Stendhal Beginner's Guide

New players guide

Learn how to play

• Say hi to persons with white names. Keep conversations going with yes and blue-marked words. Sometimes yes or no is the only usable answer.
• Read all texts (because they won't come back)
• Carmen and Ilisa can heal you for free

Initial strategy:

1. Kill rats to get money (Hint: double-click body, double-click to take coins).
   • Look in the charity chest south of the Inn in Semos for free armor.
   • Otherwise, buy a sheep (-30 coins) and walk your sheep near red berries (takes 5-10 min). Sell fat sheep (+150 coins for weight 100 sheep) to Sato.
2. Buy "dagger" in semos tavern from Xin Blanca.
3. Get a studded shield from Hayunn Naratha by returning to him 3 times.
4. Bring food and go fight in the town dungeon and nearby areas to level up. Each level allows you to explore further away and come back to town alive (Found Orc? Run! Many orcs? R.I.P.)
5. Buy "old scythe" (blacksmith), then explore farm (east/right-wards) to get lots of food.
6. Ask around for a quest or task to earn XP. Don't forget Mayor Sakhs, whose quest is repeatable once a day.

Tips:

• Don't get bored with rats -- instead bring a friend and go deeper in the dungeon!
• Being poisoned swaps left/right and up/down cursor keys.
• Two-legged monsters give armor/weapons. Try attacking a gnome (farm areas).
• At about lvl5 try kobold (north of semos, in the mines).

Things to avoid:

• Dying, because dying means you lose stuff. (Or leave your stuff at the bank, then run around and dying = coming back home! You still loose EXP points and skills though.)
• Don't buy armor (in tavern back room) before trying the free places: chest in mud, tasks/quests (pants for free), stuff on the ground left by other players, or dungeon monster drops.
• Don't waste money in the "wishing well" lottery (until you become rich). Dice gambling is more rewarding at low levels - check the list of prizes.
• Don't attack other players (with white names), it'll prevent you from free healing (for a "while?")
• Don't go too far from the city and plains because you are not protected from attack from other players there and you may meet creatures which are too strong for you.

Later game strategies

1. Learn which armor can be sold back to NPCs and collect these. (Read the blackboards by Xin Blanca in the Inn and McPegleg upstairs from the inn)
2. Head East to Ados city and ask the NPCs there for quests
3. Head South Wast to Orril castle and explore (but not too far!)
4. Kill creatures like orc chief and gnomes which drop healing potions, or buy them from Carmen if you have the cash
5. Potions are even cheaper from Dr Feelgood at Ados wildlife refuge
6. Kill lions, bears, boars, etc to get ham and meat which you may be able to swap with other players for items
7. If you want to invest in a good defensive item, choose a shield because they are weighted to give better DEF. (e.g. A shield def 10 gives better def than armor def 10).
8. Starkad, south of semos plains, will tell you where to find specific creatures, as well as what they drop and if you would be strong enough for them.
9. Always carry a home scroll (buy them from Haizen's hut north of Ados rock) to get you out of emergencies
10. Carry antidotes (kill deer to get these) if you are prone to getting poisoned