
            You are
          now_entering
       _____;_|_____
      ;  Abura Tan  )    Website: http://aburatan.sourceforge.net/
     ;_____________;       email: michaelblackney@hotmail.com
           ;  [ Version
    __.,;,).,],._  0.93       copyright Michael Blackney 2001-2003


 Quick Start Guide:
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  The golden rule: 
    Golden (yellow) messages deserve your attention.
    They are there to help you and each message will only appear once
    per game. (If you miss one, press 'P' to review recent messages.)

  Top 5 Keys: 
    'i'   - Inventory
    ','   - Pick Up
    't'   - Target (use to fire ranged weapons)
    'Esc' - Save game and exit to menu
    '?'   - Help

  The tin rule:
    Your character is depicted by the '@' sign.  Players who aren't
    used to this should read the Introduction below.


 Introduction:
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Abura Tan is an adventure game and a dungeon crawl.  Your task is
  to build up a character through adventure and to ultimately save the
  world.  It's that simple.
    Permanent death ('permadeath') is an important feature of Abura 
  Tan.  If your character dies during the course of your adventure you
  will not have the option to reload at an earlier point.  Because the
  gameplay balance accounts for permadeath, backing up saved games
  will spoil the game for you and is therefore not recommended.

    As the game is still in mid-stages of development you may find it
  somewhat lacking a purpose.  There is currently no way to win,
  though if you are looking to have a bit of fun, here are some tips:
  - Try out each character class to see which one you like most.
  - Locate a town, marked (in this release) as colored locations in
    the 'M'ap view.
  - Chat with the locals, or start a fight to inherit some items.
  - Try chatting with non-humans too. (Certain skills may help here.)
  - Visit the sewers beneath the town for more item types.
  - Try to find a kaleidoscope and 'a'pply it!

 Keys:
 ~~~~~~
   m Move - Move repeatedly in a given direction.
   o Open - Open something.
   c Close - Close something.
   a Apply - Apply a tool.
   t Target - Fire a wielded missile weapon.
   f Fight - Attack something.
   k Kick - Kick something.
   i Inventory - Access items in the inventory.
   ; Load - Add to the contents of an item.
   : Unload - Remove the contents of an item.
   w Wield - Assign an item to be held in the hands.
   x Switch - Swap primary and secondary weapons.
   W Wear - Put on clothing or apparel.
   T Take Off - Remove clothing or apparel.
   , Pick Up - Pick up an item from the floor.
   d Drop - Drop an item on the floor.
   D Drop Multiple - Drop multiple items on the floor.
   e Eat - Eat something.
   q Quaff - Drink something.
   r Read - Read something (usually a book)
   C Chat - Talk to others.
   U Disarm Trap - Attempt to disarm a trap.
   s Search - Search for secret doors and traps.
   S Skills - Activate a skill.
   M Map - View the wilderness map.
   / Look - Identify characters on the screen.
   > Descend - Descend a staircase; Select the ground.
   < Ascend - Ascend a staircase.
   . Self - Stand still; Select yourself.
   R Rest - Remain still for a short while.
   Q Quit Game - Stop playing and write game data to disk.
   ? Help - Use the help system.
   P Messages - View recent messages.

   F7  Save text screenshot   
   F8  Save HTML screenshot

 Control:
 ~~~~~~~~~
    COMBAT
  Walk into a monster to engage it in close combat.  Your character
  will attack with any items wielded.  If you wield two weapons while
  attacking an enemy the primary weapon will gain your strength bonus.

    RANGED COMBAT
  Use the targeting mode ('t') to fire guns and bows.  Ranged weapons
  all have an ammunition capacity, which is the amount of ammunition
  that can be stored inside the weapon.  The exception to this is 
  bows, which have an effective capacity of one (when they have
  an arrow nocked).
  If your weapon runs out of ammunition and you are wearing a quiver
  or bandolier loaded with appropriate ammunition, your weapon will
  automatically be reloaded.  Otherwise, press ';' to reload from
  your inventory.

    TRAPS
  You can untrap and open traps while you are stuck in them by
  pressing '>' when asked for a direction to untrap.

    INVENTORY
  When in the inventory menu:
   - Select an item and press 'Enter' for a short context menu
     where you can 'd'rop the item, etc.
   - Press Tab to cycle between Inventory, Equipped and Wielded
     menus.

    FLUID COLLECTION
  Pressing ',' when there are no items at your feet will let you
  collect 'fluids' (water, snow, dirt and even grass) if you have 
  a container to put it in.

 Troubleshooting:
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Windows 95 users will probably find this release does not run very
  well and often crashes early in the game.  This is beacuse of a bug
  with mysterious properties.  If you can provide any information
  about your Win 95 system and exactly when the crashes occur, I would
  be incredibly grateful.

    If the game quits whenever you try to begin a new character, make
  sure that the directory that the game is installed in has the 
  following subdirectories:
        save/
        shots/

  If these directories exist, you may have an error with the file
  "saveinfo.dat".  Try deleting this file.

    If you still cannot get the game to run correctly, please send an
  email to michaelblackney@hotmail.com
  Please include the following information:

    Your system specifications (if known): RAM, free hard disk space
    Your operating system
    Your sister's phone number
    And where you downloaded the binary
     (unless you compiled the game yourself)
