Instructions (Episode 1):

Basic movement and controls-

Cursor Keys- Walk around on the map screen. Select options from the combat menu. Hit beat markers.

Enter Key- Advance past a dialogue box. Confirm a menu selection. Interact with people or objects on the map.

Tab Key- Bring up your character sheet (map screen only)

Explanation of combat mechanics:

Most of this is covered in an in-game tutorial. Combat is turn-based, and always proceeds with the player attacking and then the enemy attacking. After making a selection on the menu, you will then have to make your move in time with the music. If doing a quick attack (which does 50% damage), you only have to hit one beat, and it moves slightly more slowly than strong attack beat markers. If doing a strong attack, you must hit a series of beats. Your strength drops with each beat you miss. If using an item, you simply have to choose which item you want before the enemy attacks. "Withdraw" allows you to pull out of the fight, which has various consequences. In this first episode, "Withdraw" will allow you to leave the fight without losing XP. Otherwise, you lose 10 XP each time you lose a fight, and 25 on the boss fight if Myrina had more than half her HP when you lost. Group attacks, ranged combat, magical attacks, and martial arts will be covered in future episodes, but do not appear here.

Explanation of character stats:

XP-Experience points. Gain these to level up. Unlike other RPGs, XP can also be lost and it is possible to have negative XP.

HP- Hit points. When these are depleted, you lose the fight. You do NOT regain hit points while walking around the map, but can bring up your character sheet to drink potions.

Reputation/Alignment-This reflects the perception others have of your competence, as well as how "good" or "bad" you are. This affects certain events later in the series, but does not come into play in this episode, and there are no moral choices at this time.

Attack power- Attack power is how many points of damage you do with a standard "strong" attack. This is a function of your level, skill, and equipment upgrades. You start at 20 points of attack power using normal swords, which is increased for each point in the appropriate weapon skill, and then further increased by a few points per level. Later episodes feature special swords and weapons which can be purchased or found to increase your starting attack power.

Defense-All unblocked attack damage is reduced by this percentage.

Block- If you shield some of an attack, it is reduced by this percentage for each block marker hit, up to a maximum of 10 hits.

Weapon Skills- Each point increases the damage of melee weapons and decreases the penalty for missing beats in a strong attack. For ranged weapons, each point translates to one chance to shoot per round. Each character has a "prefered" weapon which can be boosted twice as fast as all the others.

Perks-Bonuses which are selected each time you level up.

Friends- This tracks how positive your relationship with your allies are. Generally, points with your employer King Lycus results in increased pay and equipment, points with Myrina results in alternate plot options, and points with the Heroes will convince them to aid you on quests.

Leveling up- Each time you level up, you are awarded bonus HP, attack power, and defense power. You will also receive a skill point to allocate as you choose, and a perk of your choice.