User Guide

* light blue if they are carrying 66% to 74% of their total capacity
* yellow if they are carrying 75% to 89% of their total capacity
* red if they are carrying 90% or more of their total capacity.
It is possible for your character to carry more than his or her carrying capacity.
However, any character who attempts this heroic feat of muscle will likely exhaust
his stamina so quickly that he'll pass out from exhaustion a few steps later.
Armor Class (AC): A character's armor class describes how well he or she is
protected from attack. Armor class ranges from a +10 (virtually naked) to a -10 (a
Sherman tank). Without question, the lower the armor class, the better. In
Wizardry, there are several different armor classes:
* Natural AC reflects the character's ability to avoid being hit by a monster.
Certain races, such as the Faerie, have a genetically low natural armor class.
Characters who are fast and dexterous or those skilled in Ninjutsu also have a
low natural armor class.
* (Encumbrance Penalty/Shield Bonus) offsets your natural armor class and
is consulted whenever your character is attacked. If your character is
encumbered, he or she doesn't move well, and therefore is easier to hit. In
this case, you would see an encumbrance penalty - a positive number
reflecting an increase in your character's armor class. However, if the
character is equipped with a shield, you would see a shield bonus - a negative
number reflecting a decrease in your character's armor class. Should the
character be both encumbered and wearing a shield, an average of the two
would be displayed. When Wizardry needs information on your character's
natural armor class, it adds the number in parentheses to the natural armor
class to get an overall picture of how well protected the character is. In the
case of a negative number, it's subtracted.
* Magical Armor Class represents the armor class protection of any magical
items your character equips. Magical protection covers the entire body.
* Body Armor Classes show you how well a particular body part is protected
against penetration by a monster's weapon once the character has already
been hit. Even if a monster hits your character, its weapon may never
penetrate the armor on that body part.
Reviewing Your Character
To view the character you've just created, select the "Review PC" option. Once you're
reviewing, you can select from any of the options listed below. Some of these options
are not available from the Character Menu, but you will find all of them once you
have begun play and entered Wizardry.
Equip
When you first create your character, he or she will be carrying a few basic items (a
sword and leather armor, maybe) appropriate for the profession you have selected. To
make these items useful, you need to equip them. After all, that new helmet won't offer
you much protection if you don't take it out of the hat box. Select "Equip" to do so.
Use the [UP] arrow key to move the selection bar to the item list, or press [ENTER]
for none. Move through the items until the one you desire is highlighted, and press
[ENTER] to select it. The item you have selected will be colored; the others you
opted not to use will turn to gray.
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Bane of the Cosmic Forge