From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig)
Subject: Re: Legends Help needed!
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 19:17:06 GMT

tmikkola@galactus.cs.hut.fi (Topi Mikkola):

>1. What is the best race to start with? (mercenary)

Depends what sort of game you wish to play.  Humans are a good choice:
They give you the largest economic base and the largest number of soldiers.
Too, most NPCs are human, or near-human, and your chances of influencing
a character are greatly increased if it is of the same race.  If you want
to start with more powerful combat characters and better soldiers, then
take a Maratasen, so you can have Troll and/or Giant sidekicks, and ask
to start in a part of the map that has a reasonable Maratasen population.
If you do start with a powerful race, don't waste time on early diplomacy:
Plan on attacking lairs and villages near you as early as possible.

>2. How many troops you need to beat a monster in his lair?
>   Particularly a rocktroll or a giant spider.

Sorry, too many variables.  My preferred strategy is to attack my
intended targets with forces containing one unarmed soldier each.
This yields a complete battle report, which I can analyze to decide
what I need to attack successfully.  (The soldier dies, of course,
so this is a much better strategy if you're playing an Orc than if
you're playing a Giant.)

>3. How large stats and bonuses you need to beat a monster in a single combat?
>   ( a troll practically walked over me!!)

Same answer.  It depends on a case by case basis.  At the start of the game,
there will be a fair number of monsters that your characters can defeat,
especially if a couple of them have duel spells.  Don't plan on your D-class
character defeating any monsters one-on-one for a while.  Again, I suggest
getting a battle report -- or casting a read character spell -- first.

>4. How should one start playing? (ie aggressively or not)

There are three viable strategies.  You can play a skill-oriented position.
Heroes are best at this.  For example, you could design your character as
a super-thief, and work to improve that skill, or you could design your
character as a mage, and work with an overlord who will fund your research.
In this case your starting priorities are to practice, to find appropriate
guilds, and to contact other players who can help you in exchange for your
skills.

You can play an influence-based position.  For example, a human (or an
Elf in the forest, or a Dwarf in their mountains) with maximum influence
and access to a high-level Bless spell can influence a *lot* of NPCs
early in the game.  You'd still want to acquire locations, for the
resources and the prestige -- and until your prestige is higher you'll
have to acquire them militarily -- but that's not your top starting goal.

You can play a military position.  In this case, start very aggressively,
and be relatively optimistic.  You want to capture as many locations and
lairs as you can, as quickly as you can.

>5. How hard is it to influence characters to join you??

Many or most of the NPCs in the game are unimportant, with no prestige,
random skills, typically at a low level, and no important resources.
Once you get your influence into the mid-twenties (get it to the low
teens and then bless it up 100%), you have an excellent chance of
influencing these if they are of your race and religion, a so-so chance 
of doing so if they are of your race and a different religion (having
a priest to cast Convert spells can help), and a somewhat worse chance
if they're of a different race.  The better NPCs will be *very* hard to
get.  You'll *have* to have a higher prestige than they do (and even
village owners start with a higher prestige than you do), and you'll want
a higher influence rating, to counter their much better loyalty ratings.

>pps I'll gladly accept any sort of help or advice!

I advise against getting an IBM PC-Junior.

-----
Dani Zweig
dani@netcom.com

Roses red and violets blew
  and all the sweetest flowres that in the forrest grew -- Edmund Spenser
Newsgroups: rec.games.pbm