public void newGame() {

	String s;
	String name = "";
	s = "Welcome to Ye Olde RPG!\n";

	s += "\nChoose your difficulty: \n";
	s += "\t1: Easy\n";
	s += "\t2: Not so easy\n";
	s += "\t3: Beowulf hath nothing on me. Bring it on.\n";
	s += "Selection: ";
	System.out.print( s );

	try {
	    difficulty = Integer.parseInt( in.readLine() );
	}
	catch ( IOException e ) { }
	//Hero = new Adam();

	s = "\nChoose your Hero:\n";

	s += "\t1: Adam\n";
	s += "\t2: Benedict\n";
	s += "\t3: Shahruz\n";
	s += "Selection: ";
	System.out.print(s);

	try {
	    choice = in.readLine();
	}
	catch ( IOException e ){}
	
	//instantiate the player's character
	if (choice.equals("1")) {  pat = new Adam();}
	else if (choice.equals("2")) { }//IMPLEMENT A BEN
	else {  pat = new Shahruz();} 


    }//end newGame()