What's New

Creatures
Now there are well over 400 different creature types, all with their own blurbs (almost all Crasimoff's Quest World specific). Latest additions to the game include Slogs, Morphant, Festering Presence, Hell Mouth, Beggar Thief, Outlaw, Bandit King and over twenty others.

New larger monster groups can be encountered which can hold different types within their ranks. Imagine facing off against a whole mirauko warband consisting of ten archers, twenty grunts, three shamen and a hulking warchief.

Major monsters are also A LOT more dangerous, with Greater Dragons able to deliver claw attacks, wings buffets, tail lashes, bites, breath weapon and even the ability to swallow characters whole. Why fight them? If they are that tough they are bound to have some very, very tasty treasure.

Items
The number of items has also been vastly increased and whole sets of new major magic items can be found. Plus1 to Plus3 weapons can still be bought in towns and cities but these are only well-crafted items, they are not magical artefacts. Plus4 weapons and above are magical and... yes legendary Plus9 do exist but only for those willing to go on the most dangerous quests to retrieve them.

New protectional armours can be found along with monster specific slaying weapons including some which can be used to take out certain major Spiritual Servants and there is believed to be one which even the Emperor fears.

Some races are better at using some weapons than others and those people used to having protection from shields whilst wielding two-handed weapons will discover that reality hurts.
 

Chalice of Light This high holy K’norian relic is said to contain some of the tears K’nor shed when his brother god F’nor enslaved their father and took the path of darkness. The legends tell that it has the power restore life to the dead no matter how long the person has been a corpse. There are also those who say that if it is used against undead it will sear the creatures with its holy light and destroy them. The last holder of the Chalice is said to have been one Father Gailus and in his tomb it is still believed to reside.

Plunder and Unclaimed Equipment
Equipment picked up from combat, handed to your party or simply found lying in the wilderness or dungeons goes to a separate store of Plunder and Unclaimed Equipment on the party, rather than straight on to a random character's equipment list. This makes it easier for more experienced parties to get rid of unwanted items. This is controlled by the H (hand) order, using the number 16 to represent the plunder and 99 to represent all items.

H  16  1   123456 -  Character 1 is handed item number 123456
H  16  2   99          -  Character 2 is handed all the plunder items
H  16  23  65432  -  Try to sell unclaimed item 65432 at shop 23
H  16  20  99         -  Try to sell all unclaimed items at shop 20
H  16  0   13579    -  If in the wilderness then dump item 13579 from the plunder (gone forever). If in a settlement then go around all the shops selling item 13579 at the first place that will buy it.
H  16  0   99          -  If in the wilderness then dump all the items from the plunder (gone forever). If in a settlement then go around all the shops selling all plunder items at the first place that will buy them

N.B. Plunder is not guarded as well as personal items. It should be sold or handed to party members as quickly as possible as it is easy pickings for the local thieves' guilds.

SP (target party number) (99)
Scout Character/Party. This order allows a party with a Thief profession to scout a target party that is in the same location. A random selection of characters are checked and in addition the plunder is always checked. The order will only show important items like + equipment and special items. The target party may be aware that they were scouted.
For example: SP  1845  99  will see one of your thieves scout out group 1845..

SP (target party number) (item number)
Scout Character/Party for Item. This order allows a party with a Thief profession to scout a target party that is in the same location for a specific item. A random selection of characters are checked and in addition the plunder is always checked. Since the character carrying out the action is looking for something specific, it is more likely to work than just generally scouting a party. The specific item number must be used, the item type number will not work. The target party may be aware that they were scouted.
For example: SP  1845  4566  will see one of your thieves check group 1845 for item 4566.

SI (target party number) (character) (item)
Steal Item from Character. This order can only be used by a party with a Thief profession, on a party in the same location. A specific item is stolen from the designated character position. This order also automatically checks the plunder slot in addition to the designated character. The specific item number must be used, the item type number will not work. Only items that are not equipped can be stolen.
For example: SP  1845  12  4566  your thief will try to steal item 4566 from party 1845 char 12.

SI (target party number) (99) (item)
Steal Item from Party. This order can also only be used by a party with a Thief profession, on a party in the same location. A specific item is stolen from the party, as several random characters are checked. This order also automatically checks the plunder slot in addition to the designated character. Due to having to check several characters it is harder to succeed in comparison to just stealing from a specific character. The specific item number must be used, the item type number will not work. Only items that are not equipped can be stolen. 
For example: SP  1845  99  4566  your thief will try to steal item 4566 from party 1845.

Special Encounters & Locations
During the travels of your group, sooner or later you will have a Special Encounter. These are normally situations where the usual orders are not applicable and a new special order can be used. It can be a Hidden Shrine, Lost Astoff Vault, Runic Monolith, Wiseman… the list is endless. 

When you have a Special Encounter you will receive details at the bottom of the encounter of the new order which can be used. It can be anything from an Answer Riddle order to an Accept Gift order and can lead to Heroic Quests.

Example: As the party prepare to settle down to sleep, a faint light can be seen off in the darkness. What at first appears to be a flickering candle flame gets closer until it becomes obvious that the light is simply floating in mid air. The faint light slowly begins to show up a white, ethereal figure for whom the flickering flame is its heart. The figure resembles a bearded man dressed in plate armour with a sorrowful look upon his face. "Fear you not," whispers the ghostly knight, "for I cannot harm you and you can do me no ill. Cursed I am to find no rest until one answers for me the riddle of the rival brothers. Listen and if you know the answer then speak it I beg of you." The spirit pauses and then starts to speak its riddle;

"No twins could ever with us compare,
 So like in shape and size;
 Our bodies white like ermine fair,
 As black as jet our eyes:
 But tho' so like in every feature,
 We rival brothers be;
 Yet so obdurate is our nature,
 We often disagree."

"The word will break the curse," says the ghost, "and my blade is yours if you release me from this limbo."

[When dealing with this encounter, you must deliver an Answer Riddle order in the following way: [AR] [char] [answer to the riddle] [riddle code]. The code for this riddle is 802.]

Heroic Quests
Not all Quests however come by an offer of work in a town, some come from special encounters. Groups can occasionally stumble upon people in distress, ancient ruins or even lost spirits, all of which can lead a group down the path of Heroic Quests

Spells
New effects for old casting and some very special spells to be found by those wishing to go on deep dungeon delves. Characters can now rank up to six spells and actually specifiy the sort of situations in which each spell would be cast via the new ASC order which replaces the clunky old ASL.

O  (character)  (rank)  (spell/0)
Order of Casting. Once combat is initiated spell casting occurs automatically. With this order your mage or priest can prepare up to six spells ready for casting. These can be all different or the same spell can be used two or more times. When a battle begins, the spell caster will look at the first spell and if this is suitable (see Automatic Spell Conditons above), will start to cast it. Once this has been cast, he will try to cast the next one down the list. If a spell is unsuitable, such as healing when nobody is injured, or missing ingredients or points are too low, the spell will be ignored.

Each spell or priest power takes time to prepare and cast. Generally the more powerful the spell, the more time it takes to cast. If a mage or priest is hit during the casting of a spell or power, his concentration is interrupted and he moves on to missile or melee combat.

For example: O 3 4 6 will set character three to have spell number 6 as his fourth ranked spell in the event of combat.

AS  (character/97-99)  (ASC for each ranked spell)
Automatic Spell Conditions. This order allows you to control the use of when ranked spells and powers are used in combat. For instance, a mage can now just use sleep spells for large groups of small monsters or powerful death spells for small groups of huge monsters. It may look complex at first but you should quickly get the hang of it.

The system is as follows. Each spell can be given a value from 0 to 9. The order sets all six spells at once, so remember to use 0's for spells that aren't ranked.

The order is    AS    (Character or 97 or 98 or 99)     (6 Digits - one for each ranked spell)

Each of the digits indicate if the spell will be used in a combat.

0) No condition - Always cast (the default setting)
1) Don't use when engaging weaker monster groups
2) Don't use when engaging smaller monster groups
3) Don't use when engaging player parties
4) Don't use when engaging weaker or smaller monster groups
5) Don't use when engaging parties or weaker monster groups
6) Don't use when engaging parties or smaller monster groups
7) Don't use when engaging parties or weaker or smaller monster groups
8) Don't use when engaging monster groups
9) Don't cast!

For Example: AS 12 038380 - Your character 12 will always use the 1st ranked spell, the 2nd ranked spell will not be used when engaging player parties, the 3rd will not be used when engaging monster groups, the 4th will not be used when engaging player parties, the 5th will not be used when engaging monster groups, the 6th will always be used.

Smaller monster groups are those with fewer members than the party. Weaker monster groups are those where the total health of the monsters is less than 1/5 that of the party. The spells and powers section of the turn results has been improved to make this clearer.

Combat
This is by far the biggest change yet for Crasimoff's Quest World with all new combat routines within the program and a massive array of text slices to make for highly descriptive fights. You can now even choose which characters will use missile weapons and which will charge straight into combat, those with missile weapons only getting into melee when the fight reaches them.

The main thing about the new combat system is that you cannot think in terms of the old way you used to fight in Crasimoff's Quest World. The Second Age system is all about speed, what sort of creatures are you fighting, how weighted down you are by the different weapons and armour you carry, what terrain you are in and how likely are your characters to retreat. Dwarven fighters can receive the most damage before fleeing whilst elven mages flee after suffering the least damage.

The flee percentage of a party is the percent of this value. Trying some spells and powers can change things such as this, berserkers are less likely to flee. Combat has become a lot more tactical and old tactics on the whole will not work. 

Detailed below are most of the things affected by the improved combat routines.

Initiating Combat
Initiative & Surprise
Formation
Combat Options
Withdrawing from Combat

As you would expect in a fantasy environment, combat can be frequent and deadly. You can order your party to attack other players' parties as well as computer-controlled monsters and characters. By the same token though, monsters may well attack your party without provocation or warning.

While combat is dangerous, your characters will generally look out for themselves. This self-preservation prevents your characters from staying till the bitter end when victory is nowhere in sight. Further, your party may even avoid a fight altogether if it offers nothing but death.

Often weaker, common monsters venture near settlements such as towns and cities. These can prove an excellent way of learning more about combat not to mention a lucrative source of gold and treasure.

Obviously buying weapons and armour will greatly enhance your characters' survival rate although it is best to avoid heavy, encumbering armour for those that are not in too much danger.

Initiating Combat
There are two common ways to start a fight.

You can issue an ENGAGE order that will cause your party to attack the monsters or other player's party as soon as you come into contact with them. This order will remain in place until either your party meets the target, or you issue a new ENGAGE order or the turn ends.

If your party is in the same location as your target when you issue the order, your party will attack immediately. Multiple ENGAGE orders can be used in an attempt to finish off any monsters that fled, though this will not work against other players' parties. Alternatively, issue a new ENGAGE order for another target and move to fight it.

Within settlements, laws prohibit the use of weapons and spells. While this does not prevent fights, it means that generally a brawl at the local tavern is the only alternative. These skirmishes can be fought against other players' parties using the ENGAGE order. Typically, they are relatively harmless and can even be a lot of fun.

ENGAGE
E (target) - For example: E 2123 tells your party to attack on sight monster group 2123.

The second common way a fight will start is due to your party's attitude. You can set how you would like your party to behave towards other monsters and players. The choices are friendly which is option 1, neutral which is option 2 or hostile which is option 3. This overall attitude uses 0 as the target.

You can set up to a further eight attitudes towards specific targets. These can be a monster class (i.e. all mirauko) or a monster group (i.e. orc group 3451) or another player's party.

In addition to your eight specific attitudes you can set your reaction towards all monsters by using code 180. To cancel an independent attitude, use 0 as the attitude code. Where two or more attitudes clash, the most specific attitude is used.

ATTITUDE
A (target/0/180) (attitude) For example: A 180 3 would set an attitude of hostile towards all monsters.

Initiative & Surprise
If one side or the other reacts before the other, they will gain a few vital seconds. This of course gives them a slight edge. One way to help avoid getting surprised is to keep a special watch out for a possible enemy using the KEEP EYES OPEN order.

KEEP EYES OPEN
K (target) For example: K 819 tells your party to be alert for any monster types 819.

Formation
The order your characters are listed on your turn report is the order they are considered to be travelling. Hence, character one is at the front of your party, followed by character two, then character three and so on. When in combat, the characters at the front of a party are the easiest to get to so they tend to be targeted by the enemy first. Hence, it is a good idea to have the characters you would prefer to be most protected towards the rear of your group.

SWAP CHARACTER POSITIONS
SC (character) (character) For example: SC 6 2 will have character 6 move to the second position in your party. If a character was already in slot 2, he would swap places with character 6.

Combat Options
As the computer deals with combat, all the actions that your characters will attempt during combat must be specified beforehand. At this time though, the only one of concern is whether your characters will prefer to use melee weapons (option 0) or missile weapons (option 1) at the start of combat.

Missile weapons can obviously be used long before the enemy is close enough for hand-to-hand fighting, but are generally slower. Further, they cannot be used once an enemy has engaged the character in melee, thus valuable time will be lost drawing a melee weapon.

Choosing melee for a character will mean that the character will never use a missile weapon instead, charging at the enemy. Your character's preferred choice of weapon will be 'starred' on the party statistics table. Note, at the start of combat, mages and priests will try to cast any suitable spells rather than use weapons, see Order of Spell Casting and Automatic Spell Conditions.

COMBAT PREFERENCE
CP (character/95-99) (0/1) For example: CP 96 1 will set all your party's thieves to use missile weapons.

Withdrawing from Combat
Once a fight has started, it will continue until one side has either been eliminated or retreats from the battle. In the case of player owned parties, these will never fight until all characters are wiped out although several deaths are quite possible. What a monster will do depends on what type it is, some are cowardly and will run away as soon as they see you, others will fight to the death.

You can set the amount of losses you are willing to take using the FLEE order. This is a very rough guide as to how much damage your guys will take before trying to retreat from a battle. It is used for both individual characters and for the party as a whole. This is because in a battle which is not going well, it is likely that one or two characters will become badly injured and these will retreat before the rest of the party in an effort to stay alive. The remaining characters will continue to fight until either they are injured, the party as a whole retreats, or of course, you win.

Different character classes and race types affect retreat, as do some spells. Plus, once a character starts withdrawing, he can still be targeted until he has got away completely. However, as he withdraws, he will parry with any attackers so there is less chance of further injuries.

If you try to pick a fight with a monster or another player that is far tougher than you, your characters will refuse to take part in a suicidal attack.

FLEE
F (1-100) For example: F 20 orders your party to retreat once they have taken losses of twenty percent or more.

Arenas
Arenas are an exciting place to learn much about combat. It gives you the chance to pit your party against another player's party in a duel. The difference between arena combat and normal combat is that the effects only apply for the duration of the combat. Once the fight is over, Arena priests use their curative powers to make sure the two sides are restored to how they were prior to the combat.

To have a fight in an arena, you need to issue the VISIT ARENA order, challenging another player's party. This order can only be issued in a city or town. The player controlling the other party will be notified of your party's desire for a duel. If they accept the challenge, next time they are in a city or town, they should issue their own VISIT ARENA order, this time against your party. The duel will then occur immediately, irrespective of where the first party is currently located.

If your challenge is not accepted, you can issue another order against a different party. This will cancel your original challenge so you should wait a couple of turns before doing this. Only one VISIT ARENA order is allowed per turn. A target 0 will cancel the prospective duel and select no new target, this is a special case and can be used anywhere.

VISIT ARENA
VA (target party/0) For example: VA 1230 will request a duel with party 1230.

Barroom Brawls
Villages, towns and cities are mostly quite peaceful... that is until you get several adventurers under one roof with enough ale down them to drop a dragon. Whilst laws mean weapons are left in the 'cloakroom', it does not stop the use of fists, heads, feet and anything from stools and tankards to bottles and even the local dwarf lush. Use the ENGAGE order on another party in town and you should be able to draw them into a brawl.

COMING SOON... New Off Coast Islands... 

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