Post by Dave on Aug 29, 2010 4:46:12 GMT
Here are a couple of tips to maximize your experience while playing Prodigy style:
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#1) The Random Number Table:
As a Prodigy, you possess the power to influence fate through your sheer will. You will notice when playing Prodigy, that a chaos symbol appears below the Table as it is coming on (Make sure you don't have "skip animation" selected in the Misc Options). If you press any of the keypad direction keys (or standard arrow keys), you will see a dark box appear around a smaller (4x4) grid of numbers, corresponding to the direction(s) that you press. When the coming-onto-the-screen animation stops, the number will be chosen from only this small 4x4 grid, instead of the whole page.
This means that for critical Random number rolls, you can influence the possibility of getting a high or low number. Use the Table of Contents to bring up the Random Number Table (IMPORTANT NOTE: the RNT is different for each book, so you need to do this step at the beginning of each adventure). You can study out the 9 different quadrants to see which have the greatest potential high numbers vs low numbers. If you see an area of the table that would be particulary advantageous when 8's, 9's or 0's are desired, such as in combat, then be sure to use your arrow keys during the Random number picking animation to ensure the number comes from that area. Likewise, if you know you want a low number (such as for taking random damage or Gold getting lost), you can direct the RNT to choose from a quadrant that has more low numbers than high.
While it doesn't guarantee the perfect number each time, it certainly does increase your chances of getting a useful number, and is one of the tricks of a true Prodigy!
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#2) Weapons Usage:
You will notice right off that the Sommerswerd is largely underpowered compared to it's By-the-Book version (+1 instead of +8 and only 1.5x damage to Undead instead of 2x). Granted, it does give +12 vs. Darklords, but just how often does one fight a Darklord, compared to their hosts of baddies? This is where the Prodigy custom weapon rules comes in handy...
Throughout your adventures, you may find special named weapons. For example: Prince Pelathar's Sword, Hermit's Warhammer, Bone Mace, and various other unique weapons. You should hover your mouse pointer over the Weapon's name in the Action Chart to see a tooltip which describes all of the various bonuses that the weapon gives.
For instance, a certain Bone Dagger somewhere in the game has two bonuses that show in the tooltip:
+4 CS vs. Kalkoth
x1.5 damage vs. Animal
So, if one were to be so foolhardy as to actually *hunt* the Kalkoths, one would be far better served using a Bone Dagger than the Sommerswerd.
Lots of such special weapons exist, but remember, you may only carry two weapons. (While this limit does not apply to Weapon-like Special Items, you'll find that many of these "named" weapons are not Special Items, and that they fit in one of your two weapon slots.)
So, a true Prodigy would be constantly monitoring his current weapons holdings, and maximizing his combat bonuses.
-------------------
If I think of more good tips, I'll post them here.
-----------------------------
#1) The Random Number Table:
As a Prodigy, you possess the power to influence fate through your sheer will. You will notice when playing Prodigy, that a chaos symbol appears below the Table as it is coming on (Make sure you don't have "skip animation" selected in the Misc Options). If you press any of the keypad direction keys (or standard arrow keys), you will see a dark box appear around a smaller (4x4) grid of numbers, corresponding to the direction(s) that you press. When the coming-onto-the-screen animation stops, the number will be chosen from only this small 4x4 grid, instead of the whole page.
This means that for critical Random number rolls, you can influence the possibility of getting a high or low number. Use the Table of Contents to bring up the Random Number Table (IMPORTANT NOTE: the RNT is different for each book, so you need to do this step at the beginning of each adventure). You can study out the 9 different quadrants to see which have the greatest potential high numbers vs low numbers. If you see an area of the table that would be particulary advantageous when 8's, 9's or 0's are desired, such as in combat, then be sure to use your arrow keys during the Random number picking animation to ensure the number comes from that area. Likewise, if you know you want a low number (such as for taking random damage or Gold getting lost), you can direct the RNT to choose from a quadrant that has more low numbers than high.
While it doesn't guarantee the perfect number each time, it certainly does increase your chances of getting a useful number, and is one of the tricks of a true Prodigy!
-------------------------
#2) Weapons Usage:
You will notice right off that the Sommerswerd is largely underpowered compared to it's By-the-Book version (+1 instead of +8 and only 1.5x damage to Undead instead of 2x). Granted, it does give +12 vs. Darklords, but just how often does one fight a Darklord, compared to their hosts of baddies? This is where the Prodigy custom weapon rules comes in handy...
Throughout your adventures, you may find special named weapons. For example: Prince Pelathar's Sword, Hermit's Warhammer, Bone Mace, and various other unique weapons. You should hover your mouse pointer over the Weapon's name in the Action Chart to see a tooltip which describes all of the various bonuses that the weapon gives.
For instance, a certain Bone Dagger somewhere in the game has two bonuses that show in the tooltip:
+4 CS vs. Kalkoth
x1.5 damage vs. Animal
So, if one were to be so foolhardy as to actually *hunt* the Kalkoths, one would be far better served using a Bone Dagger than the Sommerswerd.
Lots of such special weapons exist, but remember, you may only carry two weapons. (While this limit does not apply to Weapon-like Special Items, you'll find that many of these "named" weapons are not Special Items, and that they fit in one of your two weapon slots.)
So, a true Prodigy would be constantly monitoring his current weapons holdings, and maximizing his combat bonuses.
-------------------
If I think of more good tips, I'll post them here.
