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Introduction Tele Arena is an online role-playing game in which players explore a virtual world, battle fearsome creatures and gain wealth and fame. It’s a multi-user game, meaning more then one person may play at a time. It’s based loosely upon other sword and sorcery type games such as Dungeons & DragonsÔ , etc. The main point to the game is to survive and gain experience. There are no winners or losers in Tele Arena. Tele Arena was created by Sean Ferrell for the Major BBS bulletin board system. His assistants include : Jim Sweeny Chris Conant Elizabeth Casino There are several races of folk in Tele Arena. Players may freely choose from any of these races, keeping in mind the abilities and limitations of each race. There are also several classes or occupations that you may choose for your character. Some rely mainly on physical brute force, while others rely on the intellect and cunning of a character. There are no right or wrong choices, however some may be more beneficial then others. Getting Started There are six races of denizens in Tele Arena. Elves are a long lived, attractive and intelligent race. Because of this, they make the best choice for a spellcaster. Dwarfves are small, hardy, tough and skilled in combat. They make pretty good fighters and can also hold their own as a spellcaster. Dwarfves are slightly more resistant to poisoning then are the other classes. Gnomes are somewhat agile, much more heartier then elves, and make fair spellcasters. They are a sort of ‘middle man’ as far as the races go. They do equally well as spellcasters or as fighters. Humans are the real ‘average’, and are equally suited to any of the classes. Unlike any of the other classes, humans get a ‘luck’ bonus that works erratically. Sometimes their ‘luck’ means an easy kill, sometimes it means more vitality when training for a higher level. Goblins are quite cunning and agile, making the best rogues. They are also shunned by the other races because of their sneaky nature and ugliness. Goblin Rogues are the only characters in Tele Arena that get six attacks before promoting. Goblins make slighly inferior warriors then do half- ogres until promotion. After promotion, the 6th attack a goblin receives more then makes up for the extra physical power of the half-ogre. Half-Ogres are the toughest of the lot. They are also the dumbest. What they lack in brain power, they easily make up for in sheer physical force and brute strength. They make the very best warriors until promotion. There are currently 8 classes to choose from in Tele Arena. Warriors - Warriors are the ‘tough’ guys of Tele Arena. They may wear any armor and wield any melee weapons in the game. The only weapons a warrior cannot use are ranged weapons, weapons that fire from a distance. Sorcerers - Sorcerers cast very powerful offensive spells at high levels, but are extremely vulnerable to attack at low levels. They may only wear robes and wield a staff. Sorcerers also get several ‘utility’ spells such as magical armor, raising or lowering ability stats and summoning various types of creatures. Sorcerers, because of their low physical attributes and poor choice of weapons and armor, are the hardest class to play. Acolytes - Acolytes, or ‘ackies’ as they are known, are faily adept at physical combat. They have the advantage of being able to cast healing and curative spells on themselves and others. An acolyte may only wear up to platemail armor and wield only weapons that have no edges such as maces, morningstars, flails, etc. Rogues - Rogues can fight better the sorcerers, but are a poor match against warriors. They may wear any ‘unrestrictive’ armor and wield staves and one-handed blade weapons. Rogues also have several special abilities like picking locks, avoiding traps and robbing other players of gold. In a fight, the rogue can sometimes score bonus damage doing a ‘skillful’ attack, not unlike a ‘back-stabbing’ attack in other fantasy role-playing games. Hunters - Hunters are as good at physical combat as warriors, however they may only wear ‘unrestrictive’ armors and wield a slightly smaller variety of weapons then the warrior. Hunters have several special abilities such as being able to track others, hunt for food and water, tame wild beasts and ‘mesmerize’ a monster so that it doesn’t attack. Druids - Druids may wield all the same weapons acolytes do, but may only wear up to leather cuirass for armor. They are able to cast spells of the elements, cure hunger and thirst, charm creatures and cast small heal spells. The druid is a very nice ‘all around’ character but at lower levels they are extremely vulnerable to attack. Archers - Perhaps the weakest of all the classes. They may wear ‘unrestrictive’ armors and wield only a limited range of melee weapons. The only special ability of this class is it’s ability to use ranged weapons such as bows, crossbows, slings, etc. When an attacker closes the range, an archer must unequip his/her ranged weapon and equip a melee weapon. This tends to make this class rather awkward in combat situations. Necrolytes - Necrolytes are the exact opposites of acolytes. They practice the darkest forms of magic. They get the same choices of armor and weapons as do sorcerers, but are not very skilled in physical combat. A Necrolyte’s strength lies in his/her ability to cast powerful attack spells at low levels. Necrolytes are the second hardest class to play because of their vulnerability at low levels. At high levels they become extremly deadly. There are 6 basic attributes in Tele Arena. Intellect - This is how smart your character is. Intellect improves your chance ‘to-hit’ in physical combat and also increases the potency of your offensive spells. For rogues, this attribute also add to the chance of successfully picking a lock, avoiding a trap or robbing another player. Knowledge - This is how wise your character is. This affects the potency of spells you cast on yourself or others. Physique - This is how strong your character is, how hard he/she hits in battle, and how much can be carried at one time. (see also, encumberance) Stamina - This determines how many hit points your character starts with, how many you get when you gain a higher level, how often you get thirsty or hungry, how many spaces you can run before you have to rest and how many hit points you regenerate every round. Agility - This is how agile your character is. This determines how fast your character may run, how many attacks you get, how often you ‘dodge’ an attack and how long you may run before ‘tripping’. Charisma - This is how ‘attractive’ and influential you are. Along with Intellect, charisma makes a difference in the price of items at the various shops. A low charisma is sure to make you pay more for an item then the listed price. A high charisma allows you to buy at lower prices. There are also three additional statistics you need to be aware of; these are not attributes, they are gauges of your character’s health status and weight. Vitality - This is the amount of damage your character may sustain before dying. When this number reaches zero, your character is dead. As you ‘reroll’ for your attributes, pay attention to this statistic. If you have a vitality lower then 20, you might as well keep rerolling. You can play a character at such a low amount, but it is extremly difficult because any creatures worth attacking in Tele Arena can easily kill you in one round. Health - This is a status monitor on the general healthiness of your character. If you are hungry, thirsty or poisoned, this is where it will be displayed. Encumberance - This is how much your character weighs, including the gold being carried and all items. Equipped weapons and armor contribute to this. You will want a character with a good encumberance so that you can hold plenty of gold, potions and your weapon and armor. A good set of attributes is hard to come by, but it helps to know how your choice of race and character type effects the outcome. To see your stats, just type ‘st’ and press return. Below is a set of charts showing the maximum rollable set of attributes for each race. Since these are the highest numbers that can be rolled, you may want to roll for numbers that are a little below the maximum values listed. Rule of Thumb : Here is an idea of what to look for when rerolling. Intellect ---- 12 or higher. Knowledge -12 or higher. Physique ----18 or higher. Stamina ---- 16 or higher. Agility ------ 16 or higher. Charisma ---12 or higher, but not real important. Vitality ----- 23 or higher. The above stats are by no means the ones you should settle for unless you have rerolled for hours and just want a playable character. The above stats will certainly give you a playable character though they are generic in nature. (i.e., they do not take any class into account.) For spellcasters you might want to look for lower physical attributes and higher mental ones. Elves
Dwarfves
Gnomes
Humans
Goblins
Half-Ogres
Using the charts above can be very helpful in determining what you want to look for but there are also programs that can do this for you. The best one is reroll4.tms, written for TelemateÔ , a popular ansi terminal program. Reroll4.tms scans your character then provides you with two sets of statistics. The first is the maximum rollable, the next is the most likely rollable stats. The program then asks if you want to reroll, looking for the most likely stats. You may answer ‘no’ and input your own, or ‘yes’ and use the suggested ones. The program will then reroll until it achieves the stats you picked. Programs like these are a get time saver because they allow you to go do other things while they run. Now that your stats are rolled, you will need to equip your character. In Tele Arena, everyone starts in what is called North Plaza. To move your character, just type a direction and press return. If you move south, then west, you’ll be in the Armor Shop. All 1st level characters may only wear robes as their armor. To buy robes, type ‘buy robes’. The robes will now be in your inventory. To wear your robes, type ‘equip robes’. You are now wearing your robes. Robes only add an armor value of 1, but that will help keep a few attacks from hitting your character. Next, go east then east again. You’ll be in the Weapon Shop now. The weapon that you will choose is affected by your class. Below is a chart to help you select the appropriate weapon for your class.
* Archers use a ranged weapon as well as a melee weapon.
The next thing you should do is equip your character with the basic items needed to explore the world of Tele Arena. Since you are in the Weapon Shop, go west then south. This will take you to the Magic Shop. You may type ‘ls i’ to see what items the shop sells, or just look at the chart below :
* As a penalty for using your heartstone, you lose 1% of your total experience points.
If your character is a spellcaster, you’ll want to buy your spells now. Return to North Plaza and go north. You’re in the Guild Hall again. Here is where you view spell charts and buy your spells. Each chart is divided into two parts. Let’s say your character is a Necrolyte. To view list 1, type ‘ls n1’. For the other classes just substitute ‘n1’ for the first letter of the class followed by ‘1’. For example, Sorcerers would type ‘ls s1’. You won’t need the second list for now because the spells on it are too powerful for your character to control. Below is a chart of 1st level spells that your character should buy.
Now return to the North Plaza by going southeast. The Arena, where players ring the gong and kill monsters for experience is directly to the east. Go east once. You are now in the Arena. Now is a good time to drink that Rowan Potion and Hyssop Potion. Now type ‘st’. You will notice your Physique and Agility are a bit higher. This will help you hit harder and dodge more attacks from creatures. To ring the gong, all you have to do is type ‘ri g’. A creature will now walk thru the gates into the Arena. To attack this creature, type ‘a <creature name>‘. Example : A Female Hobgoblin enters the arena. Type ‘a hobgoblin’ to attack it. Depending on how high your Agility is, you will get one, two or three attacks every round. So you would type ‘a hobgoblin’ up to three times this round for your attacks. A combat round is known as a melee and lasts 15 seconds of elapsed game time. After you attack, you must wait 15 seconds before attacking again or fleeing. Type ‘he’ to check your health and ‘ep’ to check how much experience you have made. Below is a small chart that shows the experience you will need to train for 2nd level.
After you have made enough experience to ‘level’, go to the North Plaza. Now go north
Perils and Pitfalls The perils are many in Tele Arena, but with hard work and common sense, you can avoid most of these. Don’t lose heart if your character dies. Just reroll and start again. You may have to do this 5 or 6 times before you get the hang of things. As with most things, practice makes perfect. As you play the game you will come to know the subtle ‘ins and outs’ associated with the game and playing with other players. Rogues like to steal. It’s thier trade. They hide and wait for the unwary, stealing what they can. Rogues can steal your items and your gold. Beware. Most of the time you won’t even know they are there, because they either have a Sorcerer or an Arch Magus make them invisible, or they drink a Vervain Potion to make themselves invisible. A common tactic for rogues is to hide in the Town Vaults, waiting for someone to come and deposit gold or withdraw it. Rule of Thumb : Any area where you can buy, sell or deposit is an area you are vulnerable to theft. Other places you are vulnerable is anywhere outside town and in the Private Room upstairs from the Tavern. The Arena is a rare exception to this rule. In the 1st Arena, the town guards will not allow rogues to to their business. Other exceptions include the paths in the 2nd Town, the arena there, 3rd Arena, and the inter-connecting caves in 3rd Town. Another tactic rogues use is to wait in the town temples. When characters enter the temples to buy healing or other services, the rogues then strike. Being shady types, rogues aren’t above tricking other characters. One trick is to form a group of un-suspecting characters in the guise of helping them. The rogue then takes the party into the dungeon and disbands the group in a pit or other trap. The rogue can then rob the characters and escape, leaving the party trapped in the pit or trap. Rope is good to have in case you get trapped in a pit, but a rogue will often steal your rope first. A good rule to go by is, never trust a rogue. Goons are other players whose sole purpose in the game is to kill other player’s characters. Almost any type of character makes a good goon, but some classes are better equiped to handle such activities. Some of the most likely places to be attacked by a goon include : First Arena, Second Arena, Third Arena, Town Gates, anywhere in the Dungeon under First Town, the Sorceress’s Tower and various places in the forest surrounding the town. Goons always strike when you least expect it. They attack without mercy. You can trust they have the advantage because they carefully plan their ambushes. The best defense against a Goon is to avoid them. Gain experience in areas they normally don’t go. Log off when they attack and they’ll get bored and find someone else to kill. Gain levels fast; most goons are level 15 or lower. A good idea is to play in remote areas of Tele Arena and avoid traveling with groups of players you do not know. Conversely, playing in groups of ‘friendly’ players can have distinct advantages and most goons will stay away from a heavily armed party. They prefer to attack when they can catch your character alone. At lower levels, Warriors, Hunters and Rogues make best goons. At high levels, spellcasters become dangerous. High Priests can cast spells that heal enormous amounts of damage every round, making them hard to kill. Arch Maguses can cast area spells of devastating power hurting everyone in the immediate area. They can also summon monsters to fight for them and can cast a form of protection on themselves higher then any armor. Necromancers can heal and cast spells that do massive amounts of damage. They also have area spells that not only do a lot of damage but poison everyone in the area as well. Arch Druids have area spells that do slightly less damage then the Arch Magus is capable of, but they have better armor and weapons. Arch Druids can also heal like the High Priest, but at substantially lower amounts. They may also Charm several creatures to fight with them. A rope is a very important piece of equipment. It keeps you from getting trapped in a pit. Even experienced players often forget to buy a rope while heading for Third Town. The route to Third Town has a pit trap. Once in, unless you are a rogue or have a rope, you’re stuck. The Dungeon beneath First Town also has a pit trap. Sometimes when you are going fast, perhaps fleeing a particularly nasty monster or goon, you might trip and fall. Bear in mind there is a 50% chance that one of your items will be randomly selected to ‘drop upon the ground’. If you aren’t watching, the item will be lost because someone is bound to find it and take it. Never stop or heal on a trap. Once it hits you, move away from it then tend to your wounds. If system you are playing Tele Arena on crashes while you’re on the trap, when you log on again it will hit you once more. This can prove fatal. When you explore, remember to make accurate maps of where you’ve been. Getting lost in Tele Arena can be dangerous if not deadly. Sometimes while exploring Tele Arena, you may be ambushed by monsters. There is a 1 in 200 chance that four monsters of the same type will appear right after you enter an area. When this happens there isn’t much you can do but stand and fight if they are weak or run for your life if they are too strong for you to handle! Another peril in Tele Arena is player vs. Player combat. Although this is a peril for some, it is the heart of the game for others. It happens to everyone at some time or another and some smart thinking and a level head can will be a tremendous asset. High Priests, rumored to be nearly immune to death because of their tremendous powers of healing, are not as hard to kill as people think. A Necromancer of similar level can actually triumph if he uses his spells wisely. The Necromancer’s most potent spell against other spell casters is Kamaza or Kamazadaku. With these spells, he can drain his opponent’s mana. Both spells’ abilities to drain mana go up slowly with levels so eventually a Necromancer can drain huge amounts of mana in a single round. This robs a High Priest of his ability to heal. While he cannot heal, the Necromancer then casts his quite lethal spell, Tamikar, whose damage also goes up with levels. If the Necromancer needs healing, he has only to cast Yilazi at his opponent. This works nicely because it damages the High Priest at the same time it heals the Necromancer. Necromancers are not all-powerful as they sound. Due to their low armor class, the heavy hitting weapons of the major fighting classes inflict large amounts of damage rather quickly. Fighting class characters will need to pack large amounts of healing potions on themselves. Another tactic of the fighting classes is to drink a Rowan potion and a Hyssop potion. These have the ability to raise physique and agility by 5 to 20 points, respectively. The addition of a Vervain potion, (for invisibility), also enhances the fighting character’s ability to dodge blows from weapons. Knights are tough. Plain and simple. They can dish out damage like it’s the daily special at a luncheon. Goblin Knights are the best. They get 6 attacks over the normal 5. With that 6th attack, they can even win against other Knights 5 levels higher. The main things they need to worry about are potions to enhance physique and agility and potions to heal. Knights are easily defeated by Arch Druids and Arch Maguses. The sheer spell casting power of Dumoti and Toradaku is daunting. Although a Knight can dish out some hefty damage, an Arch Magus can cast Yari on himself which provides 5 points of stronger protection then any other armor in the game. |