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A blood pump system in which a roller pump is provided for pumping blood through a flexible tube. A low voltage D.C. motor is provided having an output shaft. An electrical control circuit is connected to the motor for applying the necessary voltage to drive the motor at a predetermined speed. Gearing means are provided connecting the motor's output shaft to drive the roller pump. Means are optically coupled to the motor for controlling the speed of the motor. Means are connected to the optically coupled means to determine the blood flow rate being pumped though the tube by the pump. Means are provided which display a digital readout of the flow rate. The roller pump is provided with an arcuate bearing surface, which carries the flexible tube, the bearing surface defining an arc of approximately 168°. Lead ramps extend from each end of the bearing surface and are substantially tangent to the end of the surface from which the respective ramp extends. Means are provided for allowing a variable rate of independently adjusting the radial deflection of each of the rollers of the roller pump. The system is also provided with isolation means for reducing leakage current and thus lowering the potential shock hazard to the patient from A.C. line voltage. Motor runaway and overspeed protection are also provided.
1. In a pump comprising an arcuate bearing surface adapted to carry a flexible tube through which fluid may pass, a pair of 180° spaced-apart, pivotally-mounted rollers whose axes travel along a circular path concentric with said bearing surface whereby said rollers occlude the tube so as to pump the fluid therethrough, means for rotating said rollers around said circular path, and lead ramps extending from each end of said bearing surface, the improvement wherein:
said bearing surface defines an arc of approximately 168° and each of said lead ramps is substantially tangent to the end of the bearing surface from which said respective lead ramp extends so as to provide the optimal torque peak reduction for driving said pump, and the optimal graduated change in cross-section of the bore of the tube as each of said rollers approach and recede from the points of occlusion of the tube;
and further comprising means located radially with respect to the axis of rotation of said rotating means independently operable with respect to each of said rollers for independently and precisely varying the extent to which each of said rollers occludes the tube, including means for continuously adjusting the radial deflection of each roller as it occludes the tube so as to provide proper occlusion despite tube irregularities while allowing for varying the rate of change of radial force applied to each of said rollers, said means for varying the extent to which each of said rollers occludes the tube comprising two separate arms, each of said arms carrying one of said rollers, said continuously adjusting means comprising a separate thumb wheel threadedly connected to each of said arms, each of said thumb wheels having a neck portion, and compression spring and an elastic sleeve concentrically located around said neck portion, said spring being spaced from said sleeve and said sleeve being located within said spring and supported by said neck portion.
2. A pump as set forth in claim 1 wherein each rotating means and each of said thumb wheels are provided with counterbores for properly seating said respective spring and sleeve.
3. A pump as set forth in claim 2 wherein in uncompressed state each of said springs is greater in length than its corresponding sleeve and in uncompressed state each of said sleeves is greater in length than the corresponding neck portion of said respective thumb wheel.
4. A pump as set forth in claim 3 wherein tightening of a thumb wheel will first begin to compress said respective spring and as tightening continues compression of said sleeve begins whereby the rate of change of force applied to said respective roller increases as said respective thumb wheel is further tightened.
5. A pump as set forth in claim 1 further including means for automatically preventing movement of said means for moving said rollers around said circular path thereby permitting safe servicing of said pump.
6. A pump as set forth in claim 1, further comprising guide means located radially with respect to the axis of rotation of said rotating means for maintaining the tube in proper position with respect to said bearing surface.
This is a division of application Ser. No. 849,338, filed Nov. 7, 1977 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,543 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
This invention relates to a blood pump system including a blood pump control system for driving a roller blood pump of the type used in hemodialysis systems.
Prior art blood pump systems used in hemodialysis systems have a number of operating disadvantages which it is the purpose of the present invention to overcome. One of the most important features of a blood pump system used in hemodialysis is precise regulation of the speed of the motor driving the blood pump. This is important because the precise regulation of blood flow can be critical for the patient from a physiological standpoint. Prior art systems do not provide as precise a regulation as desired. Along with this flow rate regulation it is necessary for the system's operator to know the exact flow rate. Systems currently available do not provide a direct digital readout of flow rate but merely provide an analog relative scale which the operator must correlate to blood flow rate. In order to protect against motor overload prior art systems use electromechanical circuit breakers to disable the motor. Such circuit breakers are relatively slow operating and are not particularly precise in terms of the level at which switching occurs. Another problem with many prior systems is that they use 110 volt motors which operate directly off line voltage. Such systems have a relatively high leakage current which creates a much greater shock hazard potential for the patient. Also many prior art systems do not utilize an optimal design configuration which allows for use of a much smaller motor by reducing the peak torque required for driving the pump. U.S. Pat. No. 3,787,148 is an example of a prior art blood pump which does not utilize the optimal design. This reference shows a pump having an arcuate bearing surface defining an arc of 177° and having lead ramps which diverge from the ends of the arcuate bearing surface by 10°. Such configuration does not allow for the optimal peak torque reduction for rotation of the rollers. In addition the 10° lead ramp divergence creates a somewhat abrupt change in the cross-sectional bore of the flexible tube through which the blood is pumped as the rollers approach and recede from the point of occlusion of the tube. Such change is also not desirable from the physiological viewpoint of the patient. Also prior art systems do not allow for a variable rate of independent adjustability of each of the rollers used in the roller pump or adjustment mechanism for adjusting the rollers which is located radially with respect to the main axis of rotation of the rotator head assembly.
The blood pump system of the present invention provides a roller pump for pumping blood through a flexible tube.
In the roller blood pump of the present invention there is provided an arcuate bearing surface defining a arc of approximately 168° which is adapted to carry the flexible tube through which the blood is pumped. A pair of 180° spaced-apart pivotally-mounted rollers which travel in a circular path concentric with the bearing surface are provided to occlude the tube thereby pumping blood therethrough. Means are provided for moving the rollers around the circular path. Lead ramps extend from each end of the bearing surface, each of the ramps extending substantially tangent to the end of the surface from which the respective ramp extends whereby the 168° arc and the tangent ramps provide the optimal torque peak reduction for the motor to drive the pump and the optimal graduated change in cross-section of the bore of the tube as each of the rollers approach and recede from the points of occlusion of the tube. Means located radially with respect to the main axis of rotation of the rotator head assembly are also provided for variable rate of independently adjusting the extent to which each of the rollers occludes the tube.
FIG. 1 is a front view of the mechanical portion of the roller pump of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the pump shown in FIG. 1 with the cover closed and the rollers in the position shown in FIG. 4 and no tube positioned in the pump;
FIG. 3 is a view of the details of the rotator head assembly of the pump of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the critical dimensions and relationships of the pump of the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is a cutaway view of the adjusting mechanism for each roller of the roller pump of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.
FIGS. 1-5 show details pump 5 of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a rotator head assembly including a housing 499 having a pair of opposed rollers 500 and 502 mounted for rotation about axes defined by pins 504 and 506 which are shown perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. Rollers 500 and 502 are spaced apart 180° and are carried for rotation about axis 508 (shown in FIG. 2) on pivotally-mounted arms 510 and 512 respectively. Arms 510 and 512 are pivoted from extensions 511 and 513 respectively which are integrally formed with a rotator 514 as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3. Arms 510 and 512 pivot about pins 509. Arms 510 and 512 each have extended therefrom guide rollers 505 which are mounted on arms 510 and 512 for rotational purposes as will be explained below. Rotator 514 has a sleeve busing 515 as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 for allowing easy manual rotation of the rotator head assembly. A handle 516 is hinged to rotator 514, which when in its open position shown in FIG. 3, may be used to manually rotate the rotator head assembly. In its closed position (FIG. 1) handle 516 is folded down in the slotted head of locking screw 519 which locks the rotator head assembly in position so that torque may be transmitted from shaft 517 to the assembly.
Rotator 514 is coupled by a shaft 517 via reduction gears to the output shaft of motor (not shown). Rotary motion to rotator 514 is transmitted from shaft 517 through a three stage gear reduction device located within the portion of the housing labeled 521. The first reduction is achieved through the mating of a steel helical pinion and a thermoplastic helical gear. The second reduction is from a steel spur pinion to a steel spur gear. The third reduction is from a steel spur pinion to a steel spur gear. This last spur gear is rigidly fixed to shaft 517. The details of these gears are not shown but are contained within the portion of the housing labeled 521.
As rotator 514 rotates about axis 508 by the rotation of shaft 517, arms 510 and 512 and rollers 500 and 502 travel around a circular path indicated by arrow 518. The axes defined by pins 504 and 506 of rollers 500 and 502 respectively move along a circular path concentric with a bearing surface 520.
A flexible tube 522 for carrying blood from a patient is provided so as to be carried by arcuate bearing surface 520. As extensions 511 and 513 and their respective arms 510 and 512 rotate around axis 508, the tube 522 is squeezed against bearing surface 520 by either of the two rollers 500 and 502, thereby rotating the roller about the axis defined by pins 504 and 506 respectively, to pump blood in and out of the tube in the direction of the arrows shown in FIG. 1. Guide rollers 505 hold tube 522 down in proper position as tube 522 is occluded by rollers 500 and 502. Guide rollers 505 are positioned radially about the axis 508. By positioning guide rollers 505 in this way possible damage to tube 522 is avoided. In prior art pumps such guide rollers do not have axes of rotation which pass through the axis of rotation of the rotator head assembly, thereby creating a greater possibility of tearing the tube as the unit rotates. Tube 522 is secured in position by frictionally fitting in slots 526 and 528 which are integrally formed of the same piece of material of which the arcuate bearing surface 520 is formed. By providing these slots it is unnecessary to provide spring-loaded clamps for holding tube 522, which clamps are subject to wear and tear and breakage. In addition, adjacent slots 526 and 528 are two cut out portions 525 which are formed in the side face 531 of the housing 499 as seen in FIG. 2. Typically the ends of tube 522 are connected to additional tubing by end caps (not shown). Cut out portions 525 serve as a means for locking the end caps in position so that when connected to tube 522, tube 522 cannot come out of slots 526 and 528. The side face 531 of housing 499 also has openings 527 which serve as clean out openings to clean any debris from the inside of the area defined by bearing surface 520.
FIG. 4 is a schematic top view showing roller 502 as it begins to squeeze flexible tube 522 against bearing surface 520 and roller 500 as it begins to disengage from flexible tube 522. This is the point at which roller pumps of the prior art required the peak torque to keep the pump operating smoothly. In this invention, it has been found that the optimal angular length defined by bearing surface 520 is an arc 529 of approximately 168°. This arc of 168° allows for the optimal peak reduction in torque necessary for driving the rotator head assembly. The axes defined by pins 504 and 506 of roller 500 and 502 respectively are spaced 180° apart. Coupled with this arc 529 of 168°, lead ramps 530 and 532 (shown with brackets to illustrate their length) are provided at each end of the arcuate portion of bearing surface 520, with lead ramp 530 starting at point 534 and lead ramp 532 starting at point 536. Ramp 530 is perfectly tangent to surface 520 at the exact point 534 and ramp 532 is perfectly tangent to surface 520 at the exact point 536 of the circular arc defined by surface 520. Thus there is a perfectly smooth transition from surface 520 to lead ramps 530 and 532.
The effect of lead ramps 530 and 532 is to provide for optimal disengagement of roller 500 to begin as roller 502 begins to squeeze flexible tube 522. "Disengagement" as used herein means reduction of occlusion of tube 522 by a given roller. During operation of the pump, it is necessary that flexible tube 30 be sufficiently occluded to prevent a backflow of blood through the pump. Rollers 500 and 502 in the position shown in FIG. 4 must together provide sufficient occlusion of flexible tube 522 to prevent backflow while lead ramps 530 and 532 together with arc 529 defined by surface 520 provide the optimal peak torque reduction required to drive the pump through the position shown in FIG. 4. In addition the ramps by being tangent provide the optimal graduated change in cross-section of the bore of tube 522 as the rollers approach and recede from the point of occlusion. This optimal graduated change in cross-section of the bore of tube 522 helps reduce the peak torque required, puts less stress and wear and tear on tube 522, allows for a more uniform torque demand upon the driving motor 58, which facilitates the use of a smaller motor than would be necessary otherwise, and is physiologically more desirable for the patient whose blood is being pumped.
Since the size of tube 522 can vary slightly and since it is not desirable to fully occlude a tube because the blood cells are crushed, it is important to have precise and accurate means for adjusting the force applied by the rollers, which in turn determines the extent to which a given tube is occluded. FIGS. 3 and 5 show in detail the mechanism which is used to adjust each of the rollers 500 and 502. It should be noted that each roller may be independently adjusted as necessary. This feature is significant because it allows each roller to have independent radial deflection to provide proper occlusion of tube 522 despite irregularities in tube 522.
The roller adjusting mechanism for each roller is radially oriented about axis 508 and includes the following elements. Arms 510 and 512 have support extensions 540 and 542 projecting therefrom respectively. Secured against rotation and extending through each support extension 540 and 542 is a threaded member 544 and 546 respectively onto which are threaded thumb wheels 548 and 550 respectively having knurled outer surfaces to facilitate their rotation. Each of thumb wheels 548 and 550 has an internally threaded neck portion (shown for thumb wheel 548 as 552 in FIG. 5) which is threaded onto threaded members 544 and 546 respectively. Each thumb wheel 548 and 550 is provided with a counterbore in the face of rotator 514 which for thumb wheel 548 is shown in FIG. 5 to be counterbore 554. Corresponding to each of these counterbores is a counterbore in the face of rotator 514 which for thumb wheel 548 is shown in FIG. 5 to be counterbore 556.
Positioned between counterbore 554 and 556 is a compression spring 558 which is shown in partially compressed state. Thumb wheel 550 has a corresponding spring 560. Each thumb wheel 548 and 550 has an elastic sleeve 562 and 564 respectively, located concentrically within respective spring 558 and 560 and which fits around and is supported by the corresponding neck portion which for thumb wheel 548 is neck portion 552. In partially compressed state as shown in FIG. 5, sleeve 562 is longer than neck portion 552 and spring 558 is longer than sleeve 562. The same size relationships exist for springs 560, sleeve 564 and the neck portion of thumb wheel 550.
The operation of the roller adjusting mechanism is as follows and will be described in conjunction with the adjustment of roller 500 with thumb wheel 548. Of course, the adjustment of roller 502 using thumb wheel 550 works in exactly the same manner. Slightly compressed with no tightening of thumb wheel 548, spring 558 is seated at one end in counterbore 554 and at the other end is seated in counterbore 556. The free height of spring 558 and the space in which it is retained is selected so that very little force is applied to roller 500. As thumb wheel 548 is tightened, greater force is exerted on roller 500 by spring 558. As tightening continues sleeve 562 comes in contact with counterbore 556 in rotator 514. As tightening of thumb wheel 548 continues, roller 500 is loaded with the combined effort of spring 558 and sleeve 562 in compression. A final point of maximum pressure is reached when the end of neck portion 552 contacts counterbore 556 in rotator 514. This configuration allows a wide range of spring effort available to occlude tube segments of the softest and the hardest durometers. Also, the rate of change of spring effort is gradual for the first few turns of thumb wheel 548, which allows very fine adjustment necessary to occlude soft durometer tubes. Then the rate of change of spring effort becomes greater to allow quicker occlusion adjustment for harder durometer tubes. The end of neck portion 552 prevents further compression of spring 558 and sleeve 562 when it comes in contact with counterbore 556. This prevents spring 558 and sleeve 562 from taking a permanent set since any spring would take a set if compressed beyond a certain point.
Another feature with which the pump is provided is a button (not shown) on the side of the casing which when depressed moves a rod into a groove notched into shaft 517. When the rod is seated in this groove, the rotator head assembly is prevented from rotating. This facilitates unscrewing of the locking screw 519 seated in rotator 514 which permits the entire rotator head assembly to be removed for maintenance and servicing purposes.
As mentioned in the description of the parent with respect to the control circuitry, the pump is provided with a cover 570 which is shown partially open in FIG. 1 and closed in FIG. 2. Side face 531 is formed intergral with the material out of which surface 520 is made. Top surfaces 572 of side face 531 has a magnetic closure 574 which cooperates with magnetic closure 576 located on the underside of cover 570. Closure 574 is connected to the interlock circuit 53 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 of the parent patent. When cover 570 is closed magnetic closures 574 and 576 keep the cover in closed position as well as serving as the closed switch 254 in FIG. 4 of the parent patent to allow rotator 514 to be driven by motor 58. When cover 570 is opened, contact is broken between magnetic closures 574 and 576 thereby in effect opening switch 254 of interlock circuite 53 which serves to disable motor 58 and stop further rotation of rotator 514 thereby rendering the pump inoperative. Thus cover 570 and interlock circuit 53 serve as a safety system to stop operation of the pump if cover 570 is opened for any reason.
Although the various features of the invention have been shown with respect to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be evident that changes may be made in such details and certain features may be used without departing from the principles of the invention.
Patent Citations
Referenced by
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PORTLAND -- Portland police said an improvised incendiary device was set off outside the World Trade Center at 121 SW Salmon and they're investigating a possible link to the Occupy Portland camp.
Lt. Robert King said a Molotov cocktail caused minor damage Tuesday night on an external stairwell. The building that was targeted is located one block east of the two parks where Occupy Portland demonstrators have been camped since Oct. 6.
King said there's preliminary information available that indicates a connection to Occupy Portland.
He said that police received unconfirmed reports on Oct. 31 that the gasoline filled bottles with a cloth wick were being made within the Occupy Portland encampments at Lownsdale and Chapman Square parks.
He declined to say whether that information linked the incident to specific people.
The incident occurred at the World Trade Center, which houses the headquarters for Oregon's largest electric utility, state offices, a number of law firms and the office of U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley.
Anyone with information that may help investigators was asked to call detective Joe Luiz at (503) 823-3408.
Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest. Tips can be anonymous. Call (503) 823-HELP (4357), leave a tip online at www.crimestoppersoforegon.com, or text CRIMES (274637) and in the subject line put 823HELP, followed by your tip.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hakon Invest AB : Hakon Invest AB: Year-end report for fiscal year 2012 Fourth quarter October 1 - December 31, 2012 *Net sales amounted to SEK 854 M (840) in the fourth quarter. *Operating profit amounted to SEK 301 M (281). Profit before tax amounted to SEK 311 M (320). *Profit for the period was SEK 349 M (249). Earnings per share attributable to continuing operations amounted to SEK 2.08 (1.92) before and after dilution. *The ICA Group's net sales increased by 0.3% compared with the same period in the previous year. Operating profit amounted to SEK 928 M (947). Period January 1 - December 31, 2012 *Net sales amounted to SEK 2,726 M (2,498) during the fiscal year. *Operating profit excluding Hakon Invest's share of ICA's extra tax expense of SEK 512 M, amounted to SEK 768 M (538). Hakon Invest's share of ICA's SEK 236 M goodwill impairment was excluded from the result for the previous year. *Operating profit amounted to SEK 256 M (302), of which capital gains accounted for SEK 94 M (0). Profit before tax amounted to SEK 288 M (252). *Profit for the year amounted to SEK 306 M (59). Earnings per share attributable to continuing operations amounted to SEK 2.02 (1.97) before and after dilution. *The ICA Group's net sales increased by 1.8% compared with the previous year. Operating profit amounted to SEK 3,274 M (2,505). Significant events after the end of the period *Hakon Invest has signed an agreement with Ahold to acquire the remaining 60 per cent of the shares in ICA for a cash consideration of SEK 20 billion. The transaction is, inter alia, conditioned upon approval by the relevant authorities. The acquisition is being financed with existing cash and a secured bridge financing. Following completion of the deal, the bridge financing is intended to be repaid by an underwritten share issue to Hakon Invest's shareholders of approx. SEK 5 billion, as well as other long-term financing. *Due to the bridge financing and subsequent share issue, Hakon Invest will not distribute any dividend for 2012 (6.25). *ICA is proposed to pay a dividend of SEK 2 billion for 2012, of which Hakon Invest's portion amounts to SEK 800 M (800). Press and analyst meeting today at 10.00 a.m. at Spårvagnshallarna Hakon Invest will hold a press and analyst meeting today, Monday February 11, 2013, at 10.00 a.m. at Spårvagnshallarna, Birger Jarlsgatan 57A, Stockholm. The meeting (in Swedish) will be webcasted at www.hakoninvest.se. CEO Claes-Göran Sylvén and CFO Göran Blomberg will present today's announcement and the Full-year report for 2012. At 14.30 CET Hakon Invest will host a conference call in English. To participate, dial +46 8 99 92 13 followed by code 341303#. For further information, please contact: CEO Claes-Göran Sylvén +46 8 55 33 99 64 CFO Göran Blomberg +46 8 55 33 99 99 IR Pernilla Grennfelt +46 8 55 33 99 55 The information in this interim report is such that Hakon Invest must disclose pursuant to the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at 07.00 CET on Monday, February 11, 2013. The report has not been reviewed by the companys auditors. Year-end Report (pdf) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Hakon Invest AB via Thomson Reuters ONE HUG#1676894
Hakon Invest AB : Hakon Invest AB: Year-end report for fiscal year 2012
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Who's pumped to line up Nov. 6 for the Alexander x H&M collection?Fashion and sport got a high-octane boost as Alexander Wang teamed with H&M for the latest high-low collaboration.
Melissa Nepton plays volume, texture and print for next fallhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIJkdVx988Y It was a magical setting on a snowy March night as Melissa Nepton staged a rather lavish – for these times – fall-winter fashion show in the attic of the Auberge-St-Gabriel in Old Montreal.
Mélissa Nepton for Target in StoresThink only famous American designers get to have major collaborations with Target? Not so! Yesterday Quebec designer Mélissa Nepton released her capsule collection for the chain's Quebec locations and
Isabel Marant for H&M: the pre-sale meleeThe crowd at H&M Ste. Catherine St. viewed from the escalator. All around the world, the H&M hype machine has been going full tilt in preparation for the mass launch of its Isabel Marant collection Thursday, Nov.
How journalists and the open data movement can join forces: ODX13 presentationI had the privilege of being a lightning speaker at the Open Data Exchange this past weekend, alongside several other people doing fascinating things with data.
Fashion Faves: Martin Lim for ReitmansWe can never resist a good designer collaboration. So when we got wind that Montreal design darlings Martin Lim would be creating an exclusive collection for Reitmans, we couldn't wait to get our hands on it.
Opposite attraction: H&M to roll out Marni lineThey've got all the bases covered. Marni, the latest collab to be announced by Swedish giant H&M, is the aesthetic opposite of Versace, the last invited designer to be invited to create an affordable collection.
Versace next up for H&M cheap-chic lineMark Nov. 19 on your calendars. That's when the wham-glam world of Donatella Versace hits select H&Ms in North America. The collaboration includes line for women, men and some home items.


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Secret of the Silver Blades
FAQ/Walkthrough by ASchultz
Version: 1.0.0 | Updated: 10/14/07 | Printable Version
Secret of the Silver Blades(PC) FAQ/Walkthrough version 1.0.0 by Andrew Schultz firstname.lastname@example.com This FAQ will refer to the maps I sent to GameFAQs. The maps are complete for every area except the ice caverns at the end, which are pretty much one-way, and if you have a ranger, he will tell the right way to go. I'm almost avoiding a detailed walkthrough there on principle, just because it is such a bad part of the game. ================================ OUTLINE 1. INTRODUCTION 2. CONTROLS 2-1. MOVING 2-2. COMBAT WITH STRATEGIES 3. STARTING OUT 4. WALKTHROUGH 4-1. OVERVIEW 4-2. DETAILS 4-3. OUTLINE 5. CHEATING 5-1. VAULT TRICKS 5-2. HEX EDITING 5-3. JOURNAL ENTRIES 5-4. RULE BOOK HEADINGS 6. VERSIONS 7. CREDITS ================================ 1. INTRODUCTION Secret of the Silver Blades is another game in the AD&D line. It is strictly first person and has some improvements and some annoyances and some lag near the end, but it cuts out the annoying long combat bits of fighting 50 enemies at a time. You start in New Verdigris trying to find the reason for disturbances in the mines below. Many maps here are 16x16 but there are a few big ones such as the ruins and the mines. The ruins connect the town (eventually) with the Well of Knowledge you can teleport to right away(eventually you can teleport to/from it from other checkpoints,) and the mines, though branching, are not bad to map. You also don't have many map tricks such as teleports, but the depth of the mines and the length of the trek to the frost giants' village and beyond makes things tedious and repetitive to win from scratch--many of the winding passageways are duplicated as well. Fortunately you can get by without much leveling up, and you get experience for quests. The game is also fairly linear and you can decrease the difficulty if you want. With maps it goes by pretty quickly. Money is no problem, too--the town is so grateful to have you they'll heal you for free! Oh yeah, you can duplicate items, too. For plot details visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_of_the_Silver_Blades 2. CONTROLS 2-1. MOVING 2-2. COMBAT WITH STRATEGIES Whenever possible, backstab. You need to be able to cycle around properly and I've said it before and will again(oh no, I sound parental) but mobility is a key for your fighters. I didn't deviate much from the following spells: Cleric: Bless, Hold Person, Prayer, Flame Strike, Harm Mage: Magic Missile, Stinking Cloud, Fireball, Ice Storm, and kill-spells Hold Person has about a 5 square range, so move your Cleric in and then cast at mages. Magic Missile has a long range, which is good, since it can take out bad guys in back. A ranger can use it in a pinch, too. Your 2nd ranger in slot 4 should also have a long bow with magic arrows to take out enemies in back as well. Stinking cloud has a 31' range in other words (3,1) (3,0) or (2,2) away. It is double-edged, though. If you use it in tight quarters your characters may have trouble walking around it. And if you place it in the corner you may only be able to hack at the enemy with one fighter. Still it is great to pick off enemies just behind the front line. Fireball can backfire on your players. But if only one is touched, that is okay. It can take out a lot of monsters and disrupt their spells. Ice Storm is similar but may do less damage. For 2-wide enemies you may want to fan out in a horizontal line, by a door if possible. For 2-high, make a vertical line. Often you can just camp your guys out by a door and guard against enemies, and you will mow them down. With a variety of enemies, don't form a straight line. Rather, zigzag so the most of your guys can kill them off. Also use delays as necessary and don't send your mage or cleric to the front line just to get a hit if it blocks the other guys. Never disengage from an attacker unless there is a spellcaster to disrupt, and that guy may cast a wide angle or kill spell. If an enemy has lots of hit points and there is no inherent danger of spellcasting, you may wish to delay your fighter thief if he can get behind the enemy. The fighter thief does the most damage from behind. If there is one dragon, surround it and thump the snot out of it. Take time to walk around it. It will go down quickly. If in melee, kill the weak links then surround the big guys. One other thing to remember once you win is that you can only see two pages of items at a time, so pick up and drop a bunch of items you know you won't want. The magic stuff is at the very end. If you want to load up on cash, bracers are your best bet after defeating mages. They sell for a minimum of 6K. 3. STARTING OUT I recommend the following party: Human P Dwarf F/T Human R Human R Human M Human C This is the best order, too. #5 frequently gets trapped between 4 and 6, and the mage is ideal for that. He'll have the worst armor class and can't fight. I didn't have/want to change character class, but with hex cheats it is no problem. I'd modify my characters for 18 strength, 18 con and 18 dexterity. The rest can be rock bottom unless someone needs charisma or intelligence. I think if you set everything at 18 you get harder fights. I generally settled for 18 dexterity and 15+ constitution and 18+ strength, except for the mage and cleric who didn't need it. If you're playing straight up a fighter type can have bad strength, too, since you get Ogre Strength gauntlets. If you're duplicating items, then you don't need to be concerned with strength. Dexterity is the most important attribute, since a big part of combat strategy is to disrupt mages before they can cast anything. If a fighter with an ice storm or fireball wand nukes opposing mages, a big fight can become easy quickly. Though you don't really need to go that far. 4. WALKTHROUGH 4-1. OVERVIEW The best way to get good early is either to cheat or to find magic items or know where they are in advance. Finding the next best armor and sword can make fights very easy indeed. Many of the tricky fights involve dragons, and you can visit the old man in west New Verdigris for that. The cool thing is that regardless of what level you play at, you get the same treasure. You may not get as much experience, as you won't fight as many enemies, but oh well. You should also get familiar with selling stuff and with quick healing. You'll wind up with a ton of money and it's worthwhile to spend it on Necklaces of Missiles to take out the backbenchers. Ask to sell items ASAP and note their cost. If they cost a lot, they are magic and you should ID them. If not, sell them. If one unknown item costs as much as a known magic one, you know roughly what it does. You might as well ID it to avoid confusion later since you should be rolling in cash by game's end. Remember to go back frequently to sell your stuff. This opens up inventory spaces and keeps your encumbrance low. The first helps you get more cool items and the second allows you to backstab more conveniently or attack enemies at range. Also if you see a weird item at the end of an inventory, take it, and after a special fight, loot everything too. Healing at the temple of gond is free, and to heal everyone, you just need to move 4 down, hold H til the player needs more healing, then move to the next. When in doubt or overloaded with money, buy a necklace of missiles from the Magic Shop so you can disrupt opposing spellcasters before they cast anything. It is worth it in big fights. 4-2. DETAILS 4-2-1. TOWN AND RUINS(FIRST) First, you should outfit your guys with the armor left behind. Give your paladin the best stuff and propagate the other weapons down the line. You'll be selling them soon enough. Visit the old man in the west several times--if you leave and return, he has a new story and eventually he gives a scroll of Prot Dragon Breath and a Cloak of Displacement(AC -2 for anyone). You can go through the portal in the north of the house to win a fight. 3E and duck and loot. You will get +2 banded mail, a +2 mace and a +2 shield. I also got +2 plate and a +2 long sword. At any rate, take all the items to get everything magic--you should find some +1 shields. Go to the store and here is how to save money ID'ing stuff--if it sells cheap, it's not magic. You may wish to keep track of who has what on a sheet of paper--that way you know when you can sell +1 shields and such for cash. Now that everyone is decently equipped, you can get healed back in town(it's free) and go into the maze. Follow the path north, turning down when you can. Past the old mine, N and W at the 2x2 room. Then fight the dragon and giants- -well, ignore the giants. Use magic missiles to bring the dragon down and get the loot. Walk around the well and fight some more. Win the first two going into the center--heal after each one--and get the hang of beating Banites or Black Circle. Always focus on the spellcaster. Hold Person from the Cleric works well. Once you've tackled these guys and have +1 stuff at least for everyone, heal and go to the magic shop. Stay and take out the enemies that come by--line your four fighters in front, move your mage in just behind for Stinking Cloud and your Cleric can Hold Person. The BC Lords will fall. You get better items(+2 long swords) and for the fight behind and above, get mirrors. Replace shields with them til the medusas die(and don't attack the medusas-- they'll kill themselves) and the rest is easy. East and south of the shop you have Fire Knives. They are tricky. One hit from them and you can die. Hold Person and Stinking Cloud, again. You may have to re-load a few times. Cast Prayer before this fight. You may want to go SE in the ruins to get to the other dragon. Or you can clear the well first. It doesn't matter. At the start you need to locate and plunder treasure. If you have extra money, and you probably will, a Wand of Missiles is handy to get past annoying fights where you have one spellcaster off to the side. Your cleric can use it. You can just un-ready and re-ready your weapon between uses. But save it for the tough fights. And use it to save the necklaces of missiles for the VERY tough fights later. The Necklace casts fireball. With range spells in general, you will want to wipe out as many enemies as you can, even if you damage a front line character in the process. P57 randomly found durring travels 4-2-2. RUINS(SECOND) AND WELL You should be able to surround the dragon and hit him from behind a few times, though he does line up against a wall. If you like, knock the difficulty down just before the fight. He may hit you for 88 damage and a kill, so again save before attacking. I haven't found another place to use the scroll of prot. dragon breath from the old man, so this is good. If you win, the well opens for you and if you visit a portal later, you can come back. You already saw one potential portal NE of town. SE is another dragon who gives good treasure and an amulet(not in your inventory) when you win. Note the portal that opens up--it leads back to the well, a handy shortcut. This fight also gets you a +2 plate and a cloak of displacement. Treasure is N of the well(watch for the fight afterwards, but the +5 leather is nice) and you can go NW for a fight to loot. Most rank and file enemies don't have magical items but armor can make you pretty rich. Well P's: 25, 19, 1, 38, 71 4-2-3. ADMIN BUILDING SIDE QUEST This one is not necessary and may in fact be more nuisance than it is worth. However it has some cool items at the end of it. You may in fact wish to complete it in parts, or near the end of the game. SW of the mine, you can enter, and you fight some spellcasters and fighters. Bring a fireball and some hold-person spells. Now you can just go straight south to get on with the main part of the quest(a secret door is there) or you can search the side passages to the west and east, which have more tough fights like the one to start this area. They don't appear to give any good items, though, so you can pass. Follow the passage south and it is one way pretty much. (3,10) has an enemy who hits you for small damage and runs. The first encounter is at 1,12. You should be able to rest after it and you will probably need to, even if you set the difficulty to easy. The next fight after you go S* E* N* E is with the same sort of enemies. Again use a fireball to greet them and hold person too. There is treasure beyond the door in the next room--just a few scrolls. Then follow the passage to 11,15 and you can just wait and stand your ground to get rid of those enemies. (10,11) and (12,10) are standard fights, then 2N 2E S* leads to hatchlings. They should be no problem on easy mode but tougher on others if you don't use magic--with -1 AC you really need to hit them with a spell. You have two waves of these as they guard all squares before the room below, then there is the final fight which is very lucrative and offers you great magic items at the end. Just take and drop a few items in the treasure pool to see what is at the very end. I got a Girdle of Giant Strength. You can now activate the portal or leave to the east, unsealing a door that was sealed before. 5,8 gives paragraph 69 and when you catch nd soothe the clerk you get 55, 49 and 40. 4-2-4. TEMPLE The temple is pretty easy to clear out. Exit the NW of the well and you'll have one fight with banite priests. Loot them, ID items, and return. Walk along to the well. You'll have the Black Circle to fight. Go down to the temple level and go south through the gates. You'll have some minotaur fights but nothing serious. At the south of the chapel, 1W of center, bash through and you can go east for treasure and experience. The doors in the corner of the chapel lead to the next area. You have some treasure squares as well. But you need to trip (0,4) and/or (1,4) so you can see Delf in the NE. To get to him there is a secret door along the bottom. Delf in the NE gives you your next quest--go into the mines and get the pieces of staff. You will need to return to him once it is done. Not necessarily right away though. You should concentrate on clearing out the mines. Before going into the mines, be sure to activate the portal in the DL at (2,15). It allows you to return easily to the temple from the well. You will also find +3 chain and a +3 shield at (1,11) and (15,13)--secret door at (15,14). P65 at 0,4, paper at 1,4 4-2-5. THE MINES There are some side treasures I may mention later. If you are close to a new level you can dig for gems continually in some dead ends. However, On level 6, you find Vala, a great NPC, with the piece of the staff. Each level where you find a staff piece has treasure and experience and it's best to bull your way through. You may have to face Umber Hulks on the way and so save before and after finding each staff piece. The hulks are especially nasty if they possess your PCs to attack Vala, and I advise either being on a diagonal or having people stay back and guard so the hulks walk into a massacre. Treasures always appear behind doors, and you usually have a chance to flee any enemies hiding out. In general you can flee from fights, but enemies should not be too hard. Against cockatrices or margoyles, unready your shields and ready mirrors to avoid petrification. Level 1: Follow the path west, turn north in the 2x2 room, then west in the 3x2, and go north at the final branch. Treasure here is really good: Plate +3, Long Sword +3, Shield +3, Composite Long Bow +2. The last is useful down the road for tricky fights with mages in the background. Level 2: West, west at the T, north at the 3x2, and after you fight some Umber Hulks, the passage end holds a chest with items. The chest may blow up in your face. The treasure is not so hot(potions) but the damage is worse and the 3000 EXP is nice. Even if the chest blows up you get a staff piece. Level 3: Head north, then east at the 2x2, then east at the intersection. Wyverns attack. Use a fireball here if they wind up poisoning/killing your guys. Treasure here is good: +2 ring of protection, +4 mace, +3 trident. Well, only the +4 mace is useful since everyone probably has +2 stuff now, so the ring of protection does nothing. Level 4: South, south over the rubble, west, then east at the 2x2 room. Loot the dead body. Treasure: +3 ring of protection, nice for your mage Level 5: North, west at the T, north at the 2x2. Treasure: stone and scrolls Level 6: There are many lizard man patrols here and you should be able to wipe them out. It's tempting to use a fireball as a time saver, but try to parlay around the enemy. The fights are not hard but they can be long. West, one south after the barricade then west and the winding path leads to the big fight. Note that after winning the fight you will take 10-15 damage so if anyone goes unconscious they may die. Check before saving, and heal/cast prayer before the fight! Treasure: necklace of missiles and eyes of charming Level 7: South all the way, east, south at the 2x2, west at the T. You can go back east for some nice treasure, too. ?? Treasure: some cool trinkets Level 8: Piece 8 is south, west at the T, south all the way and east. Great treasure with the staff piece, too. +5 banded mail, longsword vs giants(+3 otherwise,) and a cloak of displaement. That is your third. Your front line now each has one. Some nice treasure is north, west at the 3x2, 3 north and east. More to the east, then go east at the T. There is a teleport to 58,30 on level 9. You need to use it to destroy whatever is blocking your passage to level 10. However, it will damage you a lot(20-30 points.) So return to town, sell your goods, and heal up before the next bit. Stop by Delf on the way back. Level 9: There is treasure here but it is behind nasty traps, so I suggest you just go down to level 10 once you break through the barriers. The lift offers you nowhere new but if you took the teleport from L8 and beat the umber hulks, you just need to follow the passage and go south in the big room. This requires fights with enemies who can stone you, so get your mirrors up! Vala does not need one, fortunately. Now you can go to level B/10! Level 10: Again the side passages are treacherous so just plow through. Treasure is behind some gross damage, so if you need the experience, go for it. Otherwise, ready mirrors in place of shields and go east. Fireball/ice storm the phase spiders if you want. They can poison and kill you with a lucky hit. Go south at the branch and after some more fights(save after each one) you can reach a big hallway that leads to the castle dungeons. 4-2-6. THE DUNGEON Because there are so many magic casting enemies, you need to have enough speed to get to them. Therefore, if your guys are having trouble moving, sell everything off before continuing. In fact, now is a good time to go back and visit Delf, too. You'll get some experience for it. You'll get some experience for the puzzles, too. LEVEL 1: This first level is a sequence of 4 4x16 strips. Avoid doors as you walk north. The first one only has one necessary fight, with driders. It is at 0,5 and should not be hard with an Ice Storm or Fireball. The driders don't have much in the way of HP. But you need to get to them in a hurry. After that, you face a puzzle at the stairs which gives you experience if you solve it. Save before the puzzle if you want. Then you can visit the well, get the answer, and return(or better yet, restart and return.) You get 20K experience for the right answer. This builds up quickly. Then you have stairs N E S to the next sub-level. You should be able to run through the next part with no problems. There is one fight along the way but it is not critically difficult. E S* W 2S E N 2E 4S 2W (S N) N W 4S 2E 2N E 2S. Treasure at 5,14 is trapped but your dwarf FT can undo it. It's a bit of extra experience. At 7,15 you have another puzzle. YOUR WORD. E N and the west is a detour portal to the well. Go N instead and at the top W and 3S is a trap you can undo--1S has a secret door to the west. W 2N 2E N* to another puzzle: YOUR BREATH. Now W goes to the next area, but E goes to the compound side quest. If you return to the well, at the well gives p71. Answers: YOUR HEART YOUR WORD YOUR BREATH RIVER 4-2-7. COMPOUND SIDE QUEST Some good experience here but no great treasure--there may be gold but don't take it as the final fights require mobility. Let Sir Deric join but be sure to heal him. Give him some cheap armor and weapons you find, too. N then E-- not much other choice. You can rest to the S and E but you don't really need to. There are fights north of this intersection en masse. 3 E* N accesses paragraphs 58 and 70. My map is wrong here as the UR is walled off but there is a pretty easy way in. The actual quest bit is east and south through the gates. Then another gate. and 13,11 is a fake treasure with a nasty fight, so avoid it. S*(treasure) N 4W 2S 4E gets you the first of two prisoners. Then go back to the intersection, 3W S and a secret door is W. W 4S W leads to a fight hiding treasure. As usual you need a fireball to knock things out. Each door except the NW gives treasure, which isn't too useful but gives experience. 3N of that is a door with another fight. W* for treasure then 3E 2N for more. S W* and now get your guy with the speed boots a wand of ice storm/fireballs before you go north. This is because enemies are located far back and you need to hit them quickly. Twice if need be--the driders and mages can be tricky. But once they are down you can mop up the fighters. Sir Deric leaves the party. There's a fight with golems to the north, too, which guards the final treasure. It isn't much but the experience is. 4-2-8. THE REST OF THE DUNGEON W S* W N, fight with umber hulks, W S gets you the Brass Key you need. Back to (14,8) and W 2N 2E N* W 2N W S* W N*. This leads to level 2. LEVEL 2: W 3S to some Umber Hulks. Beat them then 2S E N E S E 2N 2E (medusa E S with some fights and traps in side rooms) 3N 2E S and the first puzzle is RIVER. This kicks you to the southeast. S W N 2W 2S and 3E 3S W has a clue but you need to win a fight, and the clue doesn't really help. So 3W N for treasure then S W S* and answer WATER. That leads to the NW, with W N 2E S 2E 4N W and 3S leads to a portal back to the well if you need it. There is a fight with pyro hydras ahead--along the corridor and W at 2,9. Hit these guys with a fireball. E S E leads to the last bit. SILENCE. S W N E* N* E 2S E for trapped treasure, then W 2N W s* W S E is a long one- way passage to the end. (15,9) is a tough fight for treasure and (13,9) is thefinal stairway up. WIND is the final answer. LEVEL 3: You start off in the top half. N E N W N E* N and E are some giant fights. S E* and S W 2S W leads to a portal fight with Umber Hulks and then Pyro Hydras. There is a portal back to the well there. Or you can just go S* at the T, E and N*. Hack through the illusion. W S W* S*-1 (to the east are some fights that show enemies trying to burst into the castle but you can't quite get there.) 3W N 3W 2S and W is a fight, then 2N 2W 3N fight 2N, then you fight some Pyro Hydras for the key at 2E 2S W S. You can let the enemies by on the west side and fight some Umber Hulks. Use a fireball per fight here if you have trouble hacking through. You are let out at the ice paths. 4-2-9. ICE PATHS AND FROST GIANT VILLAGE The ice paths are not terribly tricky if you have a ranger, but they are long, so save after you make it past each door. If monsters follow you, you can always flee and just turn around and keep moving. It is tedious, but they stop following you at the next door. Eventually you'll see more than just generic monsters--Black Circle types. No choice but to fight them. There is one branch off where you see the clerk of Phlan has been captured. You can rescue her if you want, but you go on a big wild goose chase. She instructs you how to get to safety and there is no serious treasure at the end, just a teleportal to the well and some gems. In general you will either go east or southeast when you get to a clearing, and just before the village is a teleporter it's a good idea to use. You will need to hack through a lot of Frost Giant fights. Just before the frost village is a good time to get the staff if you want, but you have one more chance after this. Still, you probably need to heal, so on the way you can get the staff. Vala probably gave you a bunch of warnings, too. 4-2-10. THE CASTLE Paragraph #29 at the intro. You will have a medusa approach you no matter where you go, and you will NOT want to sign. She attacks anyway, so ready mirrors beforehand. There is a teleporter back to the well here. Take the second south niche, wait, and S E 2N to get to the well. You now need to pull the lever that will let you out. Go 2S W 2S for a fight, then 2S and now you can go back north to the niche and leave. All the niches in the main hall work similarly. You need to wait to activate them, then find a lever to flip to get back out. But not many of the side paths are profitable. There are some traps to disarm, but other than that the only really interesting ones are the far east south one(treasure at 13,14 and lever at 14,15 with encounter at 15,14 and passage back to the dungeons at 15,9--it leads to the stairs in the dungeons some mages were trying to melt, which means a fight) and the far east north(encounter) and the west south(2 encounters.) And even with those you probably just want to advance. Use the south center swivel and take the west door, leading to a teleport and the stairs at 15,0. LEVEL 2: You don't need to get into the fight to discover the password, but if you want some easy treasure go due south then W to 14,8. This win allows you to go east at 0,2 with another secret door south at 2,1. The NE rooms have two fights and if you follow the medusa at 15,12 it kicks you back to dungeons, level 1. So don't go there. The maze is not bad. If you hit the roving patrol of Driders, you got the word, but you can give it anyway, STEELEYE. From 4,4, S E= 2S W N W 2S W 2N 2W N W*(past guards) S* and follow to where you give the password and go south. There's a nasty trap area from 15,1 to 15,7 which seems to be guarding stairs but isn't. The rest of the maze has 1-way doors and guards and is not much fun. LEVEL 3: This is it. You can rest anywhere here, but there's also an easy portal back. E* N* E* S* E and let the lich attack--he does no damage, but if you try other options you are booted N of the stairs to a fight. E N 3E 3N W and take the portal back. You have treasure E S E but you need to realize that the last two fights will have you FAR away from your opponents, so you need mobility to run at them. Treasure seeking is not worth it. From the portal, E 4N(walk through the illusion) and the E N fight is nice but gives no weapons. W N* E* 2N W* and use the (S)ilver key. W S8 W* and a fight. By now use two fireballs per fight. Go north and (G)old then N* E* N*- 1 W for another fight and W*. I'm not really describing the fights here because the strategy of firebombing the mages and hammering the other opponents is repetitive and enough. Just have enough mage spells in reserve and waste an attack for a Magic Missile or Ice Storm wand if need be. Another fight at 5,1 and then W 3S W. Heal and cast prayer. Drop excess money and give your guy with speed boots an ice storm wand and go west. This is the tough fight--the final is easier. Wipe out the clerics and mages ASAP. You need to do so before they cast anything, since they can kill. Though really at this point losing a constitution point isn't the worst thing in the world. Then hack the remnants of the enemy army up--have someone with Lightning Bolt get rid of the storm giants in the way. One thing to watch for is that the enemy Dreadlord cannot be affected by magic, so you need to rip open a path through the center to get to him to disrupt his spells ASAP. The last fight involves golems and medusas and a couple ice storms did for the medusas without leaving my guys vulnerable to their stone gaze--no need to ready mirrors. Line up vertically if you can and give your mage a chance to run back and forth and cast Stinking Cloud. Then hack away. A portal appears in the NW. You can return and complete optional quests now if you want. 4-3. OUTLINE 0. [cheat if you want] 1. Visit old man in town, go to the Well, duck and win a fight 2. NE, get dragon treasure, use fireball/magic missile 3. use several fireballs and stinking cloud to take out magic shop 4. use mirrors and a bunch of spells to take out N area of magic shop. Same for S area. Don't be stingy. 5. In the SE win the dragon treasure with the amulet 6. In the Well, Icestorm the dragonbabies, heal, take out new dragons 7. get the treasure NE of the well 8. Clear the well by beating the Ancient Dragon *9. Go to admin building and clear it out, getting to inner sanctum 10. Clear the temple below the mine and meet Derf. Find stuff behind secret doors. 11. Get the staff pieces for Derf. Vala is a great NPC on level 6. 12. Use the L8 teleporter(be VERY healed) and win the fight to break the way to L9/B 13. Barrel through to the castle dungeons. Answer the puzzles as you get them. Get the silver, gold and brass keys. *Clear the Black Circle Compound for extra goodies. 14. Set play level to Novice to keep sane. East to the Frost Giant village. Save at each fork in the road. Win the king's trust by fighting the Black Circle. 15. East to the castle. Use the Silver, Gold and Brass keys. Defeat the Dreadlord. Then defeat the golems behind him. 5. CHEATING The simplest way to cheat is to start a game with one player, take all the items, save and drop the player. Repeat with 6 others. Then form the party. Everyone has everything! Another cheat is unverified but at http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=74303 It involves hex editing so 5-3 and 5-4 are irrelevant. 5-1. VAULT TRICKS There are several ways to duplicate items using the vault. The easiest follows: 1. save game a 2. put items in vault. Save game b 3. load game a, repeat 2 4. take items from the vault when done Another is 1. save game a 2. put items in vault. 3. backup vault.dat to vault.bak 4. take items 5. copy vault.bak to vault.dat 5-2. HEX EDITING For save game X, player Y, CHRDATXY.SAV contains the following important data: multi byte = high byte 1st 0x01-0x0f = name 0x10-11 = cur/max str 0x12-13 = cur/max int 0x14-15 = cur/max wis 0x16-17 = cur/max dex 0x18-19 = cur/max con 0x1a-1b = cur/max cha 0x1c-1d = cur/max for 18+ str 0x070 = max HP 0x071 starts memorized spells 0x109 = gold(2 bytes) 0x10b = platinum 0x10d = gems 0x10f = jewels 0x12c = experience(4 bytes) 0x19b = encumbrance(2 bytes) 0x1af = min damage 0x1b1 = max damage 0x1b3 = bonus damage 0x1b5 = current HP 5-3. JOURNAL ENTRIES 1 map to the dragon's hoard 2 fanatic soldier's tale: we have done 3 sir deric's story: the black circle 4 BLACK CIRCLE MAGE AT TOP OF MINE 5 MAYOR TALKING OF THE BLACK CIRCLE 6 One of the miners saw red robed 7 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE SCROLL 8 I didn't drink that much. I'm 9 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE 10 A DYING MAN'S LAST WORDS 11 EXULTANT BANITE PRIEST the beholder corps 12 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE TEMPLE 13 BLIND MAGE'S STORY 14 THE CAPTAIN'S TALE 15 MEETING THE FROST GIANT KING 16 BLACK CIRCLE COMMANDER'S PAPER 17 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE BROTHER WARS 18 STORY OF THE SILVER BLADES 19 THE AMULET OF ELDAMAR. 20 That old man -- south of the mayor's 21 EARLY DAYS OF THE TOWN. This 22 DYING CLERIC OF BANE. The Black 23 TALK OF MYSTICAL ITEMS. The mages 24 THE GUARD OF GRIMDRA HOARD 25 MESSAGE FROM THE WELL: The miners' 26 WARNING ABOUT THE AMULET. The Dreadlord 27 RESCUED MAIDEN'S STORY: The mages took 28 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE VORPAL BLADE 29 VALA'S DESCRIPTION OF THE OLD CASTLE 30 So many gems down in that mine and no way to get at them. Lif e ain't fair. 31 BANITE PATROL'S STORY The Black Circle 32 MAP OF THE 4TH LEVEL 33 PRISONER'S TALE I am one of 34 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE FLAMING ONE 37 MAYOR'S INTRODUCTION: We are a small 39 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE CLOAK 40 LEDGER FROM NEW VERDIGRIS MINING: 2nd 41 Map to the first key 42 THE MEDUSA'S TALE I don't care! 43 LETTER FROM MARCUS TO THE BLACK CIRCLE 44 PHLAN CLERK'S TALE Well, I had 46 LETTER FROM MULMASTER 47 MAYOR RELATES YULASH EXPERIENCES 48 THE GLOWING MOUSE'S SPEECH 50 DERF MEETING VALA 51 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE 53 THE BLACK CIRCLE'S PLAN 54 OLD MAN'S TALE OF THE WELL OF KNOWLEDGE 55 CLERK'S STORY 56 MEETING WITH OSWULF 57 LETTER FOUND BLOWING IN THE WIND 58 A PRISONER'S SPEECH 59 TALE OF THE WOUNDED WARRIOR 60 MESSAGE FOUND BY POUCH 61 MAYOR REVEALS HIS TRUE MISSION 62 MAGE'S REPORT 63 VALA'S STORY the amazonian woman 64 MAD DWARF'S RAMBLINGS 65 LETTER IN TEMPLE 67 MAD CLERIC'S RAMBLINGS 69 CLERK'S LETTER 70 PRISONER'S TALE the black circle has 71 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE AMULET 5-4. RULE BOOK HEADINGS Sometimes the game will ask you for something from the rule book when you save a game. I've compiled a few subheaders and should not have missed anything. HOW THE HEROES ARRIVE... The miner's haul the chests of gems CHARACTERS AND PARTIES To play SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES The Player Races There are six races from which Ability Scores Every character has six randomly generate Character Classes A character must belong to at least ALIGNMENT Alignment is the philosophy a character lives by. Building a Successful Party Forming a strong and adaptable party is a key COMBAT Combat occurs often during your adventures. ==== Before You Play There is no copy protection on your SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES disk, Getting Started Quickly SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES comes with a ready-made party that allows Using Menus All commands are menu based, and the concept of the active character Beginning to Play To begin playing the game you must load a saved game or generate From Where Menu FROM WHERE: SECRET CURSE EXIT Viewing Characters The VIEW command displays the character summary screen. Character Status OKAY status means that the character has positive HP and can move and Display Screens and Points of View SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES uses three different points of view: 3-D, Viewing Characters: The VIEW command displays the character summary screen. Adventuring Options The following menus control most adventuring options: Adventure Menu MOVE AREA CAST VIEW ENCAMP SEARCH LOOK Encamp Menu SAVE VIEW MAGIC REST ALTER FIX EXIT Rest Menu REST DAYS HOURS MINUTES ADD SUBTRACT EXIT Alter Menu ORDER DROP SPEED ICON PICS LEVEL EXIT Speed Menu SLOWER FASTER EXIT Pics Menu ANIMATIONS ON/OFF EXIT Level Menu NOVICE SQUIRE VETERAN ADEPT CHAMPION EXIT Magic Menu CAST MEMORIZE SCRIBE DISPLAY REST EXIT Memorize Menu MEMORIZE NEXT PREV EXIT Scribe Menu SCRIBE NEXT PREV EXIT CIVILIZATION The mining town of New Verdigris Armoury Menu BUY VIEW TAKE POOL SHARE APPRAISE EXIT Temple Menu HEAL VIEW TAKE POOL SHARE APPRAISE EXIT Vault Menu DEPOSIT WITHDRAW TRADE EXIT Combat Menu MOVE VIEW AIM USE CAST TURN QUICK DONE Aim Menu NEXT PREV MANUAL TARGET CENTER EXIT Done Menu GUARD DELAY QUIT BANDAGE AUTO SPEED EXIT Treasure Menu VIEW TAKE POOL SHARE DETECT EXIT ENCOUNTERS When a party comes across monsters or NPCs End of FAQ Proper ================================ 6. VERSIONS 0.3.0 sent to GameFAQs 10/10/2007, good start 1.0.0 sent to GameFAQs 10/14/2007, complete 7. CREDITS project64.c64.org GameFAQs's anonymous walkthrough for general ideas


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Briana Banks Favorite
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Stunning pornstar Briana Banks (aka Mirage) is a long-legged, German-born beauty who walked out on a boring job as an insurance auditor in 1999 to begin a career in adult entertainment. "Even though I had made the cover of Teen magazine as a model," Briana says, "I wasn't making any money. I was broke the day I quit my insurance job so I answered an ad in L.A. Weekly that said I could make up to $1,000 a day modeling." The job led to a Penthouse centerfold and eventually to a contract with Vivid Entertainment. At 5'10", Briana Banks is quite tall for a pornstar, and she claims to have the longest legs in the business, which go very nicely with her 34DD-26-30 frame. Born May 21, 1978, Briana has a tattoo on her lower back and was one of the first XXX stars to have an action figure made in her likeness.
Scenes with Briana Banks: View All Scenes


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May Favourites
I've may-de some a-may-zing discoveries this month... (see, SEE what I did there *grabs pun klaxon*) - not least, discovering just-the-right-sized cactus for my empty {Lion Candle} *smug*... Read More
The CEW Award Goes To…
One of the most prestigious and respected awards ceremonies in the industry, CEW announced this year's winners at New York's elaborate Waldorf Astoria - and of course, no list would be complete without several Cult Beauty favourites... Read More
'I Had Skin I Was Ashamed Of' – Annie Tevelin of SkinOwl
When the SkinOwl swung by CB Towers to talk us through her stunning range of skin care, we were all enraptured - not just in awe of her beauty, but inspired by her wisdom and enthusiasm... Read More
@norvina Explains How To Pick the Perfect ABH Contour Kit
Because there's a bit of confusion surrounding who needs which {Anastasia Beverly Hills} contour kit - and because most of you could actually benefit from owning {both} - we asked Anastasia's gorgeous daughter, ABH brand ambassador and Instagram sensation Claudia {@norvina} to share her pearls of sculpting wisdom... Read More
In the Spotlight: Peter Thomas Roth
We're besotted with Peter Thomas Roth and if you're yet to discover this incredible, performance-driven US skin care sensation, here are some stellar suggestions...... Read More
Bridal Beauty Countdown: Phase 1
Our gorgeous nutritional expert - the wonderful {Karen Cummings-Palmer} - got married last year, and in a bid to help all future brides-to-be, has generously agreed to share the steps she took to boost her (already exquisite) skin, hair and nails ahead of the big day. If you've eight-to-ten weeks to go, it's all about diet and supplements - so here's an insight into what you should be taking... Read More
Meet the Founders: We Chat to Eyeko's Inspiring Co-Creators
Since creation in 1999, {Eyeko} has exploded onto the beauty scene - from niche British brand to global success story. And now, with Alexa Chung as Creative Consultant, the "eyeball decorators extraordinaire" are enhancing the eyes of the best beauty bloggers, models, make up artists and the AAA-List... Read More
Watch: Alexa Demonstrate her Signature Feline Flick
Watch Alexa demonstrate the secrets to her trademark 'winged-eye' look.... Read More
12 Gorgeous Summer Beauty Buys, Under £25
It's gettin' hot in herrrrre, so splash out (and stay cool) with these summer skin and make up must-haves - all of which are under £25, so you can have your holiday - and look fabulous.... Read More
Bronzing by Numbers – A Beginner's Guide to Sunkissed Skin
Most of us have a bronzing powder in our make up arsenal - something we dust all over to 'pep' up our skins when we're looking decidedly dreary - but with so many formulas to choose from, finding the 'faux-glow grail' can prove complicated. We've put together some tips to steer you through the bronzing maze, and application tricks to get you naturally glowing... Read More


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Despite the Obama administration's proclaimed commitment to transparency, the administration's approach to national security policy continues to send mix signals.
According to two members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, under Obama, we have a secret court (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) issuing a secret interpretation of a law (Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act) that gives the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) the power to collect information on individuals in secret.
Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, known as the "business records" provision, allows law enforcement to obtain "any tangible thing" that is relevant to an international terrorism or espionage investigation. Section 215 allows collection of information on individuals who are not targets of a criminal investigation or even suspected of criminal activity. And, Section 215 orders come with a gag order prohibiting the recipient - which could be your library, your bank, your credit card company, or any other private entity - from disclosing receipt of the order.
However, this is just what we know from reading the statute. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Mark Udall (D-CO) commendably sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder sharply criticizing the Justice Department's use of a secret interpretation of surveillance powers, and accusing the Justice Department of misleading the public:
. . . we have been concerned for some time that the U.S. government is relying on secret interpretations of surveillance authorities that - in our judgment - differ significantly from the public's understanding of what is permitted under U.S. law. . . . Justice Department officials have - on a number of occasions - made what we believe are misleading statements pertaining the government's interpretation of surveillance law.
Senators Wyden and Udall first raised the alarm about the way the Justice Department interpreted Section 215 when the provision was reauthorized earlier this year - without any additional safeguards for oversight or privacy. During the re-authorization debate back in May Senator Wyden said,
I want to deliver a warning this afternoon: When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry . . .
Senator Udall backed Wyden's warning during the debate:
Americans would be alarmed if they knew how this law is being carried out.
Meanwhile, the little information the public does have about Section 215 shows the FBI has not been managing the power responsibly. (See two reports from the Justice Department's Inspector General in 2007 and 2008). One example: the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) rejected the FBI's request for a Section 215 order because the request "implicated ... First Amendment rights," only to have the FBI go around the Court and use another much-abused power (the National Security Letter power) to get the information. However, from the Senators' letter and warnings, we don't really know how the FISC is currently interpreting Section 215.
Regardless, every time the public receives more information, the government's suveillance powers and collection practices appear broader and more intrusive to innocent Americans' privacy than ever. Take Jane Mayer's New Yorker article on National Security Agency whistleblower Thomas Drake:
[former NSA executive William] Binney, for his part, believes that the agency now stores copies of all e-mails transmitted in America, in case the government wants to retrieve the details later. In the past few years, the N.S.A. has built enormous electronic-storage facilities in Texas and Utah. Binney says that an N.S.A. e-mail database can be searched with "dictionary selection," in the manner of Google. After 9/11, he says, "General Hayden reassured everyone that the N.S.A. didn't put out dragnets, and that was true. It had no need—it was getting every fish in the sea."
What is the secret interpretation of Section 215? Your guess is as good as mine, but I have no doubt Senators Wyden and Udall are right: the public will be "stunned" and "angry" when we find out.


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Harry Potter Malfoy's Wand
Warning: Product Safety Information View Details
- WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD – Small parts. Not for children under 3 yrs.
- Was:
- $9.99
- Price:
- $5.99
- Prod ID:
- 17291
As seen in the hit TBS reality show, King of the Nerds!
If Malfoy is your favorite character... you must have this wand!
Made of two-tone plastic, perfect for the Malfoy fan! Don't forget to pick up the Deluxe Slytherin Robe for a complete costume! Wand measures approximately 11 inches long.
This is an officially licensed Harry Potter product.
- Product Number
- #17291
- Availability
- Brown (125562) Orders placed by 4pm CT usually ship same day.
- Material
- Plastic-PVC
- Air Shippable
- Yes
- Oversized
- No
- Express/Premium Surcharge
- $0.00
- Return Eligible
- Yes
- Available International
- Yes
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