The Basics

Quest for Glory, being a parser-based game (that means you have to type in specific commands to do stuff), can be a little confusing at first. If you have no idea about the kinds of things you can do, then this section should help you out.

Of course, before you start, there's the matter of choosing a character. If you haven't already, check out the Character Creation section for further details. But you should be able to deduce for yourself that if you want to be fighting a lot, you should pick a Fighter, if you want to use magic to solve your problems, you should pick a Magic User, and if you want to make a lot of money while avoiding fights as much as possible, you should pick a Thief. Obviously, the Fighter makes for the most straightforward gameplay, but as amazing as it may seem, not all problems can be solved by hitting them repeatedly.

Anyway, another major decision you have to make at this time is whether to remain a 'pure' class or create a hybrid character. In other words, you can either use all your points to improve your stats and the skills you already have, or you can choose to spend extra points to learn skills the class normally doesn't have. This is entirely up to you. But no matter what you do, keep your type of character in mind. If you're a Fighter, don't use magic to solve all your problems. If you're a Magic User, don't throw rocks at your enemies all the time; use Flame Dart if you can. If you're a Thief, don't rush blindly into combat at every opportunity. Of course, you could always just play with the skills your character class possesses by default and avoid these issues altogether. It's perfectly possible to finish the game either way, as you don't actually need those extra skills to get by.

Okay, so you've made your choice and named your character? Then let's begin!

If you've already started the game, you have undoubtedly seen this already. This is the first scene of the game, where the Sherriff welcomes you to the town of Spielburg. He will ask for your name, which you can still change at this point if you want. After that, you'll be free to do whatever you wish. So what kind of things can you do?

Let's start simple, with moving around. You can use the arrow keys for this, but it's better to use the numeric keypad (making sure Num Lock is off), since it makes it easier to walk diagonally. You can also click the mouse cursor where you want to walk if you prefer, but you have more control over the path you take with the keyboard, which can be very important at certain points of the game. Remember, once you start walking using the keyboard, you'll keep going in that direction until you either walk into something or stop manually. You can stop by pressing the key for the same direction you're walking in a second time.

For pretty much everything aside moving, you'll need to use the parser interface. You can make it appear by hitting the space bar or simply starting to type something. This pauses all the action, so you have plenty of time to type in your commands. The parser is fairly intelligent, it understands basic everyday actions just fine, as well as synonyms ('get', 'take', or 'pick up' all work for picking up items). Some common actions you can try are, for example: Look, Read, Get, Drop, Use, Open, Close, Give, Ask, Search, Buy, Throw, Climb, Eat, Drink, Sit, Stand, Walk, Run, Sneak, Rest, Sleep.

If you type just 'look', you'll get a short description of your immediate surroundings, which may yield some hints about the points of interest in the area. It's a wise thing to do in every new area you enter. Well, unless it's just another boring section of the forest where you can clearly see there's nothing special around.

'Ask' is an important one, since just 'talk' won't yield you any information. The NPCs in this game aren't your typical NPCs who'll just say the same single line every time no matter what you say to them. You can ask them about specific subjects, and they'll reply accordingly. For example, ask about Sherriff. Go ahead, try it.

You can change your walking speed by using 'walk', 'run', and 'sneak'. 'Walk' is your regular walking speed, which will do just fine in most cases. If you need to watch your step, it's obviously best to walk rather than run. Use 'run' if you need to get somewhere fast, or get away from something fast. Running uses up your Stamina, so it's often not wise to run everywhere you go. You can only use 'sneak' if you have the Stealth skill. You walk even slower than usual while sneaking, but your silent movement is much less likely to attract monsters or other unwanted attention.

'Rest' is a useful command to get some Health, MP and Stamina back at any time (except in a combat situation). You can't do it more than a few times in succession though.

Some of the commands you're likely to use most often have menu and keyboard shortcuts. You can get to the menu by clicking the mouse on the title bar at the top of the screen, but it's generally more convenient to use the keyboard shortcuts instead. I'll list all of them below, along with their function.

* CTRL+A : "Ask about". Just enter a subject you want to ask about, and see what the person you're talking to has to say about it. If you have the Magic skill, asking the right people about magic may yield you some extra magic spells.

* CTRL+C : "Cast". Follow it up with the name of one your spells and let 'r rip!

* CTRL+E : "Escape". Use this when in close combat to run like heck in the other direction.

* CTRL+F : "Fight". Use this to enter close combat with nearby monsters, though they'll usually initiate combat themselves anyway.

* CTRL+L : "Look at". Follow it up with the name of an object or person in your immediate area (or your inventory) to get a description of them. You can also right-click the mouse to look at things on-screen.

* CTRL+I (or Tab) : Inventory. Shows you the list of objects you're carrying, the amount of money you have, and the weight you are carrying / can carry.

* CTRL+P : Pause the game.

* CTRL+Q : Quit the game.

* CTRL+S : View your character sheet.

* CTRL+T : View the time of day.

* F3 : Repeats your last command. You can also press the space bar to make your last command appear again.

* F5 : Save the game.

* F7 : Restore the game.

* F9 : Restart the game.

There are some additional options you probably won't use very often, but here they are for completeness' sake:

* CTRL+G: Display the credits.

* CTRL+V: Adjust the sound volume.

* F1 : Shows a small help screen with some basic information. You probably won't need it after reading this.

* F2 : Toggle sound on/off.

* -, =, +: Change animation speed to slow (minus sign), normal (equals sign) or fast (plus sign). The differences aren't that great, and it's probably best to leave it on normal.

So, now that you know what you can do, what should you do? That's entirely up to you! This game offers you a lot of freedom, so have fun wandering around, and do your best to try to become a hero! ...or you could refer to the Walkthrough, and let me tell you exactly what you should do. Regardless, here are some final things you should always keep in mind.

* SAVE OFTEN! I shouldn't even have to say this, but remember that this is a game where you can save (almost) anywhere. So make use of that!

* To keep from starving to death, you'll need to eat. If you have food rations in your inventory, you'll eat automatically when you get hungry. You can temporarily reduce your hunger by eating apples or vegetables. None of these options satisfy you completely, however. For that, you'll need to either order food at the Inn (which costs money), or eat the fruit at Erana's Garden (which is free).

* You'll also need to sleep properly, or your Stamina will go down a lot quicker than usual. If you want to get a full night's sleep, you'll have to go to sleep sometime before midnight. But not all places are safe to sleep in. If you sleep just anywhere, you'll likely end up dead. The places you can safely sleep are, from best to worst, Erana's Garden, the Inn, 'Enry the 'Ermit's cave, the Dryad's Grove, the Meep's Peep, Spielburg's Castle's stables, and the streets of the town of Spielburg. Erana's Garden is free, and is the only place that will restore your Health, MP and Stamina to max no matter how little sleep you get. The Dryad's Grove and the Meep's Peep are also places you can sleep for free. Sleeping at the Inn costs you five silvers. 'Enry the 'Ermit will want one of your rations in exchange for letting you spend the night. You'll be forced to work in the morning if you sleep in the Castle Stables. And if you absolutely have to sleep in the streets of Spielburg, you'll find that thieves took all your money when you wake up.

* If using the 'rest' command isn't enough, and you're far from being able to sleep anywhere, the only way to restore your Health is by using Health Potions, so be sure to stock up on them. You can buy them from either Zara or the Healer. They both sell potions to restore MP and Stamina as well. Since the Healer is cheaper, it's best to buy your potions from her.

* Need money? Here's some things you can do. 1) Kill humanoid enemies like Goblins and Brigands, they often carry money. Type search corpse after you defeat them to see if they have something of value. 2) Work in the castle stables. You can do this once every day. You get five silvers for your trouble, and it may also increase some of your stats. 3) Sell things to the healer. She'll buy empty flasks for 2 silvers, flowers from Erana's Garden or Cheetaur Claws for 5 silvers, magic mushrooms for 1 gold, and a Troll's Beard for 2 Healing Potions (which is a value of a whopping 80 silvers!). 4) Find treasure. Keep your eyes peeled, there may be treasures hidden where you least expect them. 5) Complete quests. Check out the board at the Adventurer's Guild for opportunities to make money by doing what a hero does best. 6) If you're a Thief, honor your profession by looting people's houses and fencing their valuables at the Thieves' Guild.