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version 0.62 (unfinished)
Copyright (c) 2005-25 Elwynor Technologies
Worlds of Darkness is an unfinished and unreleased ANSI 3-D role playing game. During the course of the game many races, classes, and items can be found throughout the game world.
Strength(STR)
Strength is the raw physical power of a character. It is most
important in combat, as it provides added accuracy and damage
to a weapons abilities.
Dexterity(DEX) Dexterity is the nimbleness and agility of a character. It is also important in combat, as it increases the players Armor Class.
Constitution(CON) Constitution is the healthiness and disease resistance of a character. A high score in this area is desirable for all classes, since it gives bonuses to Hit Points and Aging.
Wisdom(WIS) Wisdom is a character's judgment, willpower, and enlightenment. It is of importance mainly to characters who can wield priest spells, as it gives bonus to their casting ability.
Intelligence(INT) Intelligence is a character's memory and learning ability. It is of importance mainly to characters who can wield Mage spells, as it gives bonus to their casting ability.
Charisma(CHR)
Charisma is a character's charm, wit or appearance. Charisma does
not affect any one class but instead affects all the NPC's a player
meets in the game. (i.e. Shopkeepers)
Luck(LCK) Luck is simply a characters good fortune, or ability to outwit the odds. High luck is desirable in all characters. After all, it may come in handy when your fighting a 10th level Death Dragon, eh?
Hitpoints(HP) Simply put hitpoints are a players life. When they reach zero your character dies.
Humans Humans are mortals of the earthen plane. In Worlds of Darkness humans are the basis for comparison to all other races. As a result of this they have no penalties or bonuses for their attributes. They also posses a good casting ability, making them a good choice for any profession or class.
Dwarves Dwarves appear to be short and stocky humans who spend much of their time underground mining. Due to their lifestyle dwarves have increased strength and constitution, although their dexterity suffers from the enclosed spaces of mine shafts. Their extended exposure to the Earth Spirits also grants them a resistance to earth based spells. However their ability to cast spells is limited. Dwarves make good warriors for any party without suffering from many penalties.
Elves Elves are woodland creatures that resemble tall and elegant humans. They are communion with the forest and it's energies giving them an above average casting ability plus magic resistance, making them good enchanters, seers, or rangers.
Dark Elves Dark Elves are the evil twins of elves. Living in massive underground cities dark elves have separated them selves from their woodland kin. No matter how separated from their kin dark elves have excellent magic resistance and casting ability. However, the dark elf society is one of evil and due to this tradition dark elves have very poor charisma.
Haflings Haflings are very short and squat. They generally live underground and have exceptional dexterity and luck, although their strength could use a little improvement.
Bazzars Bazzars usually wear long hooded robes covering their physical appearance. This is largely because Bazzars are beings of pure magical energy and have no physical body. As a result of their magical nature they posses excellent magic resistance and tremendous casting ability, making them a great choice for an enchanter or seer class. The only drawbacks of all this magical might is that there is little development of the body making them poor warriors.
Drakken Drakken are a race of 'Dragon People' whose origin can be traced back to the experiments of a mad geomancer. Standing taller than an average human Drakken are covered in scales with a crest of horns in the head area. Drakken are very strong and have an incredible resistance to fire and some magic's. Besides this the Drakken have no great drawbacks in any one area making them a good selection for any class.
Covenanters Covenanters are a distant branch of the Drakken. Physically Covenanters are only about four feet tall and are usually covered with black scales. Their heads are adorned with horns much like a Drakken except their horns are shorter. Covenanters usually live in Arctic regions due to the isolation. They desire this isolation due to their monk-like nature. Covenanters constantly study scrolls and record information of importance to the cleansing of the realms sins. Because of this extreme piety Covenanters make excellent Acolytes or Seers, although their performance in other areas lacks.
Firmyr Firmyr are a race of giant wolf-like creatures. Standing approximately ten feet tall and weighing about half a ton Firmyr posses tremendous strength and constitution. This raw power and savagery make Firmyr the ideal choice for a warrior. Other than this Firmyr society is very tribal leading them to be vary wary of magic's and arcane knowledge.
-In the following descriptions the letters A-E will be used to reference the
types of equipment a character may access. Here are the details of these
categories.
[-A-] Classes: ALL Objects: potions, scrolls, light armor, weapons, and shields.
[-B-] Classes: Warrior, Hunter, Avatar, Dark Lord Objects: med.-heavy armor, med.-heavy shields, med.-heavy weapons.
[-C-] Classes: Enchanter, Seer, Hunter, Dark Lord Objects: staves, wands, amulets, rings, of a combat nature.
[-D-] Classes: Acolyte, Avatar, Dark Lord Objects: staves, wands, amulets, rings, of a protection/healing nature.
[-E-] Classes: Kensai Objects: Ancient weapons and armor that only the Kensai may use.
Warrior Warriors are the fighters, barbarians and blades for hire that can be found in any realm. Warriors have access object classes A and B.
Hunter Hunters are like warriors but fight for a preservation of nature. At later levels they become in tune with the powers of nature and may use them to great avail. Hunters have to access object classes A, B and C.
Avatar Avatars are the great heroes and heroines that are the pinnacle of chivalry and righteousness. At later levels they begin to inherit powers of divine origin much to the dismay of evil. Avatars have access to object classes A,B, and D.
Enchanter Enchanters are great masters of the arcane magic's. Spending many years mastering the war magic's. Enchanters have access to object classes A and C.
Acolyte Acolytes are the sign of piety. Spending many years in devotion to God, Acolytes wield magic's of divinity and protection. Acolytes have access to object classes A and D.
Seer Seers are individuals who have devoted themselves to complete magical prowess. Gaining magic's from both the Acolyte and Enchanter realms but never totally mastering either. Seers have access to object classes A, C, and D.
Kensai Kensai are ancient weapons masters who have turned killing into an art. As a result of this specialization Kensai have access to weapons and armor of such great power that only a Kensai may wield them. But be warned, these weapons are of such great power that they may only be acquired by slaying a high level monster. Kensai have access to object classes A,B, and E.
Dark Lord Dark Lords can be referred to as the 'jack of all trades'. Dark Lords gain minor powers in both the acolyte and enchanter realms, while remaining a better fighter than either. Dark Lords also have access to ALL object classes EXCEPT the Kensai artifacts.
When you are attacked by a monster group you are thrown into a 15x15 arena in which you fight. The following gives the details of combat.
[-Symbols-]
Ω -Player characters, the active player is light red, the others waiting in
turn are light green.
Ω -Monsters, they appear white.
U -Dead monsters, they appear dark gray.
X -The exit, step on this space to flee from combat.
[-Moving-] To move your player wait until the combat messages prompt you for your action then use one of the numeric number keys to move in the desired direction.
[-Hand to Hand Fighting-] When it is your turn you may attack a monster in an adjacent space by pressing 'A' and then the direction the monster is in.
[-Ranged Combat-] When it is your turn you may fire a ranged weapon at a monster by pressing 'F' and then moving the crosshair to the desired space. (**Note: Ranged weapons require you to have projectiles to be fired, and some have shorter ranges than theirs. **)
[-Casting Spells-]
When it is your turn you may cast a spell by pressing 'C', and then selecting
the appropriate spell. If the spell is a personal spell it will be used on
you, if it is single with no range then aiming takes place like hand to hand
combat. Otherwise aiming takes place like ranged combat. (**Note: Spells
require Magic Points(MP), and some may affect a whole group. **)
[-Equipping-] Items must be equipped for them to be used. You can do this by selecting 'E' and the desired item. If you equip an already equipped item it will be un-equipped.
[-Using Items-] Some items, such as potions, must be used to work. You can do this by pressing 'U' and then choosing the desired item. (**Note: not all items have infinite uses. **)
[-Searching-] After a monster has been slain it's body may be searched for items other than the standard gold pieces(GP) and experience points(EXP).You may do this by selecting 'S' and then the direction of the monster. (Note: you must be in an adjacent square to the monster.)
This section details the dungeon commands and symbols. The symbol in brackets indicates the letter command of the function.
[-General Commands-]
[I]nventory : Shows a list of all your possessions. [G]et Item : Picks up an item off the ground and adds it to you inventory. [D]rop Item : Drops an item on the ground, removing it from inventory. [R]eady Item: Equips an Item. Equipping an item twice un-equips it. [U]se Item : Uses an item, such as a potion. [C]ast Spell: Casts a spell. [S]witch : Activates a switch if present. [Q]uit : Quits to the main menu. [W]hodat : Tells you who a symbol is on your player gem. [T]alk : Talks to another player. (Note: you must be in the same space, once in chat type '/?' for additional help.) Snoo[Z]e : Rests your character and returns HP and MP. (**Note: Monsters may still attack you. **)
[-Moving-] To move around the dungeon use the numeric arrow keys as follows. 7 : Turns to the left. 8 : Walk forward one step. 9 : Turns to the right. 4 : Walk to the left one step. 6 : Walk to the right one step. 2 : Walk backwards one step.
[-Viewports-] Dungeon View : The box in the upper left hand corner. This shows you what you see in the dungeon.
Player Gem : The Box to the left of the Dungeon View. This shows you when other players enter within a certain range of your character. (**Note: the true directions are not shown unless you own a compass. **)
Compass : Appears directly below the player gem. Shows you your direction of travel. (Note: You must buy a compass for it to appear.)
Player Info : Appears in the upper right hand corner. This gives you a quick glance at your player's status.
Menu Bar : Appears in the lower half of the screen. This shows you a list of available commands.
This section describes various places in the dungeons, and their uses. If a name is marked with an %% then it is still under construction, so when it is entered only a blank wall will appear.
%% Bank : You can store money and take out loans. %% Jail : Debtors and bounties are placed here. %% Warriors Guild: Warriors gather here for quests and training. %% Shop : You can buy general items like compasses here. Weapons Shop : You can buy/sell weapons and armor here. Wizard's Guild : War(Enchanter) spells must be learned here. Magic Items are also for sell. Cleric's Guild : Divine(Acolyte) spells must be learned here. Magic Items are also for sale. Church : You can be Healed/Un-Poisoned here. Potions are also for sale. %% Casino : You can gamble here. Arena : An arena were you can fight monsters of any desired level. (Note: If you die you're dead unless you buy insurance.)
Tavern : A place for adventurers to rest. Also acts as a teleconference. Doors : simply doors leading to other parts of the dungeon. Stairs Up : Take you up a level. Stairs Down : Take you down a level. Portcullis : Doors that can only be opened by hitting a switch. Switch : Used to open a portcullis. Teleporter : Teleports you to a different part of the dungeon.
Simply unzip the archive to your BBS server directory, add it to your menu, configure the MSG file to your liking, and start the BBS! It's that easy!
In LEVEL3, you can set what key is required to edit within the game.
In LEVEL4, you can set cost in credits to resurrect a dead character, and toggle whether users start with a compass and with a locator.
In LEVEL6, you can configure the text blocks.
Worlds of Darkness was developed between late 1994 and mid 1995 by Zark Wizard and Alf, the tag team behind the GraphicWares/Wizard Software combined ISV. The game was never finished, but what is in the game is working and playable.
GraphicWares and Wizard Software were acquired by Wilderland Software, which was then acquired by Elwynor Technologies in 2005.
Elwynor Technologies ported the module to Worldgroup 3.2 in February 2021, but did not finish the missing pieces. As part of the Major BBS Restoration Project, a team asked to work on the module to finish it, which hopefully will happen in 2024-2025. See the devnotes folder for more information about the plans and status. We will track issues, requests, and ideas in github going forward.
In 2025, prior to new features being added, the module was ported to The Major BBS v10 by Elwynor Technologies.
This project is licensed under the AGPL v3. Additional terms apply to contributions and derivative projects. Please see the LICENSE file for more details.
We welcome contributions from the community. By contributing, you agree to the terms outlined in the CONTRIBUTING file.
If you create an entirely new project based on this work, it must be licensed under the AGPL v3, assign all right, title, and interest, including all copyrights, in and to your fork to Rick Hadsall and Elwynor Technologies, and you must include the additional terms from the LICENSE file in your project's LICENSE file.
This is a Worldgroup 3.2 / Major BBS v10 module. It's compiled using Borland C/C++ 5.0 for Worldgroup 3.2. If you have a working Worldgroup 3.2 development kit, a simple "make -f ELWWD" should do it! For Major BBS v10, import this project folder in the isv/ subtree of Visual Studio 2022, right click the project name and choose build! When ready to build for "release", ensure you are building for release.
The DIST folder includes all of the items that should be packaged up in a ELWWD.ZIP. When unzipped in a Worldgroup 3.2 or Major BBS V10 installation folder, it "installs" the module.