User Guide

Graffiti
As you travel through the Maze, you will occasionally find unusual markings. These
may represent stairs upwards and downwards, special passageways you might want to
explore, messages scrawled on the walls and dark areas into which you cannot see.
Mapping
Each time you enter the Maze, you will be told that you are at the foot of the staircase
which links the Castle with the first (topmost) Maze level. If you go up these stairs,
you'll be back in the Castle.
When you enter the Maze from the Castle, you always start on the first level as
far South and as far West in the Maze as you can be, facing North.
You may ask, who cares? Well, in order to survive in the Maze, you must know with
reasonable certainty where you are and how you got there. The only way to know
these things it to make accurate maps and refine them every chance you get.
Mapping is indeed one of the most important skills that successful Wizardry players
possess. Without good maps, you will get hopelessly lost and eventually your character
will die! Mapping is not all that difficult, but it does take a little patience and practice.
Use graph paper to chart your progress in the Maze. Be wary of nasty tricks designed
to mislead you. Wizardry levels are constructed around the concept of a 20 x 20 grid.
The word concept is rather loosely used here because the authors have done
everything they can to misguide and misdirect you into believing that what you see on
the grid is not real.
The fundamental way to map is to stand on a square, look north, map where you see;
then turn east (don’t move off that square!), and map what you see. Do the same for
the south and west directions also. Then and only then, take a step in one of the four
directions and repeat the mapping procedures. Always map an area without going
through a door (you never know if it is a one-way door), taking a stair, or entering any
special area, like an area of all darkness. If you stumble into a special area try to leave
immediately. This may seem like very slow work, but if you follow this methodology,
you will not readily get lost.
Mapping Aids
There are several things that will aid your travels. First, and foremost, is the use of a
light spell. MILWA and its more powerful cousin, LOMILWA, perform a giant service
for you. They extend your vision several squares ahead, which is a great aid in
mapping and anticipating problems. More importantly, though, they make secret
doors visible. Without the spells, a player must try to pass through every wall segment
to see if there is a door there. The real problem with this is that quite often, you really
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Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord