Playable Characters

HUMANS

Humans are the most well-rounded characters in the game. Their levels (HP Levels) are high in comparison to the other races. Humans can use most equipment and armor. They can carry up to eight items of your choice. Humans do not rise in strength and level like other races. They must buy their increases in the form of the HP200 or the HP400. Strength and Agility can be raised by purchasing STRONG and AGILITY. Humans are the most common of the races found on the Continent. Their numbers have been increasing due to their strength of arms. With this ability, they have been able to wrestle most of the land back from invading monsters, but as of yet, have still been unable to discern the secrets of The Tower. Humans possess very little magical power (or "mana") so don't bother purchasing spells for them. Save your cash for raising their HP!

MUTANTS

The Mutants are an interesting off-shoot of the Human race consisting of a cross between Humans and some of the older races of the world of the Continent. As players, they tend to be physically weaker, possessing fewer HP's than their pure blooded Human counterparts. Mutants do not raise their abilities like the Humans. Mutant powers "mature" only through the rigor of questing. At a point the Mutant evolves into a more powerful form. This evolution triggers latent powers locked deep inside the Mutant's genetic code. Suddenly gifted with new powers, and more HP's, the Mutant character becomes a more dominant force in the party. Mutants can carry up to four items, and once their powers are activated, they can no longer use their store-bought weapons. For all these reasons and more, the Mutant offers many opportunities for achieving success in the game. As explained in the instruction manual, Mutants acquire spell-like magic abilities which change as the characters advance in level. What the manual doesn't say is that you have very little control over how these abilities evolve. There are, though, some principles to bear in mind. The more you use the abilities, the more likely they are to change. This is kind of a "catch-22" in that if you don't use the abilities, they will not improve or strengthen; however, it seems that as soon as your Mutant gets a set of abilities you like to use, they change. The manual says that once Mutants reach a certain level, they can no longer use store-bought items. This is simply not true. Mutants always have the option to use armor, weapons, and other items; however, the more you use store-bought weapons, the less-likely your Mutant abilities are to develop and change. In fact, if you use weapons too often, some of your mutant abilities will spontaneously "fizzle out"--they will still be on your Abilities menu, but the number of uses will drop to 0 until you visit an Inn. Mutants are the only characters who can get the most use out of the P-Knife, P-Sword, and Vampic ("vampiric") Sword. The P-Knife and P-Sword do damage as a function of the wielder's Mana; Humans don't have any, so they should not use these weapons. The Vampic Sword does damage by absorbing HP from the enemy struck by the sword; these HP are added to the wielder's HP, but only if the wielder's HP are not at the wielder's current maximum. If the wielder's HP are at maximum, the sword will absorb HP from the enemy but will not pass the HP to the wielder. The absorption power of the Vampic Sword may be linked to Mana, since it seems to always absorb 0 HP when wielded by a Human.

MONSTERS

Monsters come in many shapes and sizes. Some are creatures from the Continent's past, and some are newcomers from The Tower who have proven to be friendly. All have mastered the ability to communicate with the man-like races and have even begun to co-exist with them. As players, the monster character also has an individual method of growing stronger. The monster character gains strength by eating the specially seasoned meats carried by most creatures. When a monster character eats meat, he may transform into a beast of another form. He will have all the HP's and powers of the beast. This means he can transform into a beast weaker than himself should he eat the meat of a weaker enemy. And of course, if he eats the meat of a more powerful monster, he thus becomes more powerful. Monsters start with low HP's, but some have strong attacks. Monsters cannot use items. As the manual explains, Monsters advance in level/abilities by eating the Meat of other Monsters; most of the time, this will cause the Monster to transform into another type of monster, but sometimes all that will happen is a recharge of HP and abilities. Bear in mind that the transformations are not always upgrades! It's very depressing to have a nice hefty Oni eat the wrong meat and end up a Fly. Bummer.

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