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<!--This file created 12/3/01 9:25 AM by Claris Home Page version 3.0-->
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<TITLE>ROS Readme!</TITLE>
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<CENTER><IMG SRC="Riddle.JPG" WIDTH=552 HEIGHT=489 ALIGN=bottom naturalsizeflag=0></CENTER>
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<P> </P>
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<P><FONT SIZE="+2"><B>Riddle of the Spheres</B></FONT></P>
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<P>by Brett Bixler, bxb11@psu.edu</P>
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<P> </P>
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<P><B>Plot</B></P>
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<P>Find and return the seven Spheres to the Grove of the Spheres.</P>
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<P> </P>
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<P><B>Introduction</B></P>
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<P>Over the past 700 years, many famous musicians disappeared without
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a trace from the Empire. At first, this was attributed to lack of
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artistic freedom - the musicians wanted to disappear. Later, the
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mages of the Empire discovered the truth.</P>
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<P>An invisible, roving gate that opened to another dimension was
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revealed. The gate was activated by music itself. You could be
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singing or even be just thinking about a song, and when the gate
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passed over you, you were transported to another place.</P>
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<P>It took the Empire mages over 50 years to track, stabilize, and
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eventually control the gate. When the first bold adventurers stepped
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through the now stable portal, they were astounded. The land
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consisted of a large number of islands floating in the ether! Some
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islands had formed chains - they were more or less bound together by
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tough, thick vines, making travel between isles possible.</P>
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<P>Descendents of the people who had travelled there over the years
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had formed loose communities and even had built some small cities.
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The most amazing discovery of all, however, was the Music of the
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Spheres.</P>
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<P>These seven orbs existed in a large clearing on the island where
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the portal opened in the "Realm of the Spheres," as this place became
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known. The source of great music and magic, it naturally attracted
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many mages and musicians alike.</P>
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<P>The Realm is a peaceful place, quite separated from the daily
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strife in the Empire. But something is awry. You have been called
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here on a priority one distress signal.</P>
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<P>The Empire doesn't consider you the best choice for this job -
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just the closest. Additional troops are on the way. You are to report
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to Empire Liaison Jarl as soon as you arrive in the Realm of the
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Spheres.</P>
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<P> </P>
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<P><B>Installation</B></P>
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<P>Place the <B>spheres.exs</B> file in the <B>Blades of Exile
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Scenarios</B> folder on the Mac, or the <B>Bladscen</B> folder on the
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PC.</P>
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<P>Place the <B>spheres.meg</B> file in the <B>Blades of Exile
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Scenarios</B> folder on the Mac.</P>
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<P>Place the <B>spheres.bmp</B> file in the <B>Bladscen</B> folder on
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the PC.</P>
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<P> </P>
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<P><B>Playing Tips</B></P>
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<P><I>General</I></P>
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<P>Go see the Empire Liaison as soon as possible. He will give you
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some much needed gold.</P>
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<P>Equip yourself immediately after you see the Empire Liaison. Naked
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adventurers don't last long.</P>
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<P>This scenario was specifically designed for low-level characters.
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Experience playing Exile I, II, and/or III will be to your favor.
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This scenario was tested with the default party generated by Blades
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of Exile. They were able to overcome every encounter successfully. If
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you have an encounter you consider impossible to complete
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successfully, you may want to consider returning to that encounter at
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a later time, after building skills and adding spells. The encounters
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are not ordered; you should be able to go in any direction from the
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start and still be successful.</P>
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<P>Having two level three magic users will really help with all early
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encounters.</P>
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<P>You must have a character with the ability to cast 'Move
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Mountains.'</P>
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<P><I>Storage</I></P>
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<P>You can store items in two places - The Spheres Hotel, on Portal
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Isle (the starting isle), and in Sour Note, a city on an isle to the
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Southwest of Portal Isle.</P>
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<P><I>Moving from Isle to Isle</I></P>
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<P>A number of people have had this problem. You may have to poke
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around the edge of an isle to find the invisible path from the isle
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to the bridges. It's there, but it's not as easy to find as it should
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be. I can't join the bridges directly to the isles; it would really
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screw up the graphics.</P>
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<P><I>The Tests of The Master</I></P>
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<P>Many people get stuck in the Master's castle in the room with many
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fences. There is a way out! You'll need to use a certain spell; it's
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the same one you've already used in that room to get from one section
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to another. Here's where you use it (<B><I>spoiler</I></B>, spelled
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backwards): moorforenroctfelreppu.</P>
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<P><I>The Alien Tome</I></P>
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<P>This serves no purpose in this scenario, but will in the next!</P>
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<P>I'll add to this section as I receive feedback from players.</P>
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<P> </P>
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<P><B>Bugs and Suggestions</B></P>
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<P><I>General</I></P>
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<P>I need to know about the obvious it-doesn't-work bugs. I also need
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to know about conceptual flaws in my design. Was an encounter too
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easy? Too hard? Did you understand the characters you talked to? Were
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you able to get the information you needed from them? I will fix
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bugs. I will consider fixing conceptual flaws if several people
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concur on the flaw. Hey, what do you want for free? You can e-mail me
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at bxb11@psu.edu. I'll try to respond quickly, but as a grad student,
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full-time employee, and father, I make no promises. Also, let me know
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what you liked!</P>
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<P><B>Stuck?</B></P>
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<P><A HREF="roswalk.htm">Check out the walkthrough.</A></P>
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<P><B>Please Consider...</B></P>
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<P>If you like this game, please consider making a small donation to
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your local literacy council. Even five dollars goes a long way with
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these organizations. They are underfunded, rely on volunteers, and
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fulfill an important need in our society.</P>
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<P> </P>
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<P><B>The Future</B></P>
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<P>The sequel to this scenario, Quests of the Spheres, is
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available!</P>
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<P><A HREF="http://www.clat.psu.edu/homes/bxb11/boe/index.htm">http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/</A></P>
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