My name is Mike O'Hara, and I will be writing the November 2000 editorial for bardstale.com!
Scott Nelson invited me to come out and stay with him and his family for 1 month, and so here I am. What follows is an accounting of my first few hours in Minneapolis:
[Start Day 1]
October 21, 1:15pm. Step off the plane. Solid ground never felt so good.
1:35pm. Go to reclaim my suitcase. Did it make it?...Yes! I find that in order to go back to Gate E14 to meet up with Scott I have to pass back through security. They question me as to why I'm re-entering the gate area and decide to scan me again for metal objects. I eventually decide, after a few failed sweeps of the hand-held metal detector, to tell them that I am wearing steel-toed footwear.
1:50pm. I work my way down towards the gate, but no sign of Scott. I walk back down towards gate E2 and have him paged. He finds me immediately. We shake hands and greet each other warmly. He introduces me to his wife Heather and 2 children, Timothy and Jaiden.
2:13pm. I tell them briefly of my terrors in the sky, etc and then we make our way to the parking area. Security appears to be bemused by my exiting with a few other people...
2:45pm. We finally make it back to their car. Off we go...
2:58pm. ...only to find I'm still affected by motion sickness! Scott is trying to enthusiastically engage me in conversation, but all I can do is pray that Heather doesn't swerve like that any more...
3:15pm. We arrive in front of the Nelsons' home! I, reluctantly, step out of the car. Solid ground! Again! We enter their home and Scott gives me...
3:17pm. ...the grand tour. He shows me the basement where his Bard's Tale station is set up. Very impressive, it is. He also has a miniature recording studio. Scott is a music man!
5:20pm. Scott and his family go out for supper with friends and family. I am free to play with the SNES/N64 or computer. I opt for sleep.
8:00pm. They return. I am still asleep, but I wake up momentarily.
12:30am. Day's end. I look forward to sleeping all night.
[End Day 1]
After a few days, Scott takes me to the basement to show me his 386, where he does all of his work for his site. He showed me his Bard's Tale I party, and, well, there were a few things wrong...
Scott had asked me to help him with his party for his adventures into The Catacombs. After some inspection of his party, I found the following:
Bard didn't have a bardsword!
Hunter didn't have a helm!
11th level Monk was using a Halbard!
11th Conjuror had 6 Lamps!
His magician was an ELF!
His monk was a Dwarf!
Scott confessed to me that his Bard had never, not once, played a song! (He did, however, have him equipped with a Lak's Lyre)
He made it a habit to not bother with the treasure chests after combat. And he wonders why he can't get any magic items...?
So, having said that, I have decided that this editorial will be dedicated to how you can improve your party overall.
RACE: Let's face it. The fantasy RPG genre dictates to us that Half-Orcs won't make very good Archmages, just like Hobbits won't make very good Paladins. When selecting a race, keep in mind that Gnomes have a high IQ, Half-Orcs have high ST, Dwarves have decent ST and high CN, Hobbits have high DX and decent LK, Elves have decent DX and high LK, Half-Elves are like Elves but with more rounded abilities overall, and Humans are just well-rounded.
STATS (ST/IQ/DX/CN/LK): ST is strength; this dictates how much damage your character will do in hand-to-hand combat. IQ is intelligence; having a high IQ is essential for starting-out spellcasters! DX is dexterity; a character with starting DX of 16 or more will have a bonus to his (or her) AC, even when naked. CN is constitution; the higher this number is the more hit points the character will have. And finally, LK stands for luck. This factors in whether the character will be affected by magical/breath attacks, or whether they will become affected when the party springs a trap and so forth...
AC: Your AC (Armor Class) is the measure of how vulnerable your characters are to damage in combat. The lower the number, the better. The characters that are in the melee ranks of your party (1-3 in BTI, 0-3 in BTII, 1-4 in BTIII) should always, ALWAYS be looking to improve their AC whenever possible. Have the MYSH/YMCA spell in operation whenever possible, and in BTIII have your Chronomancer use the SHSH (Shadow Shield) spell. Your Bard should be playing the Sanctuary Score whenever exploring a dungeon, as it lowers the party's AC.
HIT POINTS: This is a measure of how much punishment your party can sustain before they go to a better place (i.e. die). Again, the front-rank characters should have high HP.
SPELL POINTS: Spell points are the meat and drink of any mage, be they Conjuror, Magician, Sorcerer, Wizard, Archmage, Chronomancer, or Geomancer. Keep in mind that spell points regenerate in daylight, by having a Mage Staff equipped, by having your Bard play the Rhyme of Duotime, by standing on a Magic-Point Regeneration Square in a dungeon, and by going to Roscoe's Energy Emporium (BT I & II only).
CHARACTER CLASS: Yes, it is very important for your PCs to be highly skilled in the art of etiquette. Know your salad forks from your steak forks, always use the napkins to the left, never belch in public...oh sorry, wrong class. Anyhow, let's go over, briefly, the available classes:
BARD: The Bard is the, er, unsung hero of the game. (Yes, I know that was bad, you can flame me at darendor@hotmail.com). He/she should have a Bardsword at all times, as this gives you unlimited songs. A Song Axe (II, III) is a handy item to have, too. Come to think of it, you should have a Cold/Frost/Fire/Flame Horn on his/her person. Without a Bard in your ranks you won't be able to complete Harkyn's Castle (I) without resorting to PHDO/APAR, nor will you be able to complete the Dark Domain (II).
MONK: The Monk is, initally, a weak character. He has armor restrictions closely resembling the Rogue. However, once he/she nears, say, level 9, he/she will no longer need a weapon. They get an additional swing once every 4 experience levels, too, just like the Warrior and Paladin. Also, the Monk's AC automatically improves by 1 point everytime he/she advances an experience level.
HUNTER: Ideal for killing a foe with a single shot. Hunters should always carry Death Stars in BTII, as these critically hit from a distance (30'). Hunters are generally restricted from using DMND-quality armor.
WARRIOR: Your basic, typical Smash-'Em-Bash-'Em fighter-dude/dudette. Gains an additional swing every 4 experience levels, can use most armor and weapons.
PALADIN: Slightly more resistant to evil/undead, can use "Pure XXXX" items. See WARRIOR.
ROGUE: In BT I and II, this character doesn't seem to play too useful a role. He/she can disarm treasure chests, but this is easily done with a TRZP spell. In BT III, however, you are simply foolish to not have at least one in your party. They are like an improved Hunter, with additional abilities.
SPELLCASTER: It is my personal recommendation that you start off with one Conjuror and one Magician in your party. Always, ALWAYS maximize their spell levels before switching mage classes. The best friend to any spellcaster is the Mage Staff. Seek these gems out!
PARTY COMPOSITION: Okay. There are a few class combinations that simply do not work.
Yes, I know this is The BARD'S Tale, but having a party of all Bards is just plain idiotic. I have no sympathy for you at all.
A party with all spellcasters is not likely to succeed, but you stand more of a chance than the all-Bard party.
A party with less than 4 members.
Now, then. What your ought to have for a party varies slightly between BT I-III, but basically this is how is should be: A Bard, two decent fighter-types, and NOT LESS THAN 2 SPELLCASTERS! Bard's Tale III practically requires a Rogue, and absolutely requires a Chronomancer.
MARCHING ORDER: You ought to have your fighter-baddies in the melee ranks of your party, with your 2 (or 3) spellcasters safely in the rear ranks. Also out of melee range should be your Bard or Rogue.
COMBAT: This ought to be a no-brainer, but I'm going to assume that some poor sap out there needs combat tips.
Find Garthe's Equipment Shoppe (I, II). It is 3 paces to the north of the Adventurer's Guild in BTI, and 2 paces to the south in Tangramayne in BTII.
Don't bite off more than you can chew. Don't attempt, say, The Catacombs with a party of Level 1 characters. You will die. Fast. You'll not even make it TO The Catacombs...
Remember to play the Sanctuary Score while walking around. Even if it only improves your AC by 1 measly point, it's better than nothing.
Avoid spellcasting foes until your party is up a few levels. That way, you have a better chance of repelling the magical attacks.
After combat, if you're in a dungeon, try examining the chests, even with non-Rogue characters. The C64 version of BTII sometimes allowed any character a chance to ID a chest trap. They can also disarm the traps, too.
Whatever you do, though, don't just blindly open them!! If you're not sure, then just (L)eave chest. You'll still gain the experience points from the fight, but not the gold or item(s).
LEVEL-GAINING: There are a few tricks that you can use to quickly advance your party. You just have to make certain your party is sufficiently advanced to begin with to survive these encounters:
BTI: On level 3 of The Catacombs, make your way from the stairs to 4n, 13e. Fight the 69 Wights here. Make sure you have the Sanctuary Score playing and a MYSH/YMCA spell in effect. Use a Cold/Frost/Fire/Flame Horn here. Once you beat them, go to 3n, 9e and defeat the 36 Ghouls there. This will earn each party member (in a six-PC party) 25600 experience points. If nobody in your party was seriously hurt or killed, then cast REST, go to the stairs and go up, then back down. The two monster groups are back! Repeat...
Also, you can fight the 396 Beserkers at 5n, 12e on level 3 of Harkyn's Castle. This is a somewhat tougher fight, and I recommend at least one spellcaster being capable of the MIBL spell. Dragonwands come to mind here. Anyhow, a six-PC party will earn 59733 experience points for each party member. Leave the level, then return and repeat.
BTII: On level 2 of Dargoth's Tower, look for a group of 2-4 Miracle Mages. Fight them, but don't do anything. Just hit (D)efend for each party member. The MMs will summon Red Dragon illusions, and hopefully your party will disbelieve them. You gain experience for disbelieving illusionary monsters as though you had actually defeated them! After around 10 rounds of doing this, kill off the MMS and each party member should have 65280 experience and the same amount of gold. The same trick applies to Makers on level 4 of the Tower, as well as to Dream Mages on level 1 of the Maze of Dread.
Well, that about sums up this editorial. Scott and I are going to continue partying hard here in Minneapolis. If you are stuck in either
Bard's Tale I or
III, visit my "clickthough" maps for help.
Expect to see the maps for BTII sometime in December, or maybe earlier.
I wanted to say hello to Jon Starnes and everybody else of the Bard's Legacy project team. Expect The Devil Whiskey to come out around the end of the year. Visit
www.bardslegacy.com for more info.
