User Guide

Armor Class is a measure of how well-protected you are against attack. Note that,
unlike other measures in this game, a better armor class, or AC, corresponds to a
lower number. Thus AC may be expressed as a negative number if it is unusually
good. Bare skin, for example, has an AC of 10. A character with an AC of -10 is about
as well armored as a Sherman Tank.
When a character acquires armor that is +1, +2, or +3, that means that upon
being equipped with the armor, his AC will be lowered 1, 2, or 3 points below
what is normal for that piece of armor. For example, Leather Armor lowers AC
by 2 (10-2= new AC of 8), while Leather +1 lowers AC by 3 (10-3= new AC of 7).
Some items in Wizardry do you more harm than good. Such items are frequently
noted as having minus numbers. For example, a defective piece of Leather Armor
might be Leather -1, giving the wearer an AC of 9 instead of the usual 8. Such
items are almost always cursed.
Remember that while a cursed item is usually bad, it doesn't have to be. In
Wizardry, cursed means that the player who equips it is "cursed to wear it".
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Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord