Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord Reference Guide, version 1.1 Written by David Goss Current: 09 November 2005 Orginal: 30 October 2005 This guide is intended to help people create, understand, and play their characters in the NES port of Wizardry 1. It is protected by copyright and cannot be altered by anyone except the original author. It may be distributed and used for non-commercial use, so long as no profits are taken and the original author is credited. -------------------------------- Contents: 001 Alignment 002 Race 003 Classes 004 Clerical Spells 005 Mage Spells 006 Frequently Asked Questions 007 Contact -------------------------------- NOTE: The following abbreviations are used in this documents... STR = Strength VIT = Vitality AGI = Agility HP = Hit Points MPx = Magic Points, where X is the spell level This guide is not a walkthrough. It is intended to give you the player all the information you need to create a viable party and survive in the proving grounds. ------------------------- 001 Alignment ------------------------- The following chart shows what alignments are available to each class CLASS GOOD NEUTRAL EVIL Fighter Y Y Y Mage Y Y Y Cleric Y N Y Thief N Y Y Wizard Y N Y Samurai Y Y N Lord Y N N Ninja N N Y Things to know: 1.) If you attack friendly encounters, your party will shift towards evil. If you choose to let friendly encounters pass unharmed, your party will shift towards good 2.) If a character's alignment changes to one not allowed by that class (e.g. a thief becomes good) then that character will not be able to gain more levels until it changes to something acceptable. 3.) Good characters cannot travel with evil characters and vise versa. Neutral characters can travel with everyone. ------------------------- 002 Race ------------------------- The following is the starting stats for each race: Class STR IQ PIETY VIT AGI LUCK TOTAL Humans 8 8 5 8 8 9 46 Elves 7 10 10 6 9 6 48 Dwarfs 10 7 10 10 5 6 48 Gnomes 7 7 10 8 10 7 49 Hobbits 5 7 7 6 10 15 50 As a result, each race lends itself well to certain classes: Humans: Anything, except clerics Elves: Mages, Clerics, and Wizards Dwarfs: Fighters, Lords, and Clerics Gnomes: Clerics, Thieves, Ninjas Hobbits: Thieves As you can see by looking at the total points, Human stats are a bit more balanced, but they have a slight deficit when compared to other characters. Humans and Gnomes are your most likely candidates for Ninjas later in the game. The bonus points you receive when creating a character is random, thus if you want a high number (such as 15+) reject your character until you get a reasonable about of bonus points. Hobbits are a poor race in general, luck isn't very important in this game. ------------------------- 003 Class ------------------------- These are the classes and their requirements: Fighter: High HP growth and able to use most weapons and armor. Gains an extra attack every 4 levels. Prerequisites: 11 STR Alignments: Good/Neutral/Evil Mage: Low HP, able to use few weapons, and can only equip robes. Able to use Mage spells. Prerequisites: 11 IQ Alignments: Good/Neutral/Evil Cleric: Decent HP, able to fight well, but hindered by lower strength, weapon and armor choices when compared to a fighter. Able to use Cleric spells and dispel undead creatures. NOTE: If you dispel a monster you will receive 0 EXP from it. Prerequisites: 11 Piety Alignments: Good/Evil Thief: Average HP, limited to daggers, short swords, bows, leather armor, and small shields. Skilled at detecting and disarming traps. Prerequisites: 11 AGI Alignments: Neutral/Evil Wizard: A hybrid Cleric-Mage. Slightly lower HP growth than a cleric. Able to use Cleric equipment. Able to cast from both spell sets, as well as identify unknown items. Gains spells more slowly than the pure mages. With a decent bonus point roll, you can use this class with a new character. Prerequisites: 12 IQ, 12 Piety Alignments: Good/Evil Samurai: A hybrid Fighter-Mage. At level 4, slowly gains Mage spells, thus their spell casting abilities are not as strong as a pure Mage. Their Clerical counterpart is the Lord. With a decent bonus point roll, you can use this class with a new character. Prerequisites: 15 STR, 11 IQ, 10 Piety, 14 VIT, 10 AGI Alignments: Good/Neutral Lord: A hybrid Fighter-Cleric. At level 4, slowly gains Clerical spells, as well as the dispel ability, thus their spell casting abilities are not as strong as a pure Cleric. Their Mage counterpart is the Samurai, though Lords are slightly stronger as they are the only elite class that requires good alignment. You cannot start the game with this class. Prerequisites: 15 STR, 12 IQ, 12 piety, 15 VIT, 14 AGI, 15 luck Ninja: Able to use the same equipment as a fighter, but they fighter better both unarmed and unarmored. They land more critical attacks than any other class. Average HP growth, and able to deal with traps like a Thief. This is the strongest front-line class in the game. You cannot start the game with this class. Prerequisites: 17 in all stats Alignments: Evil ------------------------- 004 Clerical Spells ------------------------- LEVEL 1 Kalki (Blessings) Reduces party's AC by 1 point Dios (Heal) Restores 1-8 HP to a single target Badios (Harm) Inflicts 1-8 damage to a single target Milwa (Light) A bright light reveals hidden doors and lets you see further Porfic (Shield) Lowers caster's AC by 4 points LEVEL 2 Matu (Zeal) Reduces party's AC by 2 points Calfo (X-Ray) Lets you safely determine a trap with 95% accuracy Manifo (Statue) Paralyzes a group of monsters* Montino (Still Air) Prevents a group of monsters from casting spells LEVEL 3 Lomilwa (Sunbeam) Same as Milwa but doesn't expire until you leave the maze Dialko (Softness) Cures Katino and Manifo for a single target Latumapic (Identify) Shows the names of monsters until you leave the maze Bamatu (Prayer) Reduces party's AC by 4 points LEVEL 4 Dial (Cure) Restores 2-16 HP to a single target Badial (Wound) Inflicts 2-16 damage to a single target Latumofis (Cleanse) Cures poison to a single target Maporfic (Big Shield) Lowers party's AC by 4 until you exit the maze LEVEL 5 Dialma (Big Cure) Restores 3-24 HP to a single target Badialma (Big Wound) Inflict 3-24 damage to a single target Litokan (Flames) Inflict 3-24 fire damage to a group of enemies Kandi (Location) The caster approximates position of another character in the maze** Di (Life) Attempts to revive a dead character*** Badi (Death) Attempts to kill a single target (target must have a heart) LEVEL 6 Lorto (Blades) Inflicts 6-36 damage to a group of enemies Madi (Restore) Restores a single target's HP and status Mabadi (Maiming) Brings a single target to single digit HP Loktofeit (Recall) Teleports to castle, leaving all equipment/gold behind LEVEL 7 Malikto (Wrath) A meteor strike inflicts 12-72 damage to all enemies Kadorto (Rebirth) Revives dead & ash character to full HP*** *Paralyzed monsters cannot attack for a few rounds. They are easier to hit and receive 2x damage from physical attacks. **Used for recovering a fallen party ***It these spells fail, a dead target turns to ash. If Kadorto fails to revive an ash character, that character is lost forever. ------------------------- 005 Mage Spells ------------------------- LEVEL 1 Halito (Little Fire) Inflicts 1-8 fire damage to a single target Mogref (Body Iron) Reduces caster's AC by 2 Katino (Bad Air) Puts a group of animal or humanoid monsters to sleep* Dumapic (Clarity) Tells you were the stairs are and what direction you face LEVEL 2 Dilto (Darkness) Raises the AC of a group of enemies Sopic (Glass) Caster's AC is reduced by 4 LEVEL 3 Mahalito (Big Fire) Inflicts 4-24 fire damage to a group of enemies Molito (Sparks) Inflicts 3-18 damage damage to a group of enemies LEVEL 4 Morlils (Fear) Reduces the AC of a group of enemies Dalto (Blizzard) Inflicts 6-36 ice damage Lahalito (Torch) Inflicts 6-36 fire damage LEVEL 5 Mamorlis (Terror) Reduces hit% of all enemies Makanito (Deadly Air) Attempts to kill all air-breathing enemies > 40 HP Madalto (Frost King) Inflicts 8-64 ice damage LEVEL 6 Lakanito (Vacuum) Kills all air-breathing monsters in a group Zilwan (Dispel) Dispels (kills) a single undead enemy Masopic (Crystal) Reduces party's AC by 8 Haman (Beg) Appeals to gods for help** LEVEL 7 Malor (Teleport) Teleports the party to a random location on the same level Mahaman (Beseech) A more powerful version of Haman** Tiltowait (Ka-blam!) Inflicts 10-150 damage to all monsters *Sleeping monsters cannot attack. They are easier to hit and receive 2x damage from physical attacks. **Haman and Mahaman can only be cast by a level 13+ character. Caster appeals to the gods for help, consuming 1 experience level. If the gods help, one of many things can happen: -Silence all enemies -Magic becomes more effective -Dialko (softness) on the entire party 3 times -Madi (restore) on entire the party -Kill all enemies -Protect the party -Teleport monsters -Restore the dead (Source: http://www.tk421.net/wizardry/wiz15spells.shtml) If you discover any different effects of Haman or Mahaman not listed here, or if you can elaborate as to the specifics of the effect, please email the author at dave_goss(AT)yahoo.com ------------------------- 006 Frequently Asked Questions ------------------------- If you have a question please email me at dave_goss(AT)yahoo.com and I will respond (probably within 72 hours) and add your question here. The following are preemptive questions, as this is the first version: Q: Wizardry is difficult. What can I do to better survive? A: Make sure you have a decent party (see below). Until you gain a few levels, hang around the entrance. Use dios to heal (also make sure you know what the spell names mean!) and return to the Adventurer's Inn in the castle and use the stales to recover your MP. Earn money and levels, purchase better equipment, and explore deeper into the maze. Q: I get lost. Is there an in-game map function? A: No. You are required to map your own map. If you try to memorize the map as you go, you will get lost. Get some graph paper and make a map. Maps can also be found various places online, but half the fun is making your own. Q: How many tiles are there per floor, and how many floors are there? A: Each floor is 20x20. There are 10 floors. Q: How can I get more gold? A: Besides fighting, there is a glitch. When you create a character, that character starts out with some gold. If you make several dummy characters, you can pool their gold together, then delete them. In effect, you can use this to gain unlimited gold without leaving the castle. This is obviously cheating, thus I do not endorse it. Q: Where is a good place to level up in the beginning? A: Murphy's Ghost. When you enter the dungeon, head north, then turn east. Go straight and head through the door. Move north 1 square, then continue east. You'll reach a dead end (or a door), there is a secret door here, open it and continue east. Eventually you'll reach a true dead end. Turn around and you'll find that you have warped to a different place on floor 1. There are 3 doors in front of you, the one on the right contains Murphy's Ghost. You can exit and reenter this room to fight him again and again. To return to the stairs, exit the room with Murphy, go two squares straight in front of you, turn right and go through the door, then go left. Follow this passage until you reach the darkness. Turn right and go 9 paces, then turn left and go straight. You will soon reach a lighted area. Keep going straight until you reach the wall, then turn right and go through the door. Follow this passage and you will reach the stairs. Q: How does multi-classing work? A: To change class go to the training grounds in the castle. You must meet the class's prerequisites and alignment. When you change class you will lose all experience and levels. Stats will be reduced to their minimum, and your age will increase. Your HP and spells will carry over. If your previous class was a spell caster, you will lose the extra MP for each level (i.e. all MP will be 1), however you will learn still learn new spells of that type and level, even if your new class doesn't learn spells. Q: What's the best party? A: This is a matter of choice. The traditional party is 3 fighting characters and 3 back-row characters. You should have at least 1 Mage and Cleric. A thief is important for opening chests. Starting out with 2 or 3 fighters isn't a bad idea. My preferred party is... Fighter -> Samurai Fighter -> Samurai Thief* -> Ninja Mage -> - Cleric -> - Wizard -> - *Thief and cleric should trade places. Once the thief can change class, it can move to the front row and the cleric can move to the back. The premade party replaces my Wizard with another Mage, moves the thief to the back row, and moves the Cleric to the front. Q: What is the story of the game? A: You won't really find much about the story in the game. I reproduce here page 1 of the instruction manual for your reference: "One Morning, Trebor, the Mad Overlord, noticed that the fabled amulet, which he constantly held in his possession, had disappeared. Realizing his ultimate fear come true, he uttered, 'It must have been stolen while I slept.' Looking around the room hoping to find the amulet, he instead saw a note sitting on the table. 'Foolish Trebor, I did not think I could take the amulet this easily. How senile you have become! Do not attempt to retrieve the amulet, Trebor. For your best efforts will surely fail. The Great Wizard Werdna.' "When Trebor finished reading the letter, it burst into flames and burned to ashes. The angered Trebor sent notices throughout the countryside and gathered soldiers to recover the amulet. 'Those who are able to recover the amulet will be rewarded with great riches and much distinction,' he announced to the soldiers. "Thus, adventurers from throughout the country who were confident of their skills gathered under Trebor and entered the dungeon deep below the castle in hopes of conquering Werdna." Q: Does this game end? A: Yes and no. You can beat Werdna many times, however if anyone in your party has beat him before then he will not be there. You are effectively done with Wizardry when you have fully mapped all 10 floors and defeated Werdna. Q: How does age affect a character? A: Supposedly around age 50, a character's vitality will slowly decrease. When it reaches zero, that character will permanently die of old age. I have never encountered this, nor have I heard of anyone encountering this. Q: How many Wizardry games are there? A: There are 8 games in the Wizardry series proper. There is also Wizardry Gold, which is Wizardry 7 with improved presentation. The first 7 games plus Gold are available in the Wizardry Archives for PC. Wizardry 1 and 2 were ported to NES and Wizardry 5 was ported to SNES. There is also Wizardry: Forsaken Lands for Playstation 2 and Wizards & Warriors, developed by the man behind Wizardry 5-7, for PC. There are a few other titles and ports that never made it outside of Japan. Wizardry 8 is most likely the last Wizardry title that will be made. ------------------------- 007 Contact and Credits ------------------------- Email: dave_goss(AT)yahoo.com On GameFAQs: Dave Goss Please email me with question, comments, or errors. Story information and spell translations quoted directly from the game's manual. Wizardry 1 created and defined the hack-n-slash RPG genre. It is an honor to write a document for such an important and influential title. Thanks to you the reader for playing this game and keeping Wizardry alive. Copyright 2005 David Goss