
                             LEGENDS VERSION 4.3 
                             Sysop documentation 

                  "Role-playing for the god in all of us!"(tm)

                  Programmed and written by Jeffrey D. Hoffman

                    A PRODUCT OF ADVANCED SYSTEMS RESEARCH

1.0 INTRODUCTION 

     Welcome to the newest and finest version of the world's most acclimated
role-playing system.  LEGENDS 4.3 offers more features, better speed, and
better game-play than anything you will have ever seen before, including the
previous versions of LEGENDS.
     This new version has undergone extensive testing and now stands as the
most stable and powerful version of LEGENDS ever released.  Now, more than
ever, players are discovering the potential that LEGENDS offers for wild
adventures in the realm that they both create and explore.
     With the release of this new version, players and sysops have discovered
that they have more control and more available options to use within the game
than anything they have worked with before.
     LEGENDS 4.3 features all new source code that knocks CPU usage down from
99% to 16%.  The command parser has been extended from eighty-three commands to
over one-hundred different verbs for the player to enter.  New features also
include intelligent monsters of differing alignments (both good and evil),
cursed weapons, and a spectacular new spell system that includes powerful new
spells like CALM and CHAIN LIGHTNING!!  An updated player's handbook is also
available online (during play) for both reading and downloading.
     The game speaks for itself.


1.1 INSTALLATION 

     As with any other version of LEGENDS, everything you need to install
LEGENDS on your BBS is included with your archive.

        1.  Create a directory inside your TBBS directory or wherever
            you would like to run the adventure from.  For example,
            use LEGENDS.

        2.  Extract the LEGENDS archive into this new directory.

        3.  Update your .SDL file by adding the following line to the
            menu on which you would like the users to be able to
            access the game.

        Entry:
        L -> LEGENDS version 4.3  (Multi-user, real-time AD&D role-playing)
        Priv=0 A1=-------- A2=-------- A3=-------- A4=-------- ANS=- IBM=-
        KEY=L TYPE=200 Opt Data=c:\tbbs\legends\legends /Q

        5.  Following that entry, another entry should be added so
            that players can view the player's handbook for outside
            LEGENDS.  This text file contains valuable information for
            players, including a complete listing of commands, races, and
            occupations.

        Entry:
        H -> LEGENDS Players Handbook            (Information and commands)
        Priv=0 A1=-------- A2=-------- A3=-------- A4=-------- ANS=- IBM=-
        KEY=H TYPE=1 Opt Data=c:\tbbs\legends\handbook.txt

        6.  Following that entry, another entry should be added so
            that players can view the mage's handbook for outside LEGENDS

        Entry:
        M -> LEGENDS Mage's Handbook
        Priv=0 A1=-------- A2=-------- A3=-------- A4=-------- ANS=- IBM=-
        KEY=H TYPE=1 Opt Data=c:\tbbs\legends\magic.txt

        6.  The forth entry to be added is for the high scores listing.

        Entry:
        S -> LEGENDS most experience adventurers              (High scores)
        Priv=0 A1=-------- A2=-------- A3=-------- A4=-------- ANS=- IBM=-
        KEY=S TYPE=1 Opt Data=c:\tbbs\legends\scores.txt

        7.  Compile the .SDL file.

        8.  LEGENDS 4.3 includes a new version of the ghost task program that
            was designed to go through the LEGENDS databases and update them
            for play each day by moving monsters, changing the shop
            inventories, and deleting old players.  Define your ghost task to
            run upon startup of your BBS because it only needs to be run
            once a day (preferably in the morning).  It will run for about
            five to seven minutes and then quit, once it has finished its
            routine.

            I suggest that you set it to run at 23:60.  This setting instructs
            TBBS to run the ghost-task whenever the board is run.

        9.  Run your BBS.


1.2 DEMO VERSUS REGISTERED VERSION 

     The demo version of LEGENDS, which is received if you do not purchase a
copy of the LEGENDS software through ASR, is automatically set up on your
system.  The demo version is a working copy of the game with a few minor things
turned off.  The following paragraphs explain what is missing, and what you get
when you purchase the LEGENDS software.  If you have already purchased LEGENDS
through ASR, simply skip down to section 2.0 for sysop instructions and
information.
     The demo version, which you are running, only allows players to play once
a day.  If they quit, or they are killed, they are logged out of the software,
and are forced to wait until the next day in order to play again.  As sysop,
you also loose the ability to assign players to be demigods with the
demonstration version.  You, and your players, do not have the ability to make
your own rooms, items, traps, monsters, or zones.  This version also limits the
number of possible rooms in the game, and restricts you to what comes with the
demo version.

     Once you register LEGENDS through ASR, all you need to do is install the
new .TPG file over your existing one.  All databases remain intact and you are
now able to assign demigods, play repeatedly, and basically do everything that
LEGENDS allows a 'god' within the game.


2.0 GOD 

     Simple.  You are the conroller of the LEGENDS realm, no holds barred.

     Within the new operating system that LEGENDS offers, as sysop of the
board, you receive unlimited power within the game.  The LEGENDS EDITOR is no
longer in existance, as I have combined the power of the two .TPG files into
one program that allows you to distribute power to different players at
different levels, plus allows you to access all the commands that the editor
allowed from within LEGENDS.
     As sysop, you have the power to CREATE items, room, monsters, zones, and
traps from the beginning.  You also have the ability to edit any of those
things, including the ones that you did not make.  In addition, you can destroy
anything that either you or another player made.  You also get several other
commands that no one else can use.
     These commands are OFFLINE and EDITPLAYER.

     The OFFLINE (Player's name) command allows you to tell LEGENDS that a
player whom it thinks is online really isn't.  I have fixed most of the
problems that happened before with LEGENDS leaving a player online, but there
are rare occasions when mistakes still happen.
     Example:  Offline ShadowDestroyer

     The EDITPLAYER (Player's name) command allows you to edit the player who
you specify.  From the menu that comes up, you can alter the player's alias,
alignment, race, occupation, title, level, experience, privilege, and more.
(See the section of editing players below.)
     Example:  editplayer ShadowDestroyer

     LEGENDS distributes power to players in the form of privilege, much like
TBBS does.  All players start at with a privilege of 0, versus the privilege of
500 that you receive automatically as sysop.  This chart displays the different
levels of privilege that you can assign to a player to give them different
abilities.  A higher privilege level can always use a command from a lower
privilege level.

                                                  GUIDE TO PRIVILEGE LEVELS
  0   Standard player can not make anything, teleport, or summon.            
                                                                             
  1   Player is allowed to have multiple characters.                         
                                                                             
  100 Player can use the TELEPORT command and jump to any room.              
      Player can also use the %E (environment) command, as well              
      as display the ZONES listing.                                          
                                                                             
  200 Player can SUMMON any monster anywhere in the realm.                   
                                                                             
  300 Player can access the CREATE, EDIT, and DESTROY commands for their own 
      things only.                                                           
                                                                             
  500 Player can EDIT anything within the game, whether they made it or not. 
      They have access also to the OFFLINE command.                          

     You can give a player any privilege level that you would like using the
EDITPLAYER command.  Alter their privilege to the value you would like and then
save your changes.
     LEGENDS is also, for the most part, self-sustaining.  It will clean up
after itself, and the Ghost Task does most of the maintenance that is required.
By assigning 300 privilege to a selective group of players, you can give the
important jobs of keeping LEGENDS active to your DemiGODs.

     A document, aside from the HANDBOOK.TXT file, has been included with this
archive called DEMIGOD.TXT.  This document includes all the descriptions and
definitions for the screens that LEGENDS displays when you CREATE something.
This text file was written to be available to players who have a privilege of
100 or better.  It is up to you to determine how they get this file.  It is
very important to them, as it explains a lot of what their abilities are.


2.1 EDITING PLAYERS 

     This is the screen that is drawn when you edit a player.

 [] (, )

Privilege: 

Level:  Experience: 
Hit points: 0 of                 Spell points: 0 of 

Armor class: 

To Weapon:    Attack verb: 
To hit:  +  Attack pause: 

Spell classes known:  Maximum spell level: 

     The first input field is the ALIAS that the player has.

     The second field field, displayed between brackets, is the alignment of
the player.  With the ability to change this, LEGENDS allows for different
alignments within PLAYERS.  This can be either GOOD or EVIL.  There are several
different things that happen to a player based upon their alignment.
     Players must attack monsters of the opposite alignment in order to gain
experience.  Monsters will not attack players of their same alignment.

     The RACE field follow the alignment field and is usually something you
won't change unless a player wants to switch to a different race.  You must
enter an existing race within LEGENDS in order for the player to change to it.

     The OCCUPATION field follows the race field, and works just like it.  If
the player would like to switch to a different occupation in the middle of
their adventure, you can switch by changing the value in this field.

     The long, grey get field below the player's alias, alignment, race, and
occupation is the player's title.  They can alter their own title with the
TITLE command, but you can also alter it by changing what is seen in this long
field.

     The PRIVILEGE field holds the amount of privilege that the player has
currently.  All players are started at 0 and you must change that value if they
ever want anything else.  See the guide to privilege, above.

     The LEVEL field holds the player's experience level.

     The EXPERIENCE field holds the total amount of experience that the player
has earned upon all of their travels.

     The MAXIUM HIT POINTS field stores the total number of hitpoints that the
player can have when they are healed.  When you edit a player and save your
changes, the player's hitpoints are automatically set to their maximum
hitpoints also.

     The MAXIMUM SPELL POINTS field allows you to adjust how many spell points
that the player has.  This field is of no significance to a player who's
occupation can not use magic.

     The ARMOR CLASS field determines how difficult it is to hit this player.
LEGENDS automatically calculates this value based on their natural abilities,
plus the armor that they are wearing.  I usually do not change this value at
all, but just in case you play with it, the lower the number, the harder it is
for the player to be hit.

     The TO WEAPON field defines the player's base weapon.  This, normally, is
fists, but I have used it creatively to make players into living monsters to
make my copy of LEGENDS much, much more exciting.  This can be anything you can
fit into the alloted space, but realize that this is a weapon name, and the
player does not really have any item with this name in their inventory.  If
the player is wielding a weapon, this field will not be visible to them.

     The ATTACK VERB field holds a verb which adds a bit of color to the combat
descriptions in LEGENDS.  This verb stands for the type of attack that the
player does against any other player or monster.

                           COMMON ATTACK VERBS Ŀ
                           claws          breathes 
                           strikes        slashes  
                           thrusts        bites    
                           slices         spews    
                           gazes                   
                          

     The TO HIT field holds the total adjustment that the player gets to their
attack roll.  This is also based upon natural ability, occupational
adjustments, as well as race adjustments and weapon and armor adjustments.  I
usually let LEGENDS keep track of this number, but you can alter it.  The
higher the value, the better the chances the player has of hitting whatever
they attack.

     The adjacent field is the DAMAGE field which holds dice roll that damage
is calculated from. This data MUST be entered in a specific format:

      Ŀ
       (Number of times to roll) d (Maximum value of a single dice roll) 
      

                FOR EXAMPLE: 1d16 will roll a sixteen-sided dice once.
                         OR: 2d12, which would roll a twelve-sided dice twice.

     This can be any combination, although I recommend that the first number be
less than six for fast execution.  Other examples: 1d100, 2d5, 4d8, 2d20, etc.
     Bare in mind that this is the damage rolll that is rolled ONLY if the
player is not wielding another weapon.  This is the damage roll for their base
weapon only.

     The field directly after DAMAGE is the DAMAGE ADJUSTMENT field.  This
value is added to the player's total damage done.  This value could also be
considered the lowest possible damage a player could inflict.  This value is
added on to either the player's damage roll, or the roll that a weapon they
have readied makes.  The higher this value, the higher the damage they will do
on each attack.

     The final field two fields pertain to the type of spells that the player
can cast.  The SPELL CLASSES KNOWN field tells LEGENDS what class of spells the
player can cast - either CLERIC or SORCERER, or both.  The full name of the
spell class must appear within the field for the player to be able to cast it.
For instance, if the player can only cast cleric spells, you type:
     CLERIC
     but, if they can also cast sorcerer spells, you type:
     CLERIC SORCERER

     The MAXIMUM SPELL LEVEL field sets the limit on the highest level of spell
from the defined classes that the player can cast.  If this value is a 6, and
the player can only cast cleric spells, they can only access any spell that is
level 6 or LOWER.

     Once you have pressed return from the last field, LEGENDS will ask if you
would like to save your changes.  If you answer no, all things will be returned
to their original status.


2.2 END-OF-FILE HITS 

     LEGENDS 4.3 also give you a simple way to deal with End-of-File Hit errors
that occur when the databases are corrupted by either a BBS crash or a power
failure.  If you get this error, you can now enter your LEGENDS directory and
delete all the files with a .NDX extension.
     With these files missing, LEGENDS is rendered inoperative to players.  It
is important that you run NDXLGNDS.EXE following the deletion of all the .NDX
files in the directory.  This executable program will reindex all of the files
in record time, restoring LEGENDS to functionality, once again.


3.0 REGISTRATION, TECH SUPPORT 

     LEGENDS is distributed by ASR.  You can purchase the registered version of
LEGENDS via their BBS or VOICE phone.

                       Call Advanced Systems Research at
                     702-334-3308 BBS or 702-334-3304 VOICE
                                  to register.

Logon as TBBS SYSOP with a password of SYSMON to receive instant access to the
products section where you will be able to purchase LEGENDS with a credit card.

If you are registered with any ASR product you may access the ASR Support
Echo using our toll free 800 number at:

    Ŀ
       Ŀ Ŀ                  
       Ĵ Ŀ  Ŀ ĿĿĿĿ        ĴĿ   
               \           
                             1-800-ASR-TBBS                             
    


Jeff Hoffman, programmer of LEGENDS, is available on ASR but faster service is
available on Safe Harbor BBS.  If you have technical questions, comments, or
complaints, I can be reached there.

                            Call Safe Harbor BBS at
          414-548-8140 for 2400 BAUD or 414-548-8155 for HST & v.32bis


3.1 UPGRADING TO LEGENDS 4.3 

     If you already own a copy of LEGENDS, you can upgrade to the new 4.3
software for FREE!  Contact Jeff Hoffman on Safe Harbor BBS for your free
upgrade.


3.2 WARRANTY 

This software and accompanying materials are distributed "AS IS" without
warranty.  In no event shall the author, MDH Inc., Safe Harbor Computers, ASR,
or anyone involved with the creation and production of this product be liable
for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential loss or damage caused or
alleged to be caused by the use of this program.  Your use of this program
constitutes your agreement to this disclaimer and your release of the author
from any form of liability or litigation.


  Copyright (C) January, 1993 by Jeffrey D. Hoffman.  All Rights Reserved. 


