tarmin.faq.txt

Game Copyrighted by: TSR Hobbies, 1982 & Mattel, Inc., 1982

FAQ By Curtis M. (Alias: Zhuge Liang at GameFAQs)

Table of Contents:

1. Overview
   a. Level Types
   b. Determining Your Character's Stats
2. Levels of Difficulty
3. The Dungeon & Basics
4. Monsters
   a. War Monsters
   b. Spiritual Monsters
   c. Mixture Monsters & Minotaur
   d. Special Enemies
5. Weapons
   a. War Affinity Weapons
   b. Spiritual Affinity Weapons
6. Containers
   a. Bombs
   b. Types of Containers
7. Armor & Rings
   a. Armor (War Protection)
   b. Rings (Spiritual Protection)
8. Special Items & Potions
   a. Small Potions
   b. Large Potions
   c. War Enhancement Books
   d. Spiritual Enhancement Books
   e. Special Books
9. Generalized Strategies & Other Important Facts
   a. Glance Command
   b. Pre-emptive Attacks & Planning
   c. When to Retreat
   d. How to Effectively "Retrace"
   e. Test Your Strength, First
   f. Searching For Special Books
   g. War/Spiritual Enhancement Books: What to do with them.
   h. Shielded Foes
   i. Warp Gates
   j. At The Bottom of the Ladder...
   k. Reincarnation
   l. Containers: Protecting your valuebles from bombs.
10. Legal Stuff

*Note: For viewing assistance, ">>"'s have been put in front of every point 
sublisted in the Table of Contents.

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1. Overview:

This game is one of the RPG genre, where you control a warrior in pursuit of 
the famed "Treasure Of Tarmin", which has been taken by the evil "Minotaur" 
into a deep series of catacombs. Your goal is to survive your way to the 
depths of the dungeon where he dwells. There are several levels of difficulty 
for this game, which I will review shortly. I must first explain the main map 
display.

Press the disc, to start a game. This opens the map. You'll hear the ladder 
noise, and the screen will change to the 3-D action screen. To see the map 
again, press either of the side buttons on the top end of the controller. On 
the map, there will be 3 different color rectangles all arranged in a 
descending arrangement. The color is noteworthy, as it determines what sort of 
items, and foes you'll enconter on your way down the maze:

>>a. Level Types:

1. Brown (Or for some, tan) - This indicates a mixture of foes. Spiritual and 
War-Like enemies are found on these levels, as well as a mixture of items.
2. Green - War levels. You will encounter only War-Like enemies on these 
levels. These include: Skeletons , Cloaked Skeletons , Giants , Wraiths, and 
Ghouls.
3. Blue - Spiritual levels. You will encounter only Spiritual Enemies on these 
levels. These include: Dwarfs, Scorpions, Ants, Snakes, Alligators, Dragons, 
Wraiths, and Ghouls.

>>b. How to Determine Your Character's Strength:

In the game, your strengths are listed like this, in the lower right hand 
corner:

12/6
0/0
6/0

All numbers on the left side indicate your War strength. Attacks from arrows, 
spears, knives, crossbows, bows, and axes all deal with these numbers. The 
topmost number on this side is how much HP you have in War. This number will 
increase every once and a while after vanquishing a foe and pressing the 
"rest" button on the keypad. The maximum value you can have is 199 HP in War. 
The middle number indicates your armor strength. This will increase as you 
pick up different sorts of armor or rings throughout the maze. The maximum 
rating in War you have have for armor is 119. The bottom number indicates the 
strength of the weapon you are holding in the War category. The strongest War 
weapon is the Platinum (White) Crossbow. It has a rating of 99. Please note 
that if you are holding a Spiritual weapon, this number will always be 0, and 
the converse is also true. 

All numbers on the right side indicate your Spiritual strength. Attacks from 
lightning bolts (large or small), or fireballs (large or small) both deal with 
these numbers. Again, as with War, the top number indicates your Spiritual HP. 
The maximum Spiritual HP you can attain is 99. The middle number is your armor 
rating. Rings will improve your Spiritual armor rating moreso than regular 
articles of armor, so keep that in mind as you play. The maximum Spiritual 
armor rating is 52. The bottom number on the right indicates how strong the 
Spiritual weapon you are holding is. The most powerful Spiritual weapon is the 
purple fighting book or lightning bolt at a rating of 65.

With that explained, you know know what type of floor you are starting in. 
Now, its time to discuss the different levels of difficulty. There are four 
levels of difficulty in this game. Each level starts you with a different 
level of strength (HP, if you will), and has a different number of levels to 
Tarmin's Treasure. Tarmin's Treasure is denoted on the map at the center of 
the lowest level on the map with a golden chest. Just because the tresure is 
indicated to be in the center of the lowest floor, that doesn't mean that's 
exactly where it is.

It must also be noted that you may ALWAYS go deeper than the lowest floor 
displayed on the map. You may go down for 256 floors in this game. Once you 
use the ladder on floor 256, you will be transported back to floor 1.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Levels of difficulty:

Press #1 key: This opens the easiest of the dungeons. There are only 2 floors 
in this game, and your strengths begin at 18/9 (War/Spiritual). This is the 
highest they start. New players of the game are urged to play this level as 
the monsters hit you with a bit less intensity compared to the harder levels. 
Your vunerability is much lower on this level. The speed, is also slow.

Press #2 key: This level is a bit longer, consisting of 4 floors. Your 
strengths in this game start at 16/8 (War/Spiritual). This level has a 
slightly more difficult path, but its not impossible for new players to start.

Press #3 key: This opens the medium level, in my opinion. This level is where 
things begin to get more difficult for novice users. Your strength starts out 
at 14/7 (War/Spiritual), and your vunerabilty is near full. Monsters hit you 
harder and deal more damage in this level. You'll also likely run into some 
bombs in packages in this game. Wraiths and Ghouls are possible to sight, as 
well. They are the nastiest of creatures in the game aside from Minotaur 
himself - and in some cases, they can be even harder to defeat than Minotaur 
himself.

Press [Disc]: This opens the full game. It's also the most difficult level 
there is, as well. There are 12 floors in this game, and your strengths start 
out exceptionally low at 12/6 (War/Spiritual). Your vunerability is full. 
Enemies will take off serious amounts of damage (4+) until you get some sort 
of armor to protect against them. You must be very fast with your fingers and 
exersize extreme caution in the beginning. You will encounter most likely a 
little bit of everything in this game.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. The Dungeon & Basics:

The game consists of a large dungeon, from which you cannot escape. Each floor 
that you descend increases the foes' strength, but by the same token, 
increases the power of items you can find. Each floor consists of an outer 
hallway, in fact, the outer hallway is where the game always starts. No 
enemies can EVER inhabit the outer hallway, of course, in all fairness to the 
monsters, no items can ever be found in the outer hall, either. Each floor has 
a certain number of entrances to the main areas of exploration. Each entrance 
is denoted by an eyeball on the floor. If you don't see a door next to one, 
it's a hidden door (yes, there is such a thing). Hidden doors are everywhere 
in the game, so search for them. You'll often find some interesting things 
behind hidden doors, such as passageways leading to other, new areas, or even 
nice items to pick up. Once you've exhausted the exploration of a floor, you 
may warp across to another area, on the same floor (if applicable; see section 
9 for details concerning gates), or you may use the ladder to go down a floor. 
Ladders are blue, you can't miss them. Most floors have 2 ladders, but there 
are occasional levels that only have 1.

Once you leave the outside hall, anything goes. Monsters can be anywhere in 
this part of the dungeon. There are 2 very special items that you need to keep 
an eye out for in the dungeon. Food and Arrows. Food is what those weird 
things that look like flour bags are. When you pick up food, you gain a total 
of 6 food. It takes 1/2 of 1 food to regain 1 point of HP, or gain 1 point of HP 
from experience, so collect as much food as you can. Arrows are what your bows 
and crossbows use for ammunition (I bet you didn't know that, huh? ^_~). 
You'll gain 6 arrows every time you pick up a quiver of arrows.

4. Monsters:

>>a. War Monsters: These enemies always throw weapons that will reduce your 
War HP. They range in difficulty from white, being the easiest, to grey being 
the middle of the road, to orange being the toughest.

Key:

#. Name - notes about foe

color-type of weapon-weapon rating

------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Skeletons: These creatures are among the least dangerous in the game. Ones 
with shields have more resistance.

White - tan knife - 9 
Grey - red knife - 15
Orange - blue knife -21

2. Cloaked Skeletons: There are more difficult versions of the regular 
skeleton and normally have more HP. Ones with shields have more resistance.

White - tan axe - 15
Grey - red axe - 21
Orange - blue axe - 27

3. Giants: These are the most fearsome of the pure War enemies. They also use 
a different color code. Yellow are the weakest, tan are the middle strength 
ones, and orange are the nastiest. Ones with shields have more resistance and 
throw more powerful weapons at you than ones without.

Yellow (no shld) - tan spear (sml) - 21
Yellow (shld) - red spear (sml) - 27
Tan (no shld) - blue spear (sml) - 33
Tan (shld) - silver spear (sml) - 42
Orange (no shld) - gold spear (sml) - 57
Orange (shld) - platinum spear (sml) - 75

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>>b. Spiritual Monsters - These enemies always throw weapons that will reduce 
your Spiritual HP. They range in difficulty from blue, being the easiest, to 
pink, being the middle, to purple, being the nastiest.

Key:

#. Name - notes about foe

color monster - type of weapon - weapon rating



1. Ants: These are the weakest of the Spiritual family.

Blue - blue fireball - 5
Pink - grey fireball - 9
Purple - white fireball - 13

2. Dwarves: This family of monsters uses the same strength color code as the 
Giants (See #3 in the War Monsters section) Ones with shields have more 
resistance and sometimes attack with more powerful weapons.

Yellow (no shld) - grey fireball (sml) - 9
Yellow (shld) - grey fireball (sml) - 9
Tan (no shld) - white fireball (sml) - 13
Tan (shld) - pink fireball (sml) - 19
Orange (no shld) - orange fireball (sml) - 27
Orange (shld) - purple fireball (sml) - 43

3. Scorpions: Among the more difficult of the Spiritual family, especially 
early on.

Blue - blue lighting bolt (sml) - 9
Pink - grey lightning bolt (sml) - 13
Purple - pink lighting bolt (sml) - 23

4. Alligators: Second most fierce enemy in the Spiritual family.

Blue - orange lightning bolt (sml) - 33
Pink - purple lighting bolt (sml) - 43
Purple - pink lightning bolt (lrg) - 45

5. Dragons: Most fierce Spiritual family monster.

Blue - grey fireball (lrg) - 17
Pink - orange fireball (lrg) - 36
Purple - purple fireball (lrg) - 49

------------------------------------------------------------------------


>>c. Mixture Monsters: These monsters will throw different types of weapons at 
you, depending on what type of floor you are on. If you are on all War levels 
they throw war weapons, if you are on all Spiritual levels they will throw 
Spiritual. If you're on a mixture level, they often throw the type you are 
attacking with, though not always; it seems random. Wraiths sometimes have 
shields. A shielded Wraith is more powerful than an unshielded Wraith and 
attacks with stronger weapons. Strength color code goes: White (Strong)--> Grey 
(Stronger) --> Orange (Strongest). The only exception is Minotaur, who will 
always appear purple.

#. Name - notes about foe

color monster | type of War weapon - weapon rating | type of Spiritual weapon 
- weapon rating

1. Ghouls: The weaker of the mixture monsters, though they should not be 
underestimated; most have HP over 50. Use caution, especially with orange 
ones.

White | silver axe - 36 | pink lightning bolt (sml) - 23
Grey | gold axe - 57 | orange lightning bolt (sml) - 33
Orange | platinum axe - 66 | purple lightning bolt (sml) - 43


2. Wraiths: The stronger of the mixture monsters. These foes can often have 
over 100 HP. Some of the orange ones can exceed 170 HP. It is highly advised 
to avoid these foes until you have high HP and high armor. Beware the orange, 
shielded wraith; he attacks with the most powerful weapons you can obtain in 
the game.

White (no shld) | tan spear (lrg) - 27 | blue lightning bolt (lrg) - 17
White (shld) | orange spear (lrg) - 33 | grey lightning bolt (lrg) - 23
Grey (no shld) | blue spear (lrg) - 45 | white lightning bolt (lrg) - 29
Grey (shld) | silver spear (lrg) - 69 | pink lightning bolt (lrg) - 45
Orange (no shld) | gold spear (lrg) - 84 | orange lightning bolt (lrg) - 55
Orange (shld) | platinum spear (lrg) - 99 | purple lightning bolt - 65

3. Minotaur: This is the final boss. Minotaur isn't the most difficult foe in 
the game, but he can be very challenging until you get your armor up. When you 
defeat Minotaur, he will always leave behind the chest (in gold), containing 
the "Treasure of Tarmin". When you pick it up, you win the game. If you want 
to keep going, you can just leave it behind, and move on (The "open" command 
does not open then chest and win the game, you must actually press "Pick Up" 
to claim the treasure, so you may open doors if the treasure chest is in front 
of one you want to go through.). Minotaur will appear for every floor you 
descend, until you win the game. Many times, you'll see him more than once on 
one level if you keep doing down deeper into the dungeon.

Purple (shld)* | silver spear (lrg) - 69 | pink lightning bolt (lrg) - 45

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>>d. Special Monsters: There are 3 special foes that you may encounter on your 
way down that are most certainly worth fighting. Though it may seem unusual; 
you can occasionally find fighting doors in your travels. Fighting doors are 
not only strong, but they do generally have more than 50 HP. Their rewards, 
however are worth your effort.

#. Name - notes about foe

color of door - type of weapon - weapon rating

1. Light Blue Door: This is the weakest of the fighting doors, as far as HP is 
concerned, but its attacks rate 2nd most powerful among the three types. For 
defeating this fighting door, inside the room it was guarding you'll find the 
"Go Through Wall" book. This book will let you teleport through walls and go 
wherever you want, even when there isn't a door to use.

Attacks with: purple fireball (sml) - 39

2. Tan Door: This is the middle of the road door concerning HP totals. It can 
often have 60-80 HP, depending on how deep you are in the dungeon. It's 
attacks, however, are nothing to be feared if your Spiritual armor rating 
exceeds 20 or so. Your reward for defeating this door is the "See Through 
Wall" book that lets you see things through the walls. This book is very 
valueable so that you don't find yourself running into an enemy that you 
aren't ready to confront. Be sure to go into the room that the door was 
guarding to claim it!

Attacks with: grey fireball (sml) - 9

3. Yellow Door: This is the ultimate fighting door. It compares quite closely 
with the Orange, shielded wraith in power: HP and Attack. Only confront this 
door once you have very high HP and armor in Spiritual. Your reward is the 
"Platium Transform" book, which allows you to turn any armor or War weapons 
into platinum. You may also use it to turn jewels and valueables into 
platinum, as well. The door's HP often exceeds 150.

Attacks with: purple lightning bolt (lrg) - 65


This concludes the "Monsters" Section.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Weapons

>>a. War Affinity Weapons - All weapons can only be used one time unless 
otherwise noted.

Key: 
Color - Strength rating


~Bows~ * These weapons can be used over, and over, but sometimes break in the 
midst of battle.

Tan - 6
Orange - 9
Blue - 15
Silver - 21
Gold - 27
Platinum - 33

~Crossbows~ * These weapons can be used over, and over, but sometimes break in 
the midst of battle.

Tan - 18
Orange - 24
Blue - 30
Silver - 36
Gold - 42
Platinum - 99

~Spears (small)~

Tan - 21
Orange - 27
Blue - 33
Silver - 42
Gold - 57
Platinum - 75

~Spears (large)~

Tan - 27
Orange - 33
Blue - 45
Silver - 69
Gold - 84
Platinum - 99

~Knives~

Tan - 9
Orange - 15
Blue - 21
Silver - 30
Gold - 42
Platinum - 57

~Axes~

Tan - 15
Orange - 21
Blue - 27
Silver - 36
Gold - 57
Platinum - 66


>>b. Spiritual Affinity Weapons - All weapons can only be used one time unless 
otherwise noted.

Key: 
Color - Strength rating

~Scrolls~ * These weapons can be used over, and over, but sometimes break in 
the midst of battle.

Blue - 3
Grey - 5
White - 9
Pink - 13
Orange - 17
Purple - 21

~Fighting Books~ * These weapons can be used over, and over, but sometimes 
break in the midst of battle.

Blue - 11
Grey - 15
White - 19
Pink - 23
Orange - 27
Purple - 65 - Note: The purple fighting book is rare, and usually appears if 
you go deeper than the 12th level.

~Lightning Bolts (small)~

Blue - 9
Grey - 13
White - 17
Pink - 23
Orange - 33
Purple - 43

~Lightning Bolts (large)~

Blue - 17
Grey - 21
White - 29
Pink - 45
Orange - 55
Purple - 65

~Fireballs (small)~

Blue - 5
Grey - 9
White - 13
Pink - 23
Orange - 33
Purple - 39

~Fireballs (large)~

Blue - 13
Grey - 17
White - 25
Pink - 33
Orange - 39
Purple - 48

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6. Containers

There are a variety of containers within the dungeon you are exploring. Some 
you are able to open without a key, but with some containers, you'll need a 
key of some type. Keys can be found in other containers, locked and unlocked 
alike. There are three colors of keys: Tan, Orange, and Blue. A tan key will 
only open tan containers, while an orange will open tan and orange containers. 
A blue key will open any container. 

The color of the container generally tells you, a some small degree, how 
precious the valueable inside is. Tan containers normally don't contain as 
nice of things as orange or blue containers. 

>>Bombs:

A note about bombs: Once you get deep into the dungeon, some containers have 
been booby trapped with bombs. They can be found in locked and unlocked 
containers alike, and when found, reduce your War HP. Some bombs are stronger 
than others - and they all seem to get stronger the deeper you go into the 
dungeon. Bombs generally begin appearing on, or after the 3rd floors 
(Depending on which difficulty level you are playing). They can cause a wide 
range of damage to you - from a meager 5 or 6 points of damage, up to 150 
points of damage (deep in the dungeon). You should be aware of this, and 
sometimes avoid opening things if your War HP is still low once you go down a 
few levels.

>>The Types of Containers:

Sachel (small) 
Sachel (large)
Money Belt
Pack - always require a key
Box - always require a key
Chest - always require a key 

You'll find many different special items in these containers, which I have 
outlined below:

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7. Special Items & Potions


>>a. Small Potions: Have a cross top, in appearance.

Small Blue Potions: This potion acts as a refresher after a tough battle. They 
will totally restore your HP with using any food.

Small Pink Potions: This potion will enable you to find more valueable things 
in containers for a short period of time. Note that bombs become more 
powerful, as well, when you use this potion. Its effects diminish when you 
hear a "whoosh" noise.

Small Purple Potions: This potion will make you temporarily invisible to 
monsters. While it's in effect, you will see not monsters anywhere throughout 
the dungeon, with the exception of Minotaur. Be warned that when its effects 
wear off you may find a monster standing directly in front of you and ready to 
attack! Its effects diminish when you hear a "whoosh" noise.

>>b. Large Potions: Have a flat top, in appearance.

Large Blue Potions: This will increase your War HP by 10 for the durration of 
the game.

Large Pink Potions: This will increase your Spiritual HP by 10 for the 
durration of the game.

Large Puruple Potions: This one will swap some HP from War to Spiritual or 
vise versa to reduce a gap between the 2 HP scores if there is one. Note that 
sometimes they hinder your HP instead of helping. Make sure that your HP 
scores are both realitively high before using this.

>>c. War Enhancement Books: Have a clear cover, in appearance.

Blue War Book: Using this book will turn your War HP score blue. After using 
War weapons in battle, this book will help you accumulate HP points quicker; 
up to a limit of 99 by pressing "rest".

Pink War Book: Using this book will turn your War HP score tan. After using 
War weapons in battle, this book will help you accumulate HP points quicker; 
up to a limit of 149 by pressing "rest".

Purple War Book: Using this book will turn your War HP score white. After 
using War weapons in battle, this book will help you accumulate HP points 
quicker; up to the game limit of 199 in War, by pressing "rest".

>>d. War Enhancement Books: Have a solid cover, in appearance.

Blue Spiritual Book: Using this book will turn your Spiritual HP score blue. 
After using Spiritual weapons in battle, this book will help you accumulate HP 
points quicker; up to a limit of 49 by pressing "rest".

Pink Spiritual Book: Using this book will turn your Spiritual HP score tan. 
After using Spiritual weapons in battle, this book will help you accumulate HP 
points quicker; up to a limit of 69 by pressing "rest".

Purple Spiritual Book: Using this book will turn your Spiritual HP score 
white. After using Spiritual weapons in battle, this book will help you 
accumulate HP points quicker; up to the game limit of 99 in Spiritual, by 
pressing "rest".

>>e. Special Books: Have an "X", on the book cover, in appearance.

Blue Special Book: Using this book will allow you to transport through walls. 
Unlimited usage, and they never break. Found in containers, and also retrieved 
by fighing the light blue fighting doors.

Pink Special Book: Using this book enables you to see through walls for a 
limited time. Unlimited usage, and they never break. Found in containers, and 
also attained by fighting the tan fighting door. Its effects diminish when you 
hear a "whoosh" noise.

Purple Special Book: Using this book allows you to turn all War weapons, 
armor, and jewels to platinum. Unlimited usage, and they never break. Found in 
containers, or you can get your hands on this one by fighting the yellow 
fighting door.

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8. Armor & Rings

>>a. Armor (War Protection)

Armors are among perhaps the most important items to obtain in this game. 
Though they are primarily for War protection, they do add a few points, 
occasionally to Spiritual protection. There are many types of armors:

Helmet
Curiass
Greaves
Gauntlet
Tower Shield
Round Shield

All of these armors come in different grades; their defense power, from 
weakest (left) to strongest (right), are denoted below:

tan < orange < blue < silver < gold < platinum

You'll find different types of armor all throughout the dungeons. They get 
more and more powerful the deeper you go, but then again, so do your 
opponents. It's important to pick these articles up and use them everytime you 
find them. They can mean the difference between life and death.

>>b. Rings (Spiritual Protection)

Rings are also very important to get your hands on because they greatly 
enhance your protection against Spiritual attacks. Though they are primarily 
for Spiritual enhancement, they do also add protection to your War armor 
rating. There are two sizes of rings: small, and large. Small rings are always 
stronger then the large ring of the color class below them, but never as 
strong as a large ring in its same color class. For instance, a small grey 
ring, whose color is 1 step above blue, in power, will be slightly more 
powerful than the large blue ring, but never stronger than the large grey 
ring.

All rings also come in different grades; their defense power, from weakest 
(left) to strongest (right), are noted below:

blue < grey < white < pink < orange < purple

As with regular armor, you'll find stronger rings as you travel deeper into 
the dungeon. Be sure to use them when you find them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

9. Generalized Strategies and Other Important Facts

>>a. Use the glance feature, and use it often. Glancing left and right can let 
you see what's around a corner, without going around it and discovering that 
there is a dragon waiting for you on the other side. Glancing can increase 
your survival chances a great deal; especially on the harder difficulty 
levels.

>>b. When you see an enemy in the distance, prepare yourself so that you can 
attack first. 9 times out of 10, if you can anticipate a battle from a 
distance, you can get the pre-emptive on the foe. Getting in that first blow 
can be really important, especially if you're weak and you need to defeat the 
monster to keep going. 

>>c. Know when to retreat. By knowing how much damage an enemy can cause, and 
how strong your armor is, you can anticipate, fairly well, whether or not you 
should press an attack, or retreat. Armor generally reduces the base damage of 
a weapon by 70 to 130% of your armor rating. IE: If an enemy throws a weapon 
at you with a 9 attack rating, and your armor rating is also 9, the maximum 
damage the attack could do, under the worst possible scenario, is 3 ( 3 is 
roughlyu 30% of 9; You round down). Or in this case, there is a fairly high 
chance that the attack will do nothing. Knowing what enemies attack you with 
what, can help you a lot.

>>d. Avoid overusing the "Retrace/Retreat" button. If you're going through an 
area with a lot of doors, and you go into a room to pick something up, then 
retreat, and open another door directly neighboring the position you retreated 
to, you will NOT be allowed to retreat again, if you encounter an enemy by 
opening that door. This can present you with a serious problem; especially if 
that monster you cannot retreat from severely outclasses you. To avoid this, 
when you go into a room, turn around, open the door, and walk back out of the 
room. Don't use the retrace if you plan on opening a door across the hall or 
next to the one you just retraced from inside.

>>e. Get to know what you can, and can't take. Try walking up to an enemy and 
letting them attack you, while quickly pressing retreat ONCE. This will let 
you see what their attack does to your score. Of course.. sometimes that's a 
big risk, too.

>>f. Search out the special books! The "See-Through" book is very helpful. 
You'll be able to see what's hiding behind that door before you open it, or 
where that powerful bow or fighting book is. An excellent accompaniment is the 
"Go-Through Wall" book, which lets you go right to what you see - without 
having to search for a way to get to it, which can be frustrating at times.

>>g. Hold on to War or Spiritual books when you find them. In some cases, you 
may be more interested in building one HP score, more than the other. IE: If 
you're interested in raising your Spiritual HP and you find a War book; store 
the War book in your pack, for later use. Sometimes you may find a Spiritual 
book nearby, and then you can focus on building that before using the War 
book. These books are hard to come by, so don't pass one up if you find one, 
unless you absolutely CANNOT carry it.

>>h. Avoid shielded foes if you are weak. Sheilded foes have a much higher 
defense than unsheilded ones. So just don't fight them until you get stronger.

>>i. Warp across floors by traveling through the gates. In the outside hall, 
you'll sometimes find gates that go over to other areas on the same floor. If 
you go through them, you'll have access to another floor with the same degree 
of difficulty. This is useful for just build HP for the deeper levels. Gates 
come in a variety of colors. Green gates will change Spiritual HP over to War 
HP when you step through them, so be warned. Blue ones change War HP to 
Spiritual HP. Tan ones leave your HP scores unchanged. Always remember to hit 
"rest" if you travel through a green or blue gate, to complete the switch.

!----Gate Example----! 

If your War HP is 20 and your Spiritual HP is 10, by walking through a green 
gate, your Spiritual HP will fall to 5, but when you hit "rest", your War HP 
will increase to 30.

Or...

If your War HP is 20, and your Spiritual HP is 10, walking through a blue gate 
will decrease your War HP to 10, and your Spiritual HP to 15.

How does this work? Well... green gates reduce your Spiritual HP by half, and 
then transfers those points, multiplied by 2, to your War HP.  Blue gates 
reduce your War HP by half, and then add half the losses to your Spiritual HP.

>>j. Glance left and right as SOON as you use the ladder. When you arrive on 
the floor below, you may have an enemy immediately next to you, or in some 
cases in front of you (in this case, TURN and walk in any direction away from 
the foe, if you can.) Enemies that you encounter as soon as you go down the 
ladder you cannot run from, because the game doesn't let you go the previous 
floor ever again (...and you haven't been anywhere to retreat to yet on this 
floor... so it can be very annoying when this happens and the enemy outclasses 
you.)

>>k. Reincarnation. When you are killed, but have high HP scores, you will be 
reincarnated. What does this mean? It means you get a second (or third, or 
however many you can stand) at playing through the dungeon. Of course, there 
are some severe penalties. Such as the fact that you lose everything that was 
in your pack, and all of your jewels. If you used any War or Spiritual 
Enhancment books, their effect is also nullified. You get to keep your armor, 
and what you had in your 2 hands. (Most often a weapon and your shield) Of 
course, if you have any special books, and you KNOW something is going to kill 
you, try to set one of them down, even in front of the enemy, or put one book 
in your left hand, or do both. Anything that you set down won't be lost; it 
will remain there, even if you get reincarnated. This is always the case.

>>l. Containers. If you have some very valueable items in your possesion, and 
you don't want to risk losing them to a bomb reincarnating you, you can always 
set those items down before you go to open the package. This will ensure that 
they will be there, even if there is a bomb, and it reincarnates you.


10. Legal Stuff

This FAQ is Copyright (c) 2002 by me, Curtis M. (Zhuge Liang at GameFAQs) ALL 
RIGHTS RESERVED. No other sources, other than myself, and the game were used 
to compile the information contained herein. Furthermore, no reproduction or 
distribution, in part, or full, of this FAQ is permitted without explicit 
written permission from myself. If you have a question about this FAQ, or 
would like to suggest something for me to add to it, you may contact me at 
midgar8308@hotmail.com. I'm open to comments, questions, and suggestions. 

I do grant permissions to use this FAQ if you just ask, so please ASK before 
you post this FAQ on your website or message board. I thank you in advance for 
your honesty and respect for my work. And yes, I have given CJayC, the owner 
and operator of GameFAQs, the right to publicly publish this FAQ, but only on 
GameFAQs.com (duh).