
=============================== Character Birth ===============================

     This file describes your character and his creation.  It discusses the 
races and classes available in Oangband; racial and class tables are provided 
at the bottom.


=== Creating a Character ===

Oangband is a role-playing game, in which you, the player, control a character
in a world of magic and cold steel.  Perhaps the most important thing you 
control is the birth of your character, in which you choose or allow to be 
chosen various attributes that will affect his future adventures.

You choose a race, a class, and may set various birth options.  You may start 
over at any time by pressing 'S'.

Once you have accepted a character you will asked for a name.  The actual 
choice of a name may have some effect on the game itself.  It is used to 
specify character-specific preference files, is shown in the high score 
list, and, in some operating systems like Macintosh and Windows, is used to 
save the character to disk.


=== Races ===

There are thirteen different races that you can choose from in Oangband, 
representing most of the speaking peoples found in Tolkien's books, plus Gnomes.  
Some races cannot realistically choose all professions, and each race has its 
own adjustments to a character's stats and abilities. Most races also have 
intrinsic abilities.
     Maiar are especially designed for new and inexperienced players, and are 
not recommended for veterans.  Dunedain and High-Elves are good choices for 
players whose spellcasters of other races die too quickly.

     Human:
         Humans are the base characters.  All other races are compared to them.
         Humans can choose any class and are average at everything.  They have 
         a slight bonus to fighting skill when using swords and crossbows, and 
         have more hit points than many other races, but otherwise they have no 
         racial adjustments or intrinsics.
 
     Half-Elf:
         Half-elves tend to be smarter and more agile than humans, but are not 
         as strong.  Half-elves are slightly better at searching, disarming, 
         saving throws, stealth, shooting (especially with bows), and magic, but 
         they are not as good at hand weapons, and have slightly fewer hit 
         points.  Half-elves may choose any class and do not receive any intrin-
         sic abilities.
 
     Elf:
         Elves are better magicians then humans, but not as good at fighting.  
         They tend to be smarter, wiser, and more dexterous than either humans 
         or half-elves, but lack the strength or the hit points of either.  
         Elves are better at searching, disarming, perception, shooting 
         (especially with bows), and magic, but they are not as good at hand 
         weapons.  They are very stealthy.  Elves may choose any class except 
         Paladin.  They resist light effects intrinsically.
 
     Hobbits:
         Hobbits are very good at bows (especially slings), throwing, and have 
         good saving throws.  They are even better at searching, disarming, 
         perception, and stealth; so they make excellent rogues, but prefer to 
         be called burglars.  They will be much weaker than humans, and no good 
         at melee fighting.  They have few hit points, but can sometimes endure 
         ailments that would lay other races low.  Hobbits have fair infra-
         vision, so they can detect warm creatures at a distance.  Hobbits can 
         choose between being a warrior, mage, rogue, druid, or assassin.  They 
         have no special abilities.
 
     Gnome:
         Gnomes are the pudgy pranksters of the dungeon; if they can kill some-
         thing in a humorous way, so much the better... They, like hobbits, live 
         in the earth in burrow-like homes.  Gnomes make excellent mages, are 
         the best magical device users of any race, and are good at searching, 
         disarming, and perception.  They are reasonably stealthy. They have 
         lower strength and fewer hitpoints than humans so they are not very 
         good at fighting with hand weapons.  Gnomes have good infra-vision, so 
         they can detect warm-blooded creatures at a distance.  A gnome may 
         choose between being a warrior, mage, priest, rogue, necromancer, or 
         assassin.  Gnomes are intrinsically protected against paralysis and 
         some slowing effects.
 
     Dwarf:
         Dwarves are the headstrong miners and fighters of legend.  They are 
         strong, wise, and tough, but not very quick-witted or agile.  Since 
         dungeons are their natural home, dwarves have very good infravision, 
         can never be blinded, and make good warriors, priests, and necromancers.  
         They gain a small bonus to combat skill when using polearms, but don't 
         know the first thing about bows.  Because they are so headstrong and 
         wise, they resist spells which are cast on them.  They do have one 
         big drawback, though:  Dwarves are loudmouthed and proud, singing in 
         loud voices, arguing with themselves for no good reason, screaming out 
         challenges at imagined foes.  In other words, dwarves have a miserable 
         stealth.
 
     Half-Orc:
         Half-Orcs can become warriors, priests, rogues, necromancers, or 
         assassins, doing their best to make great constitutions and loads of 
         hit points make up for poor magical and dungeon survival skills.  Both 
         their intelligence and wisdom are suspect, but they do know hand-to-
         hand combat, are tough and strong. Half-Orcs are, let's face it, ugly.
         They tend to pay more for goods in town.  Because of their preference
         to living underground to on the surface, half-orcs resist darkness 
         attacks.
 
     Half-Troll:
         Half-Trolls are incredibly strong, and have more hit points than any 
         other character race.  They are also very stupid and clumsy.  They 
         will make great warriors, iffy priests, and rather interesting 
         necromancers.  They are bad at searching, disarming, perception, and 
         stealth.  They need to eat a lot.  They are so ugly that a Half-Orc 
         grimaces in their presence.  They also happen to be fun to run...  
         Half-trolls always have their strength sustained.
 
     Dunadan:
         Dunedain are a race of hardy men from the West.  This elder race sur-
         passes the abilities of other humans in every field, are superb melee 
         fighters, and have amazing wisdom and constitution.  They may play any 
         class.  Their constitution cannot be reduced.
 
     High-Elf:
         High-elves are a race of undying beings dating from the beginning of 
         the world.  They are masters of all skills, and are agile and 
         intelligent, although their wisdom is sometimes suspect.  They can play 
         all classes except Paladin, and very well at that.  High-elves begin 
         their lives able to see the unseen, and resist light effects just like 
         other elves.
 
     Maia:  (Special race for players new to Oangband.  Score is reduced by 50%)
         The Maiar, lesser deities of the created world, often take tangible 
         form and mingle among earthly beings.  They can be found among the 
         ranks of wise counselors, peerless warriors, mighty wizards and deadly 
         necromancers; indeed they can play any class with credit.  Their vital 
         statistics put all other races to shame, their standard abilities are 
         always good and sometimes superlative, and they recover divinely 
         quickly from all sorts of wounds and ailments.  Maiar are perfect
         for those desiring a character able to survive the perils of an un-
         familiar game.

     Shadow Fairy:
         Also known as Fays, these beings were created neither by the powers of 
         good nor of evil but, for all anyone knows, appeared when the world 
         was formed out of primeval darkness and void.  They are weak and 
         perilously frail, and know little of physical combat.  However, their  
         intelligence and wisdom far surpasses the human norm, and their stealth 
         is extraordinary.  Not merely are Shadow Fairies the stealthiest of all 
         races, but they never aggravate monsters.  (If they normally would, 
         they suffer a penalty of three to stealth).  Shadow Fairies must beware 
         of bright light.

     Ent:
         Clad in bark-like skin, and with bodies like the trunks of trees, Ents 
         can nevertheless move about perfectly well.  They have poor dungeon 
         survival skills, and are bad at archery and with polearms, but handle 
         other weapons well.  As long as they stay away from fire, Ents will 
         find themselves well capable of surviving many a bitter fight.  As 
         they age, Ents slowly lose the relative suppleness of their sapling 
         youth, trading dexterity for increased strength and constitution.  
         Members of this wise race can never gain feather fall by any means, but 
         will slowly acquire the ability needed to tear rock apart with their 
         weaponless hands.
 
     Beorning:
         These hardy woodsfolk, though of human origin, have developed a deep
         affinity with nature.  Many of the Beornings have learned the secret
         languanges of animals and some have learned to transform themselves
         into the forms of great bears.  They have respectable dungeon survival
         skills and are comfortable with all manner of weapons, but they are
         mediocre with magical devices.  They are at a slight disadvantage in
         charisma and intellegence, but they have better wisdom and 
         consistution than other humans.  When needed, they can take the form
         of an increasingly powerful bear (use the ']' command), making them
         more effective in combat and weaker in magic and archery.  Beorning
         are best known as warriors, rangers, and druids, though they make 
         fine rogues and priests as well.


=== Classes ===
 
Nine different classes are available in Oangband.  Some classes are not re-
commended for certain races; for instance, a Half-Troll would be a very confused 
Paladin.  More information about magics available to each class con be found in 
the help file "magic.txt".  For the first few adventures it is suggested that 
you run a warrior, rogue, or paladin.  The pure spellcasters generally require a 
more experienced player that is familiar with survival techniques.  Different 
classes have access to different specialty abilites (described in
"specialt.txt").

     Warrior:
         The great melee fighter, capable of doing more damage and surviving 
         longer at close quarters than any other class.  So skilled in combat 
         can a warrior become that he gains permanent protection from fear at 
         level 30, learns to probe for weaknesses (see the help doc "magic.txt")
         at level 35, can spread attacks out among weaker monsters at level 40, 
         and regenerates intrinsically at level 45.  A warrior gets an extra 
         specialty ability at level 1.  He is unchallengable with melee weapons, 
         and is also good with all missile launchers, shooting quickly with bows 
         and crossbows.  His biggest drawback is his ignorance of spells and 
         many magical items.  Most of his dungeon survival skills are average or 
         worse.  A Warrior learns no magical spells, and has poor magical 
         defences.  He has very fast, strong pseudo-ID.  His prime stat is 
         Strength, and a good Dexterity and Constitution can really help at 
         times.

     Mage:
         Master of sorcery.  A mage is not really happy without an assortment 
         of magical devices to use in addition to his spells.  He can master 
         the higher level magical devices far more easily than anyone else.  
         A mage fights very poorly, except with the lightest of weapons, and is 
         almost as bad at archery.  He is stealthy at low levels, but his magic 
         betrays his presence later on.  Most of his other skills are mediocre.
         He has excellent magical defences, but dangerously poor physical ones.
         He has very slow, weak pseudo-ID.  Intelligence is his primary stat, 
         and a high Constitution is very useful.

     Priest:
         Covenanted with a mighty and generous god. He explores the dungeon only 
         to clease the evil that lurks within, and if treasure just happens to 
         fall into his pack, well, so much more to the glory of his church!  A 
         priest is spoilt for choice with protection and healing prayers, and 
         can wield the power of holy light like no other character can.  In 
         addition, pious characters can fight fairly well, as long as they stay 
         away from archery and edged weapons.  They have average dungeon survival 
         skills, but know quite a bit about magical items, and resist magic very 
         well.  Priests gain +1 to light radius at level 35 and above and 
         permanent protection against evil at level 50.  They have very fast but 
         weak pseudo-ID.  Wisdom is a Priest's primary stat.

     Rogue:
         The flexible dungeon sneaker, first in line when dungeon survival 
         skills were handed out.  Rogues can fight very well with light weapons 
         and shoot very quickly with slings, but have trouble with heavier gear.
         They can fight hand-to-hand more quietly than can any other class, and
         gets the most effective sneak attacks against sleeping monsters.
         Rogues have the unique capacity of filching purses and setting traps
         (use the '+' command.  See the help file "combat.txt for more details).
         They have fairly fast, strong pseudo-ID.  They will also get a fairly
         good collection of spells to improve their natural skills, aid in
         battle, and gain information.  Unfortunately, no shopkeeper trusts a
         rogue, and so members of this class will pay dearly for goods in town.
         A rogue's primary stats are Intelligence and Dexterity.

     Ranger:
         An archer skilled in nature lore.  Rangers are better than any other 
         class with any missile weapon except slings, shooting quickly with
         slings and crosbows and very quickly with bows.  They learn about
         monsters abilities very quickly.  Rangers are better than average in
         melee, and find their spells to be mighty handy.   They have pretty
         good dungeon survival skills and stealth, but are a little uncertain
         about magical devices, and have fairly slow pseudo-ID.  A ranger's
         primary stats are Wisdom and Constitution.

     Paladin:
         A champion of the Faith.  A paladin is the second best melee fighter 
         available.  As long as he sticks to priestly weapons, his mastery of 
         the elements and of battle prayers will render him formidable to his 
         foes.  Missile weapons and magical devices confuse him.  He has little 
         stealth, and poor dungeon survival skills, but can survive as well or 
         better than any other class in battle or against magic.  He has a sub-
         set of the priestly prayers.  Plus one to light radius at level 45 and 
         above.  He has moderately-paced, strong pseudo-ID.  His primary stats 
         are Wisdom and Strength.

     Druid:
         At one with nature.  He possesses a wide and varied range of healing, 
         dungeon alteration, and knowledge spells, plus a large number of spells 
         to hinder and reduce foes.  Can fight well bare-handed and acceptably 
         with slings, but not with other missile weapons or any melee weapon.  
         Although a druid can do a lot of damage, his spells are more random 
         than are those of other realms.  He has decent magical skill, fairly 
         high stealth, and good magical defences.  A Druid will have decent 
         dungeon survival skills.  He has extremely slow, weak pseudo-ID.  His 
         primary stat is Wisdom.

     Necromancer:
         Dealer in death.  He has an unsurpassed collection of highly deadly 
         combat spells, and can dish out damage like nobody's business.  His 
         magical item ability is acceptable, but virtually all of his other 
         skills are poor, and he has a hard time protecting himself.  Fortu-
         ately, at higher levels his magic can help with some of these prob-
         lems.  He has slow, weak pseudo-ID.  His primary stat is Intelligence, 
         and he needs to watch his Constitution.

     Assassin:

         The death-dealing stalker.  He is better than a Rogue at melee, but is 
         still limited to reasonably light weapons.  An Assassin is deadly with 
         lighter missile launchers, and can eventually poison missiles, but does
         not shoot especially quickly.  He is a master at using thrown weapons
         against sleeping monsters.  He has rather good stealth, but lacks
         protection if caught.  His other dungeon survival skills are good, and
         he has access to a sub-set of the necromantic spells.  He can shoot
         missiles and throw objects more quietly than any other class, and
         makes little noise in melee as well.  An Assassin will have mediocre
         magic skill, and poor magical defences.  He has fairly fast, strong
         pseudo-ID.  His primary stats are Intelligence and Strength.


=== Combinations of Race and Class (recommendations only) ===
 
                 Warrior      Priest      Ranger      Druid     Assassin
                         Mage       Rogue      Paladin      Necro

     Human         Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes
     Half-Elf      Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes
     Elf           Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   No    Yes   Yes   Yes
     Hobbit        Yes   Yes   No    Yes   No    No    Yes   No    Yes
     Gnome         Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   No    No    No    Yes   Yes
     Dwarf         Yes   No    Yes   No    No    No    No    Yes   No
     Half-Orc      Yes   No    Yes   Yes   No    No    No    Yes   Yes
     Half-Troll    Yes   No    Yes   No    No    No    No    Yes   No
     Dunadan       Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes
     High-Elf      Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   No    Yes   Yes   Yes
     Maia          Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes
     Shadow Fairy  Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   Yes   No    Yes   Yes   Yes
     Ent           Yes   No    Yes   No    Yes   No    Yes   No    No
     Beorning      Yes   No    Yes   Yes   Yes   No    Yes   No    No


=== Stat Bonus and Hit Point Tables ===

                    STR  INT   WIS   DEX   CON   CHR  Hit Dice Difficulty
     Human          0     0     0     0     0     0      10    High
     Half-Elf      -1    +1     0    +1    -1    +1       9    High
     Elf           -1    +2    +1    +2    -1    +2       9    Standard/Low
     Hobbit        -2    +2    +1    +3    +2    +1       7    Standard/High
     Gnome         -1    +2     0    +2    +0    -2       8    High
     Dwarf         +2    -2    +2    -2    +2    -3      11    Standard/Low
     Half-Orc      +2    -1    -1     0    +2    -3      11    Standard/High
     Half-Troll    +4    -3    -1    -3    +3    -4      12    Standard/Low
     Dunadan       +1    +1    +3    +2    +3    +2      10    Low
     High-Elf      +1    +3    -1    +3    +1    +5      10    Low
     Maia          +2    +3    +3    +2    +4    +4      12    Lowest
     Shadow Fairy  -2    +2    +2    +1    -1     0       7    Standard/High
     Ent           +2     0    +2    -2    +2     0      12    Standard/Low
     Beorning       0    -1    +1     0    +1     0      10    Standard/High

                   STR   INT   WIS   DEX   CON   CHR  Hit Dice
     Warrior       +5    -2    -2    +2    +2    -1      +9
     Mage          -4    +3     0    +1    -2    +1      +0
     Priest        -1    -3    +3    -1     0    +2      +2
     Rogue         +2    +1    -2    +3    +1    -5      +5
     Ranger        +1     0    +1    +2    +1    +0      +5
     Paladin       +2    -3    +1     0    +1    +2      +7
     Druid         -2    -2    +3    +1     0    +1      +0
     Necromancer   -2    +3    -2    +1     0    -2      +0
     Assassin      +2    +1    -3    +2    +0    -2      +4
 
 
=== Ability Tables ===

     See the help file "abilattr" for complete explanations of what each 
ability does for your character.

Abilities are ranked on a comparative scale ranging from 1 to 10.

                 disarm device save stealth search percep melee shooting
     Human         5      5     5      5      5      5      5      5
     Half-Elf      6      6     6      6      7      6      4      6
     Elf           7      8     7      8      8      7      4      7
     Hobbit       10      8     9      8     10     10      1      7
     Gnome         9     10     6      6      7      7      2      5
     Dwarf         4      5     9      3      6      6      8      4
     Half-Orc      4      4     4      4      4      4      6      4
     Half-Troll    3      3     3      4      3      3      9      3
     Dunadan       7      6     6      6      6      8      7      7
     High-Elf      8      9     9      7      7      9      5      9
     Maia          9      9    10      6      7     10     10     10
     Shadow Fairy  8      6     5     10+    10     10      2      4
     Ent           3      5     7      6      3      5      7      3
     Beorning      6      5     5      6      6      8      6      5

                 disarm device save stealth search percep melee missile
     Warrior       5      3     5      3      4      4      10     8
     Mage          3     10     6     5->2    5      6      3      3
     Priest        3      6     8      4      5      5      5*     5
     Rogue         9      6     6      8     10     10      6      8
     Ranger        5      4     6      6      6      7      6     10
     Paladin       3      2     6      3      3      3      9*     4
     Druid         4      5     7      6      6      7      4      6
     Necromancer   3      6     4      4      4      4      3      3
     Assassin      7      5     3      7      8      8      9      9

* : With blunt weapons; otherwise much worse (use the 'I'nspect 
    command to find out which weapons are blunt)
