Combat

Battles are turn-based. Each turn you choose Attack, Spell, or Run. If the monster is still standing afterward, it takes its turn.

When battles happen

While you walk through the world or a dungeon, the game checks for a random battle on every step. After you have taken at least 4 steps in an area, each further step has a 6% chance of starting a fight. A few places are calmer than that. Towns have no random battles. The monsters you meet depend on where you are and on your level: see Encounters.

Your attack

Attack power = half your Strength (rounded down) + your weapon’s strength.
Chance to hit is about 60% plus half your Dexterity. Your stats screen shows the exact figure as Hit Percent.
A hit does a random amount of damage from about half your attack power up to your full attack power. A miss does nothing.

The monster’s attack

It hits you as often as its Hits number says. See Monsters.
A hit does a random amount of damage from about half its Attack up to its full Attack.
Your armor reduces the damage. Your armor, helmet, and shield values add together (your stats screen shows the total as Armor Value) and are subtracted from every hit. A hit always does at least 1 damage.

Spells

Casting a spell uses its MP, and then the monster gets its turn. Only spells you have learned appear in the list.

Healing spells restore a fixed number of HP, up to your maximum.
Attack spells always hit for their full damage.
Blindness can fail. When it works, the monster’s chance to hit is cut to one third for the rest of the battle.
Death has a 50% chance to destroy the monster outright, and does nothing the other half of the time.

Everything about spells is on the Spells page.

Running away

Choosing Run has a 50% chance of working. If it fails, the monster gets a free attack. A few important battles cannot be escaped at all.

Winning and losing

Winning earns experience and gold, and may raise your level: see Stats and Leveling. If your hit points reach zero, the game offers to load a saved game, so save often.