hunt with a halfling mage, an elf ranger, and a half-elf
thief. This was a great combination.
-The most effective group of hunters in the Land, the members of House
Arcane, are also the best at working in a group. This is not a
coincidence. Learn how to use your skills to maximize the
effectiveness of your hunting group. The monsters often have
higher OBs and DBs than players, but they cannot emulate the team
tactics clever adventurers use.
-Don't feel insulted if you try to talk to someone and get no response.
They could be ignoring you, or they could be off grabbing a beer.
They could also be whispering furiously with several other folks
and simply miss what you said in all the screen scroll.
-The GSIII Front End is remarkably good. Download it, use it, love it :)
-The software libraries are also full of maps. The best ones are
Zepath's various sets.
-To pick something up in the field, PARRY 100, WEAR SHIELD, GET
PUT IN MY BACKPACK, REMOVE SHIELD. Don't put your weapon
away to pick things up, as you can't parry without a weapon in
your right hand.
-Always be sure to put stuff in *your* backpack. If you type PUT
BROADSWORD IN BACPACK, and there's a backpack on the ground, your
sword ends up in the one on the ground. Always use MY.
-If you are wounded and cannot find a healer, there is a NPC
Healer who owns a tent right at North Ring Road, about 5 or 6
moves east of the Gate. His name is Surtey, and he will charge to
heal you. You should locate the tent so you know how to get there in
an emergency. Once inside, lie down. Surtey will then commence
the butchery ;)
-You cannot parry a lightning bolt with a broadsword. To parry a
directed spell, you must have directed spell skill. You need not
have a weapon in your hands to parry directed spells.
-You start life with 10,000 experience points. You will advance to
level two with 20,000 points. Level 3 is 30,000.After level 5, it
will require 20,000 points to advance each level, and after level 10,
30,000 points per level. For Lords and Ladies, it's 50,000 exp per level.
-You gain the title "Lord" or "Lady" at level 20. Level 50 folks are
considered "Legends."
-Good prey for level one characters includes rats, kobolds, torkaan and
giant rats. If you see a wolverine, parry up and run. Karnelins,
bounders, carrion worms, and lesser orcs also tend to wander the
lower-level areas, and are quite dangerous.
-Here is a map of the Landing's immediate environs:
_____________________________
| Map Legend | To
| | Sea
| P = Pathway [Should Be Safe]| Cliffs Natasha's Basic
| O = Outside of City Walls | \
| Torkaan, Wolverines | \ { The } Hunting Map
| G = Grasslands | P>>>{Arena}
| Torkaan, Wolverines | \ {Gates}
| X = Nearest Part of Forest | P
| Kobolds, Wolverines | / \
| and Karnelins | / P
| {}= GO landmark name | / \ P-P-P ~
|_____________________________| {Path} {The } / ~
{way } {City}----P ~
{Kobold Forest} / {Gate}::::::::::::::::::::~:::::
/ /: : Kelfour's Landing ~ ::
/ /:: _:_____________________~ ::
O {Path}: /|. | : | | | ~ \ ::
NW NE | / ::| | | | | |-- ~ |::
\ N / :::::-<=<- - - -O ::| :::::---+---+-| | |:: ~|-|::
\|/ ::X:: | | ::| : : | |-|-< :~| |::
W--#--E :::::--X>-Path>>O ::| : . : --+-| | | :~| |::
/|\ | / | ::| : . : | --|---+-----+-|::
/ S \ |/ O ::| : :---|::: _ | ~::|::
SW SE X | West Gate |:::| | | ~ :|::
/ O ::|:::::: |-+-- |---+---|~ |::
X | ::| . | . _| . ::|-:-|~ ::
| O :: \____|___|_|_______|___|~ ::
<-------X----X-----X | :::::::::::::::::::::::::::~:::::
{To Castle \ | O ^^ City Walls ^^ ~
Claedesbrim. No \ | / \ ~<--River
Swimming Allowed!} \ | G \ ~
\ | | \ ~
\| G \ ~
X \ \ ~
| G O-----------O----------O~{Bridge}
| 'Ware the | ~
X Wolverines! G
| \
| G
| |
| G
X |
/| G {To Iorak's Reach}
/ | | |
/ | G I
/ | / /
X | G----G
| | |
STOP HERE | | |
===========> X----------X V
Go No Further \ / {Forest}
{Trail} {Path} { Path }
Werebears \ / ^
===========> X>>>{Clearing}--<<-F
& / \ \
{Foot} {You shouldn't \
Other {Path} be here yet} {To Forest- See Other Maps}
Dangers!
DWARF'S NOTES
GSIII evolves. I wrote this because Natasha's wonderful guide had
become pretty dated. Similarly, this guide will eventually become
obsolete. So keep up with the version notes.
Special thanks are due to a couple of people. Sagan and Brinn
helped me write this. Dartaghan's and Moonpie's advice and writings
on various subjects have also been invaluable.
Finally, thanks to Fawn. Some say she's the glue that holds GSIII's
various elements together in relative harmony. They're right :)
**********************************
Again, welcome to Kelfour's Landing. Keep yer blade sharp, yer eyes
peeled, an' be kind ta us long-suffrin', put-upon dwarves!
Return to the GemStone III home page
If you have problems, comments, questions, or complaints about the GemStone III pages you can send mail to Tim Melton (tam@tamcon.com).
Last modified 31 December 1996