Table of contents

• Intro or "The Dangers of Playing S.C.O.U.R.G.E."
• Setup
  • The title screen
  • Setup Options
  • Turn-based or Real-Time Combat:
  • Graphics Options
• Creating New Character (New Game)
  • Professions
  • Choosing the Right Deity
• Gameplay
  • The Camera
  • Navigation and Movement
  • The Mouse and Keyboard
    • Mouse Controls
    • Keyboard Controls
  • Interaction
  • Pausing
• The RPG System
  • Vital Stats
  • States
  • Stats
  • Skills
  • Training
  • Spells
    • Transcription
    • Spell Slots / Hot Keys
    • Casting
  • Capabilities
    • Automatic Capabilities
    • Invoked Capabilities
  • Items
    • Weapons:
    • Armor:
    • Magic Weapons/Armor:
  • Combat
  • HQ
    • NPCs
  • Missions
    • The Mission Board
    • Chapters
  • Caves, Dungeons, Etc
    • Doors, Levers, Secret Doors, Teleporters
    • Monsters

Intro or "The Dangers of Playing S.C.O.U.R.G.E."

S.C.O.U.R.G.E. is a graphical rogue-like game. This means that you will be treated to a world of endless randomly (or mostly randomly) generated dungeons for your crawling delight. While on your path to in-game greatness your party of brave adventurers will be accosted by all manners of fantastic beasts, intriguing (and inane) puzzles and items of overly exaggerated virtual worth. It will be up to you to choose which of the faux-medieval weapons your warriors specialize in, or from which arcane tomes your wizards learn to cast their confusingly named (yet somehow pleasingly familiar) spells. Very much like other games of similar nature, S.C.O.U.R.G.E. bravely approaches such controversial subjects as the undead, vampirism and <gasp> supernatural possession. Therefore, be warned brave peruser of free games: the creators of S.C.O.U.R.G.E. are not liable should you declare your stay in our fantasy world "a waste of time", nor for the vast quantities of pizza and sugary beverages you may consume, nor for maladies caused by shunning sunlight for extended periods.

Setup

The title screen

From this screen a character may be created/loaded/deleted. Options may also be chosen to set graphics sound and interface options.

Setup Options

When the game is run it will create a folder in your home folder called .scourge. This folder will contain game settings (options file) and save games. The options file is generated by SCOURGE but may be modified in a text editor if care is taken.

Turn-based or Real-Time Combat:

Combat may be turn based or in realtime based on the preference chosen in the game options menu. It may also be changed via hotkey. (Default is C)

Graphics Options

If the game appears choppy, you may need to check whether you are using the latest graphics drivers for your video card. You may have to disable some graphics options such as the stencil buffer (for intel based graphics chips). Linux users should test that DRI (direct rendering) is enabled with the glxinfo __command (if available). Changing resolution and graphics depth (between 16 and 24/32 bits) is also known to help.

Creating New Character (New Game)

When creating a new character you may choose male or female and name (can be generated randomly). The players stats may be rolled and five extra points have to be be distributed manually to complete character creation. A player character's deity may also be chosen. The deities in SCOURGE takes form in pools encountered on missions that may grant either favors or curses depending on their mood.

An avatar may be selected to create the player character's appearance.

Life is comfortable in the quasi-medieval city of Horghh. In fact it is so comfortable that a group of aging adventurers, having no monsters to slay, young people to rescue or tree-stranded pets to fetch, decide to incorporate into a dungeon janitorial services company. After renting a run-down office-hovel on the shady side of town, the group accepts missions from a line of increasingly dangerous low-lifes. Our heroes are hired by overlords, evil sorcerers and underworld bosses to exterminate pests occupying old dungeons, haunted towers, and other future centers of world domination. While working for the daily mutton, group members battle alcohol, decreases in self- confidence and losses of integrity. It is an epic battle of mental and psychic proportions, to which I'm sure most players can relate.

In S.C.O.U.R.G.E. you can create a party of four characters. You start the game with only one character, but are able to recruit wandering adventurers later on. Currently, the only character race you can play is human (as opposed to elf, dwarf, etc.) but rather than elitist philosophy (aka. "no elves"), this is more a reflection on there being mostly one person writing the game and well, there just isn't time for every feature.

Professions

Your chosen profession affects your fighting and defense abilities, as well as your ability to cast spells and what equipment you can wear.

• Man-at-arms
  Born to fight, strong and fearless, you are always in the front line, equipped with the most powerful weapons and armors. When the voice of the battle (weapon clangs, blood and screams) calls, the Man-at-arms answers.
• Magician
  Though dressed with robes and carrying only small or ranged weapons, you become a dangerous opponent when you call upon the power of sorcery and mysterious energies start flowing around you.
• Healer
  Healers can be found everywhere: from the dark peace of the forests to the roaring desperation of the battlefields. Bringing the power of the spirit group to the world, you are the actual connection between the desolation of the earth and the harmony of the heaven.
• Scholar
  Spending most of your youth studying lore and arcane secrets, you became one of the keepers of the absolute knowledge. Reading ancient scrolls, identifying strange creatures and dealing with mystery is what you can do best.
• Cutpurse
  Born in shadows and dressed with darkness you sneak through dungeons corridors like a doubt in the mind. Even the smallest blade in your hands becomes a perfect tool to force locks and cut bags and... throats if needed.

Choosing the Right Deity

Deities manifest themselves in the form of pools. Using a pool may grant you a favor from the deity it belongs to, but the results may also be much less desireable...

• Amod-Rheinur
  The god of nature is an unpredictable fellow, even for a god. If you've ever experienced a sunny day suddenly ruined by the tidal wave from hell, you know what I'm talking about. Amod-Rheinur delights in the simple things: a good story around the campfire or strong ale shared by friends.
• Minirmuir
  Achieving awareness beyond the needs of the self is the reason followers of Minirmuir meditate for hours each day. She is basically a peaceful deity who considers all beings equal in the world. Needless killing, and wanton destruction however are likely to evoke her wrath.
• Garzul-Meg-Aonrod
  Absolute neutrality and nihilistic certainty best characterize Garzul. All beings that live are drifting slowly towards their unavoidable end in his eyes. Those whose time already passed rest in his peaceful halls, only waiting for the right summons to waken them from their cold slumber.
• Xelphate
  Xelphate broods over the unending cycles of human history. Under her watchful eye the greates of human triumphs and the sadest of tragedies unfold with undulating regularity. She alone is the keeper of the grandest mystery: the reason and conclusion for our existence in the world.
• Soroughoz
  If gods can be said to have a sense of humor, surely Soroughoz is the jester among them all. He delights in unexpected endings and endless twists of plot. At a time saving one from certain demise only to be sent to the halls of Garzul moments later makes him roll with diabolical mirth. He is also a gambler, champion of the underdog and the bane of the mighty.
• Unamoin
  The clamor of battle is music to the ears of the god of confrontation. Nothing pleases her more than a good plague or years of war between neighboring tribes. Disguised servants of Unamoin travel among the populace, inciting riots, poisoning wells and dominating the minds of the weak.

Gameplay

The Camera

It must first be explained that SCOURGE is a graphical RPG with a 3D interface. By 3D we mean that although the view of the game is from above and in the 3rd person, the camera view may be rotated (by holding down the middle mouse button and moving the mouse) and the view may zoom in or out (using the mouse scroll wheel).

Navigation and Movement

The camera can be set to follow the player or remain free using a hotkey (default is M). When in free mode, it may be dragged along with the mouse by holding down the right mouse button. The player character may be moved by clicking on the ground.

The Mouse and Keyboard

Mouse Controls

Left button	Execute action: attack monster, walk to location, open containers, etc.
Right button	Show info about... (item, creature, etc.)
Middle button	Rotate view (drag with middle button)
Wheel	zoom in/out
Move the mouse to the edge of the screen	moves the map
CTRL + mouse at the edge of screen	rotates the map

Keyboard Controls

F1,F2,F3,F4	Change UI layout
i	Show party info window (inventory)
o	Show options window
SPACE	pause/unpause/begin turn
0 (zero)	toggle single player/group mode when moving
1,2,3,4	select party member (exc. in turn-based combat)
arrow keys	move map
CTRL + arrow keys	rotate map
f	switch to next formation
Numpad +/-	zoom minimap
j/k	change game speed
m	toggle map centering
Esc	Quit game
p	Show character path in TB combat
UI	keyboard control
ENTER	press button
Tab	next UI component
CTRL + Tab	next window
Esc	close current window

Interaction

Items such as food, potions, armour, weapons and spells may be dragged by mouse into the players inventory (into portrait) by holding the left mouse button. Information can be found about an item by clicking on it the with the right mouse button, and containers can be opened by clicking on the with the left mouse button.

By clicking the button above the player portrait, or right clicking the portrait itself, the inventory is revealed. Items such as weapons and armor may be dragged into equipment slots below, or by clicking the "store" button, clicking on the item, then on a free slot. Spells put into the inventory may be transcribed or memorized by clicking on the transcribe button after selecting the spell if the player character has the skills/stats to allow this. Food, drink and potions may be consumed with the eat/drink button.

NOTE the player character requires food and drink to remain alive. If these stats run low, warning icons (water droplet or chicken leg) will appear on the avatar portrait. If the player begins to starve or become too thirsty health points will begin to drop until the player character dies.

Enchanted Items / Identification - items might have additional properties (if the name of an item bears ???) that may be revealed when you attempt to identify, you may only attempt identification a finite number of times within a finite period. Sometimes a partial identification is possible.

Pausing

The game may pause after interaction with an NPC or other in-game situation. The player can unpause the game with a hotkey (Default is spacebar)

The RPG System

Vital Stats

• Experience /Level: A character gains experience points by slaying enemies, disarming traps, completing missions and so on. From time to time this will allow the character to ascend to a new level. At that point, you will be able to visit a trainer to increase your skills, or spend a few skill points on the skills yourself. Leveling up also increases some of your basic stats, and you may be given the opportunity to select a more advanced profession.

• HP or "hit points" are the amount of remaining life power in a character. Whenever a character can't repel an attack, he will lose HP proportional to the attack's strength.
• MP or "mana points" are the amount of magical energy a character has at his disposal. Casting a spell costs a spell-specific amount of mana points.
• AP or "action points" are used up whenever a character does an action (like walking, attacking, using items) in turn based combat. When all action points are used up, the round ends for that player. AP are refillled when that character is at turn again.

• Thirst and hunger: A character needs to eat and drink to keep himself in good shape and ready for action. Long-lasting neglect of these bodily needs may lead to a rather sudden death.

States

A character can be affected by several states, both good and bad.

blessed	The character is generally more lucky in battle.
empowered	An empowered character attacks harder and is better at casting spells and evading damage.
enraged	Enraged characters attack very hard but frequently fail when casting spells.
protected	Protected characters evade an attack slightly better.
magic protected	Magic protected characters are less likely to be affected by a magical attack.
drunk	The drunk state leads to quite unpredictable outcomes of attacks and spells.
poisoned	When poisoned, a character continuously loses hit points until unpoisoned by a spell etc.
cursed	Cursed characters do a lot less damage when attacking, but are better at casting spells.
possessed	Possessed characters are controlled by a foreign mind and attack their fellows.
blinded	Attacks deal less damage, the character has less ability to protect himself and spells are more likely to fail.
paralysed	Unused in the game so far.
invisible	Being invisible gives a success bonus to attacking and spell casting.
overloaded	An overloaded character is more likely to fail with an attack or spell.
asleep	Unused in the game so far.
dead	A dead character cannot carry out any actions until he is resurrected by a healer or spell. Dead monsters can be looted.

Stats

Stats are rolled when you create a new character and grow automatically as the character gains levels from combat, indentification or casting spells.

SPEED	How quick and agile your PC is
COORDINATION	How well balanced a PC is
POWER	Used for any type of activity which requires strength
IQ	Used to cast spells and to a lesser degree for things like research
LEADERSHIP	Your PC's natural charm and ability to interact with others
LUCK	Luck is a booster stat, seldom used by itself (unless gambling)
PIETY	A pious character follows a path set by a deity
LORE	Your ability to research information and recall obscure facts

Skills

Depending on your stats you can distribute skill points to various skills each time your character gains a new level. Skills represent the % chance of succeeding at an activity. For example a PC with a weapon skill of 50% is half as likely to succesfully land a blow as one with 100% in the skill. Skills are seeded from your stats. Each skill has some stats it depends on and a difficulty rating. The starting value of a skill is its difficult rating times the average of its dependent stats. (E.g.: MELEE_WEAPON = 2 * ( ( STR + COORD ) / 2 ). Skills can be improved when the PC gains a level. (see, leveling).

Scourge uses the following skills:

FIGHT GROUP	Skills used for fighting.
MELEE_WEAPON, 2 (COORDINATION,POWER)	Your ability to wield melee weapons
RANGED_WEAPON, 2 (COORDINATION)	Used when fighting using a bow-type weapon.
LARGE_WEAPON, 2 (COORDINATION,POWER)	Ability to use an oversized or two-handed weapon
HAND_TO_HAND_COMBAT, 2 (COORDINATION,POWER)	used when fighting with bare hands.

DEFEND GROUP	Skills used for defending against an attack.
SHIELD_DEFEND, 2 (COORDINATION)	Used when using a shield to deflect an attack.
ARMOR_DEFEND, 2 (COORDINATION)	Used when using armor to deflect an attack.
DODGE_ATTACK, 1 (COORDINATION)	Used to see if a PC can escape being hit.

SORCERY GROUP	Sorceror spell-casting skills.
LIFE_AND_DEATH_MAGIC, 1 (IQ)	Describes your proficiency with spells from the school of life and death.
DECEIT_MAGIC, 1 (IQ),	Describes your proficiency with spells from the school of deceit.
CONFRONTATION_MAGIC, 1 (IQ)	Describes your proficiency with spells from the school of confrontation.
RESIST_LIFE_AND_DEATH_MAGIC, 1 (IQ)	Helps you resist spells from the school of life and death.
RESIST_DECEIT_MAGIC, 1 (IQ)	Helps you resist spells from the school of deceit.
RESIST_CONFRONTATION_MAGIC, 1 (IQ)	Helps you resist spells from the school of confrontation.

SPIRIT GROUP	Deity-granted spell-casting skills.
NATURE_MAGIC, 2(PIETY,IQ)	Describes your proficiency with spells from the school of nature.
AWARENESS_MAGIC, 2(PIETY,IQ)	Describes your proficiency with spells from the school of awareness.
RESIST_NATURE_MAGIC, 2(PIETY,IQ)	Helps you resist spells from the school of nature.
RESIST_AWARENESS_MAGIC, 2(PIETY,IQ)	Helps you resist spells from the school of awareness.

LORE GROUP	Researching and learning skills.
HISTORY_MAGIC, 2 (LORE,IQ)	Describes your proficiency with spells from the school of history.
RESIST_HISTORY_MAGIC, 2 (LORE,IQ)	Helps you resist spells from the school of history.
ENCHANT_ITEM, 2 (LORE)	Determines how well you create enchanted items.
IDENTIFY_ITEM, 2 (LORE)	Your ability to identify new items.
IDENTIFY_CREATURE, 2 (LORE)	Your ability to identify new creatures.

STEALTH GROUP	Sneaking and breaking in skills.
OPEN_LOCK, 2 (LUCK,SPEED)	A character with this skill can open locked doors better.
FIND_TRAP, 2 (LUCK,SPEED)	Helps you avoid falling into traps.
FIND_SECRET_DOOR, 2 (LUCK,SPEED)	Lets you find secret doors.
MOVE_UNDETECTED, 2 (COORDINATION,SPEED)	With the aid of this skill you can move without your enemies detecting you.
STEALING, 2 (LUCK,SPEED)	The higher you progress in this still the better you're able to lift items from merchants.

Training

For every 10 levels your character gain you will be allow to progress your characters abilities through training by the appropriate NPC trainer.

Spells

You can do a lot of awesome, deadly and even beneficial stuff with magic. Spells belong to one of several magic schools, and a character can have a different skill level in each school, making spells of the respective school easier or harder to cast. The schools are:

• Nature
• Divine Awareness
• Life and Death
• History and Lore
• Ambush Trickery and Deceit
• Confrontation

Transcription

You may transcribe a spell scroll into your spell book by clicking the "transcribe" button at the bottom of the inventory window, then clicking on the scroll. Your chances of success depend on your magic skills and the level of the spell.

Spell Slots / Hot Keys

Above the character portraits in the main window you will find twelve quickspell slots. These can be used to store items, spells and capabilities for quick access via the F keys. To store an item, select the "store" button at the bottom of the inventory window, click on the desired item, then click on a free slot. To store a spell or capability, click the "store" button to the left of the spell list in the inventory, click on the desired spell/capability and then on a free slot.

Casting

Most spells require you to select a target for the spell. That can be a party character, a monster, a door or locked chest or simply some random position on the map. The spell's description usually gives you an idea on what kinds of targets it will work.

There are many different ways to start casting a spell: By using a scroll, selecting it directly from the spell book or by selecting a spell from a quickspell slot. If the spell requires a target, the mouse cursor's appearance will change accordingly and you can then click on your target (or victim). Keep in mind that spells can fail, especially if the spell is very high level and your skill in the spell's magic school is rather low.

Capabilities

Automatic Capabilities

These Capabilities enhance your character automatically.

• Superior toughness
  Having been born and raised for the art of combat, you are a warrior who shakes off pain that would cripple a lesser person. In battle your natural abilities serve as an extra layer of armor. The player must be an at least 3rd level fighter or rogue type in order to use this capability.
• Missile Defense
  You specialize in missile weapons to the point of being able to automatically predict the path of high-speed, incoming missiles. This innate knowledge grants you an extra bonus when defending against missile weapons. The prerequisites for this capability is an at least 3rd level player with the bow skill of 20.
• War-rage
  You rejoice in destruction of all who stand in your way. For every attack when using melee weapons, you cause extra damage resulting from your battle- lust. The prerequisites for this capability are having more than 30 skill.
• Killer Blow
  Being a barbarian is hard work. Not only are you not allowed to read, bathe, or act in any way trans-gender, you also subsist on an unhealthy diet lacking in vitamins and fiber. Fortunately you may freely partake in many fittingly, barbaric activities such as the contest of killing an opponent with a single blow. This training is useful on the battlefield where you may take a bonus to your attacks. Only barbarians are allowed to use this special capability.
• Smallarm Mastery
  Spending years fighting for their lives, rogues master the use of small arms (daggers and knives). With this capability, they cause extra points of damage in combat when wielding a small weapon.
• Terminal Energy
  A mage when caught in battle and reduced to very few hit points will gain back magic points in a final desperate act of survival. The prerequisite to this capability is to be a magic user or student of lore teetering on the verge of death.
• Mystic Defense
  Using this capability, a mage or student of lore can extend the effectiveness of the armor worn by connecting with the mystic energies of the deity Xelphate. The prerequisite to this capability is being a magic user and having at least 25.
• Speedy Casting
  You have studied the art of spell casting since an early age. The basics of this discipline are second nature to you and therefore you are able to conjure up magic faster than others. The prerequisites to this skill is high levels in the magical skills.
• Healing Aura
  A palpable aura of holy innocence surround you. This force originates from celestial powers as long as you remain favored by your deity. While you travel with this aura, you and those around you naturally recover from injuries. The prerequisite to obtaining this capability is a noble profession such as a healer or certain types of high level warriors.
• Arcane Stance
  In your years of research you came across a lost treatiese on the art of defensive body movements in combat. Armed with this knowledge, the scholar can face an enemy in combat showing a least vulnerable side.
• Bow Mastery
  Many years of research teaches the scholar the perfect way to rain ranged attacks upon their enemies. Using the bow is as much about the contemplation of one's spirit as it is an execution of forms gleaned from ancient tomes. The high-level scholar receives an attack bonus with this capability.

Invoked Capabilities

You may invoke these capabilities as you would cast a spell.

• Neutralize Poison
  The rogue's happy-go-lucky attitude is said to be an attribute to a quick healing physiology. With this skill, a high level rogue character can shake off the effects of poison up to three times a day.
• Natural Healing
  Your closeness to nature imbues your being with raw energy. You can innately transform this into a healing force and cure your minor ailments twice a day. The prerequisite for this capability is having at least 25 points of nature magic skill.
• Vitality Transfer
  When invoked, this capability attempts to balance everyone's health scores in your party. The healer temporarily joins everyone's fate and shares hit points from healthy party members with those who need it. It is rumored that players also take on some of each others' personalities. The prerequisite of this capability is 25 points of Awareness magic and having at least 5 levels.

Items

All items have a wide variety of data, incl. where they can be equipped, etc. Presented here are only the combat-relevant attributes. Armor and weapons can always be equipped but if the min. requirements are not met, the usefulness of the item becomes exponentially worse. Also if the PC is above the minimum requirements, the weapon's usefulness grows linearly. Stats and skills affect CTH (chance to hit), DAM (damage) and AP (action points). The number computed via the influence values is multiplied to the final damage/defense value. The malus for unmet requirements is 1 - exp( required_STAT - PC's_STAT ).

Weapons:

• Damage type - slashing/piercing/crushing
• Base Damage - What % of the POWER stat bonus the weapon does on a hit
• Skill_type - Which FIGHT_GROUP skill to use for this weapon
• Parry % - How much of the weapon skill can be used to deflect an attack
• AP - How many action points (AP) are used up when using the weapon
• Stat influence multiplier (req., below/above values)
• Skill influence multiplier (req., below/above values)

Armor:

• Defense per damage type - How much damage is absorbed by the armor vs. a type of attack
• Skill_type - Which DEFEND_GROUP skill to use for this weapon
• Dodge penalty - Heavy armor is hard to move in (penalty vs. DODGE_ATTACK)
• Stat influence multiplier (req., below/above values)
• Skill influence multiplier (req., below/above values)

Magic Weapons/Armor:

• Magic weapons come in four categories (power levels): Lesser, Greater, Champion and Divine
• Bonus to weapon/armor skill (easier to hit with)
• Bonus to base damage/defense
• Extra magic damage
• Smaller dodge penalty
• Stat bonuses
• Set or protect from state mods
• Apply a defensive spell or capability

Combat

This a description of the turned-based combat in S.c.o.u.r.g.e. Real-time combat is assumed to use the same math but events occur concurrently. Also, only non-magical combat is detailed here. All values/calculations here are further modified for magic weapons, automatic special capabilities, outside factors like the time-of-day, etc.

• Initiative
  • All creatures participating in combat are ordered by rolling 1d10 + SPEED bonus. (The SPEED bonus map is in a property file.) This is the order in which the combat turns will be played.
• Chance to hit (CTH)
  • CTH = roll 1d100 vs ( attacker.weapon_skill - defender.DODGE_ATTACK )
    • Here, weapon_skill is one of the FIGHT_GROUP skills, depending on the weapon. Also, the DODGE_ATTACK skill is applied with a modifier against sneak attacks, creatures from behind, multiple opponents, invisible attackers, etc. Also DODGE_ATTACK skill is modified by the armor that is worn.
    • Next, the defender can try to block using SHIELD_DEFEND or the "parry" % of their weapon skill. There will be a cap on how much damage can be deflected this way.
• Damage roll (DAM)
  • If a hit is rolled above, we calculate damage:
    • DAM = roll the POWER bonus table (values from a prop file),
    • take the weapon's base damage %,
    • apply skill/stat/state-mod influence.
    • Now subtract the damage from the armor value of the opponent. The armor value is influenced the same way damage is by stats/skills/state-mod, etc.
  • Damage done to a PC is subtracted from the creature's HP. If HP == 0, the creature dies.
• Pacing
  • The base AP (action points) a character has at the start of a round is calculated from:
    • AP = ( SPEED + COORDINATION ) / 2
  • Weapon AP is between 6(fast)-10(slow).
    • Taking one step costs 1 AP
  • Most spells cost between 5-10, powerful spells more (up to 20).
  • Weapon skill influences AP (like it does CTH, DAM, etc.)

HQ

The S.C.O.U.R.G.E. headquarters are where your adventure starts, and after a completed mission, you will be transported back here and briefed by Uzudil the Hand. You can also visit the headquarters while on a mission by using a teleporter.

NPCs

In the headquarters, as well as on many of the missions, you will encounter friendly characters that give you information or want to trade with you.

• Uzudil
  Uzudil the Hand acts as an intermediary between adventurers and the owners of the S.C.O.U.R.G.E. company. He is also responsible for customer relations, i.e. reeling in lucrative missions from clients. Uzudil will give you a briefing before and after each mission. Because he is a sage, he can also identify, uncurse and recharge your magical items for a fee.
• Shopkeepers
  You will often encounter resident shopkeepers and travelling merchants. They are usually specialized on specific types of items, like weapons, magic scrolls or food.
• Healers
  These provide magical services for money.
• Trainers
  Occasionally you will be able to enhance your abilities with help of a trainer that teaches your profession.
• Hiring
  Only in the headquarters you will come across other adventurers seeking employment at S.C.O.U.R.G.E. Inc. You can recruit these into your party. Your party can consist of up to four characters, after that you will have to dismiss characters to hire new ones.

Missions

When in the headquarters, you can start or return to a mission by selecting it from the big board in the room with the purple flames.

The Mission Board

The current story line mission always shows up on top of the mission list in purple. The other missions are from S.C.O.U.R.G.E. Inc.'s clients and may for example expect you to obtain an item or kill a specific monster. These missions are not necessary to complete the game but are usually well paid.

The color of the mission gives you an indication of its difficulty level. Missions in red are the ones you may very well not return alive from, yellow ones are manageable when you know what you do, and white ones should be quite easy.

After completing certain story line missions, you will in addition gain cyan colored excursion missions that allow you to return to a certain place to visit trainers or merchants you have encountered there.

When starting a mission, you will be transported to the outdoors near the dungeon entrance. Usually you will find a village with helpful people nearby. When you are ready, search for the downstairs, enter the monster infected lair and fulfill your mission objective.

Chapters

When completing a story line mission, the story will progress to the next chapter. Uzudil will tell you what to do next. You will also get new client missions on the mission board. As soon you feel bold enough, you can then start the next story line mission.

Caves, Dungeons, Etc

Doors, Levers, Secret Doors, Teleporters

To know exactly what will await you on your missions is quite beyond the knowledge of this humble documentation writer. Hopefuly a fun adventure! Here is but a smattering of the things you may encounter:

• Doors: - You undoubtedly know how to use these. Such portals of heavy oak were a favorite of the dwellings' builders in ages long past. How strange that they should still (mostly) work! Should you find some locked, remember that there is a lever located perhaps not nearby, but definitely in an accessible place...
• Teleporters: - Some years back (it's hard to find anyone still alive to remember) the city government audited the S.C.O.U.R.G.E. HQ. It was decreed that vermin extermination being a dangerous job, certain worker amenities needed to be installed. The dungeons were to be retrofitted with torches, teleporters and clean bathrooms. Unfortunatelly, the construction crew was lost to a Bauul attack before the completion of the project...
• Hostile creatures: - No one likes to be disturbed. And those used to the dark silence of this clammy underworld will try their best to ...well, eat you, should you encounter them. A modest variety of monsters will await you in your travels. And while some are stronger, more resilient, etc. than others, it is safe to say, that the more missions you attempt and the deeper underground you descend, the tougher you opponents will become. Of course hard-to-kill monsters usually harbor hard-to-find treasures...
• Gates: - The uninviting black passeges lead to lower or higher levels of the same dungeon. You may notice how stairs leading up sport a pink "up arrow", and those leading down a blue "down arrow."
• Barrels, boxes, etc. - Neatly stacked by the wall, these containers were the space-saving initiative of the last (now eaten) administration. You can move them! I know this is not very exciting but they do come in handy as tactical, "mobile barriers" in combat. You can also use them to store your loot without a huge sacrifice in frame rate... ;-)
• Torches - Ignore them, they're pretty but useless.
• Weapons and armor - Occasionally you will find lost pieces of armor and weaponry on your travels. Even if you don't/can't use them lug them back to HQ to sell them.
• Scrolls - Scrolls allow anyone to cast a spell. Although not as well as the learned wizard, even the ordinary brute (if he can read) is able to resurrect a party member, or attempt to possess a foe (not recommended). Additionally those learned in the arts, can transcribe spells into their spellbooks. Either casting or transcribing a scroll makes it disappear.
• Potions - Should you get scratched up while on your adventures, or loose an arm or two, a healing potion -a revolutionary advance in contemporary medicine- is just what you need! The effects are painless and complete and nearly instantenious. Other types of potions cure several other conditions or enhance abilities. Sadly, there is no cure for possession or drunkenness.
• Food and drinks - These keep you from starving and parching respectively. Be sure to step away from the game for a while to replenish and relieve yourself. Game Responsibly!
• Magical weapons and armor Magical items are (for the most part) good for you. Having them on your person not only makes you feel manly (they glow) but offer features such as bonus to hit/attacks, extra magical damage/protection, a boost to your skills, protection from adverse effects (like being cursed or possessed) and so on. Depending on your skill level, you can even create them yourself from ordinary weapons or armor. Once a day you can select a boring, plain item from your inventory and "enchant" it.
  • Magical items are outlined with four colors. Lesser items are green, Greater are blue, Champion items are red and the most powerful Divine magic items are purple. Containers containing magical item are outlined with yellow.
• Traps - Often hidden and rarely friendly
• Furniture - Even the most stout hearted of evil overlords enjoys a moment of piece and quiet now and again. To satisfy this diabolic need for Feng Shui simple pieces of hardy furniture adorn their lairs of contemplation.
• Healing Pools - There are holy places even in the dark tunnels under the earth. Each such site is but an aspect of a deity's power. Near such "axis mundi", players of the right divine affiliation may receive assistance from above a number of times a day.

Monsters

Monster are sometimes funny looking until you realize that half your party is decimated.

Bandits, Thieves, Evil Wizards, Ghosts, and Demons - They are angry because they are often generalized as "monsters" in RPG games. In protest, they will do their best to thwart your quest.

• More explanations needed

---