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\pnlcrm\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang{\pntxtb (}{\pntxta )}}\pard\plain \qc\widctlpar \f29 {\i\f8\fs96 INSTRUCTIONS
\par }{\f13\fs40 
\par }{\b\f3 for using the
\par amazingly useful, 
\par \ldblquote why didn\rquote t I think of that\rdblquote ,
\par Blades of Exile scenario designer\rquote s
\par supplemental tool, the}{\b\f3\fs40 
\par }{\f13\fs40 
\par }{\i\f8\fs96 High Level Party Maker
\par }\pard \widctlpar 
\par 
\par Text (C) 1998 by Tarl Roger Kudrick.
\par This manual must be kept with, and distributed with, 
\par the UNMODIFIED VERSION OF the High Level Party Maker scenario.
\par Modified version don\rquote t require this text.
\par This text may not be changed in any way.
\par 
\par 
\par 
\par {\b\ul SO WHAT\rquote  S THIS ALL ABOUT?
\par }
\par \tab Ever wondered how you can make a high level scenario for Jeff Vogel\rquote s \ldblquote Blades of Exile\rdblquote  game if you\rquote 
re never sure what level characters your players will have? Oh, sure, you could tell your players to use the Character Editor, but come on. It\rquote s not easy t
o figure out exactly how many hit points, weapons, and such a character of any particular level should have. And a FEW people out there might take a request to use the editor as a license to cheat wildly. 
\par 
\par \tab Wouldn\rquote t you rather have some real say in what kind of party goes through your custom adventure? They can\rquote t ALL be for beginning parties, you know...
\par 
\par \tab Enter the High Level Party Maker (HLPM). The HLPM is a tiny, one-dungeon, three-rooms-and-one-hallway scenario with a whole lot of special encounters that give the characters gold, experience points, weapons, spells...
\par 
\par {\b\ul HOW MANY SPECIALS? HOW MUCH GOLD, XP, AND SUCH?
\par }
\par \tab That\rquote s entirely up to you! See, the HLPM is TOTALLY customizable. Anyone with even a little experience with the Scenario Editor will be able to alter the HLPM to fit the needs of any custom scenario.
\par 
\par \tab The basic version of the HLPM comes with the features listed below. I emphasize again that, using the scenario editor, you can alter any of these features any way you want. Since it\rquote 
s easier to get rid of things when making scenarios than it is to add them, I\rquote ve put in more special encounters and the like than you may need. So if there are too many special encounters for your needs, erase some.
\par 
\par \tab The basic version of the HLPM comes with:
\par \tab 
\par \tab 1) a \ldblquote special\rdblquote  that gives 25,000 gold (amount modifiable by you, of course)
\par \tab 2) Twenty one-use-only \ldblquote specials\rdblquote  that give roughly 140 experience points to each member of the party (more on what \ldblquote roughly\rdblquote  means in a moment) 
\par \tab 3) A trainer
\par \tab 4) Eight salespeople: an armorer, a weaponsmith, three \ldblquote miscellaneous\rdblquote  sellers, a priest for priest spells, a wizard for wizard spells, and a witch for alchemy, and
\par \tab 5) A way out that calls an \ldblquote end of scenario\rdblquote  special node, takes away all excess gold from the party, and then gives them the amount YOU want them to start with (currently set at 5,000).
\par 
\par \tab Players going through the scenario should take only a few minutes in turning a party of first-level characters into a party that is adequately set up for your scenario. And it shouldn\rquote 
t take you much more than fifteen minutes or so to customize the HLPM to fit any scenario of any level you want. (Very high level scenarios may take a bit more work--see below.)
\par 
\par {\b\ul WHAT DO YOU MEAN, \ldblquote ROUGHLY\rdblquote  140 EXPERIENCE POINTS?
\par }
\par \tab I don\rquote t like this either.
\par \tab The \ldblquote Blades of Exile\rdblquote  game, apparently, has severe limits on just how many experience points can be given out with one \ldblquote affect experience\rdblquote 
 special node. The limit seems to start at 150 x.p., and then decrease as characters get more powerful. This limitat
ion is terribly unfortunate, for it means that making characters gain, say, 3,000 x.p. really fast (to get them to 25th-30th level right away) isn\rquote t easy. You will need a LOT of \ldblquote affect experience\rdblquote 
 special nodes to get characters from 1st level to 30th. 
\par \tab 
I was greatly disturbed by this finding. I was personally hoping that, much like with gold, where one special encounter can give the party a ton of gold, I could set up one special encounter to give the party a ton of experience. Currently, the game doesn
\rquote t work that way--hence the need for 20 one-shot nodes. 
\par \tab Of course, if you only want your scenario to be for medium-level characters, that\rquote s fine. And if 20 is too many nodes, just remove some with the \ldblquote erase special\rdblquote  button on the terrain editor. If 20 is too few, you\rquote 
re in for some work. 
\par 
\par {\b\ul 
\par 
\par WHY ARE THERE THREE \ldblquote MISCELLANEOUS\rdblquote  SALESPEOPLE?}
\par 
\par \tab 
Because when you give a seller a list of items for sale, the items have to be an unbroken string from the list of items in the Blades of Exile editor. (Exception: random item sellers, whose lists of random items could be cleverly manipulated so that all 
four lists show the exact same items. That\rquote s how some people sell torches AND lockpicks AND gems, even though those items are not adjacent in the game\rquote s item list.)
\par 
\par {\b\ul HOW DO I BUNDLE THE HLPM WITH MY CUSTOM SCENARIO?}
\par 
\par \tab First, download the HLPM. Then make a COPY of it and mess with that. You may name this copy anything you want, but remember that it has to be in the DOS-style 8.3 filename format, with \ldblquote .exs\rdblquote  as the suffix, or Blades of Exile won
\rquote t recognize it. 
\par \tab I would rename this new, customized copy to fit the name of the scenario you\rquote re using it with. For instance, I\rquote m working on a scenario for 10th-level characters called \ldblquote Islands of the Wheel\rdblquote , and I\rquote 
m going to rename \ldblquote hlpm.exs\rdblquote  into \ldblquote islahlpm.exs\rdblquote  and give the new file the same custom icon as my custom scenario\rquote s going to have, just for good measure. That way if this thing catches on, people won\rquote 
t have eight different versions of the HLPM on their drive and getting all of them confused with one another. 
\par \tab When you put your custom scenario on the Net, include the customized HLPM in the same folder. Then leave instructions to run a brand-new first-level party through your custom HLPM to get them ready for your custom scenario. 
\par \tab Don\rquote t worry about the players failing to use the HLPM right. Instructions appear during the use of the HLPM. Try it, it\rquote s fun. 
\par 
\par {\b\ul IF I USE THE HLPM FOR MY CUSTOM SCENARIO, DO I HAVE TO GIVE YOU CREDIT?}
\par 
\par \tab Silly person! I\rquote ve already taken care of that. My name is on the HLPM scenario details text. So your conscience is clear.
\par 
\par {\b\ul ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO KNOW?}
\par 
\par \tab Of course! Oh, you mean about the High Level Party Maker. Well, probably not. But if there is, then write me at 
\par 
\par \tab tarl@access.digex.net
\par 
\par \tab and I\rquote ll help you out. 
\par 
\par \tab It sounds a lot weirder and more difficult than it really is. Download it (from the custom scenario section of www.spidweb.com, Jeff Vogel\rquote s \ldblquote Spiderweb Software\rdblquote  site) and try it. Or tell me you want a copy and I\rquote 
ll e-mail you one. I\rquote ll also see if I can\rquote t put it on my own FTP site. Really, use the HLPM with a first-level party of your own and you\rquote ll see how simple it all is. Your players will thank you for it. I know I will!
\par 
\par ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\par Release date for Version 1.0.0: January 13, 1998
\par 
\par No known bugs.
\par }