• Chapters
• Getting Started
• Survival Guide
• The Basics
• The Combat System
• Advanced Features
• Player Races
• Experience and Advancement
• The Spell System
• The Skills System
• The Guild System
• The Safe Trading System
• Adventuring 101
• Questing
• Player Groups
• Playing Spellcasters
• Crime and Punishment
• The Player Warning System
• Advanced Command Editing
• All Commands
• Atmospheres
• All Quests
• All Spells
• Autobagging
• Glossary
• Player FAQ

Wyvern Character Races

Your Wyvern character can be one of many different races. All races are available in male and female versions.

The races are approximately equally powerful at any given level, but they specialize in different ways. (You wouldn't want to be a Stone Giant spellcaster or a Pixie warrior, for example).

Note: if you're playing the game over a slow connection (such as a 56k modem), you should avoid being a spellcaster-type such as an elf or pixie. We recommend picking a character that's better at hand-to-hand fighting, such as a dwarf or a giant. Spellcasters need to be able to run around quickly to dodge blows, which isn't easy when you're playing over a modem. If you're not sure, read the document on Playing Spellcasters first.

Contents

• Humans
• Halflings
• Dwarves
• Elves
• Pixies
• Nagas
• Rakshasas
• Giants
• Fire Giants
• Frost Giants
• Storm Giants
• Stone Giants

Humans

Humans are the most flexible and versatile race. Humans have no special abilities, but they get more skill points per level, so they can develop a wider variety of skills than other races.

Humans are the only race that has more than one picture available. There are six male and six female "looks" you can choose if you choose a human character. Additionally, if you're human and you join any of the Guilds (excluding the Monks Guild) there are extra images just for humans.

Halflings

Halflings are a race of little people, much shorter than humans (3' tall). They are known for their love of good food and drink, their ability to move in complete silence, and their amazing accuracy with slings and small thrown weapons. Their Wyvern special abilities are:

• They receive as many skill points as Humans.
• They can turn invisible at will.
• Their keen senses allow them to detect invisible things at close range.
• They have a built-in bonus in the pick-locks skill.
• They have some innate poison resistance.
• They have automatic searching (for traps).
• They have a natural weapon bonus for thrown weapons such as darts, throwing stars and throwing knives.
• They have somewhat faster regeneration (halflings are the only race with built-in regeneration.)
• They have good aim and are skilled with range weapons.
• They have fewer hit points per level than humans.
• They are tiny, and can only wear tiny armor (although they can wear all rings, girdles and amulets).

Halflings have by the far the most special bonuses and abilities of any race in Wyvern, in no small part because of their relative unpopularity.

Dwarves

Dwarves are a short, powerful, race of warriors known for the length of their beards and their love for gems and precious metals.

Dwarves have several special abilities:

• They have the best fighting ability of any non-giant character.
• They are extremely strong and can carry a great deal of equipment.
• They can dig through walls extremely quickly.
• They have natural talent in the jeweler skill allowing them to appraise gems.
• They can appraise the quality of armor and weapons.
• They have some innate poison resistance.
• They have a natural weapon-skill bonus when using axes.
• They have more hit points per level than humans.
• They have limited magical ability, with fewer spell points per level than humans.

A dwarf is a great character to choose if you want to do lots of hand-to-hand fighting. They are nearly as tough as giants, but they don't have to wear expensive giant armor, or shrink down to fit into small areas.

Elves

Elves are slender and agile humanoids. Elves have the following special abilities and restrictions:

• They attack more quickly than any other race.
• They are better at dodging attacks than most other races (except Pixies).
• They are particularly skilled with range weapons, even more so than are halflings.
• They have automatic searching (for traps).
• They have intrinsic Forestry ability, moving quickly through forests.
• They have a natural weapon bonus when using bows.
• They have fewer hit points per level than humans.
• They have more spell points per level than humans.

• High Elves can see invisible monsters and objects.
• Dark Elves can see in the dark extremely well.
• Wood Elves do a little of both.

Pixies

Pixies are tiny, magical, winged creatures. They have the following special abilities and restrictions:

• They move more quickly than any other race, and attack faster than any race except elves.
• They can fly, which means they move over all terrain at the same speed.
• They are very hard to slow, paralyze or confuse.
• They can see invisible at short distances.
• They are the hardest to hit of any race.
• They have fewer hit points per level than any other race.
• They are fairly weak and cannot carry very much.
• They have the most spell points per level of any race.
• They start automatically with a pixie-only combat spell. Type cast magic dart to cast the spell.
• They automatically start off flying. Type land to stop flying and type fly to begin flying again.
• They are tiny, and can only wear tiny armor (although they can wear all rings, girdles and amulets).

Nagas

Nagas are a highly magical race of half-serpent, half-humans. Nagas have the following abilities and restrictions:

• They are natural shape-shifters and can polymorph into different reptilian shapes.
• They have some innate poison resistance.
• They have more spell points per level than humans.
• They have a natural weapon bonus for pole arms (e.g. halberds).
• They are good at water magic, but poor with fire magic.
• They move more slowly than humans.
• They don't have legs and can't wear boots.
• They are large, and can't fit into certain small areas unless they're shape-shifted into a small shape.

The various naga shapes and their abilities are shown in the table below.

Some of the naga shapes can wear certain types of armor, such as helmets. None of the shapes can wield weapons, but each shape (except for the frog) has a fairly powerful bite, some of which are poisonous. All of the shapes (except for the frog) have some natural armor against melee attacks, with higher-level shapes having more armor.

While a naga is shifted into a shape, it drains spell points. Running out of spell points returns the naga to normal form, unless there's no room, in which case the naga turns into a frog. The frog shape drains no spell points.

Note: not all the abilities are currently implemented, but we're working hard on it, and they should be available soon.

Rakshasas

Rakshasas are demonic beings, descended from an older race from ancient times. While ancient Rakshasas could assume the form of any animal, the modern Rakshasa has lost its ability to shapeshift, and they exist only in the form of powerful warrior cats: Lions, Tigers, Panthers and Leopards.

Because of their claws, Rakshasas are clumsy with wielded weapons, and they vastly prefer unarmed combat.

Rakshasas have the following natural abilities:

• They are faster and tougher than humans.
• They can see well in the dark.
• They can detect invisible creatures nearby.
• They are extremely clumsy with weapons of all types.
• Their claws are sharp, and become viciously sharp at higher levels.
• They begin with some natural skill at unarmed combat.
• They can jump, and have innate dodging ability.
• Rakshasas have extra atmospheres, which they can view using the cat command.

The four species are differentiated by their abilities:

• Tigers are the most powerful warriors, being slightly stronger than Lions, but they possess little magical ability. They can move with amazing speed through forest and snowy terrain.

• Lions excel at both combat and magic, being nearly as powerful as the mighty Tigers, but they are also able to cast many spells. Lions are completely immune to Fear, and proudly stand their ground when other players are stampeding in terror.

• Panthers are the most accomplished in the magical arts. They make especially powerful Mages, because as they weave their spells, they can also use their sharp claws to shred enemies who approach too near. Panthers can see the best in the dark, and generally require no light sources when moving underground.

• Leopards are the fastest of the rakshasas. They can move quickly through forests and snow, and can even leap over opponents to attack from behind.

Rakshasas are proud and solitary creatures. Quick to anger, quick to forgive, and extremely loyal, they embody the noble warrior spirit while maintaining their demonic heritage.

Giants

Giants are a race of huge humanoids. There are currently four races of giants in Wyvern. All giants have the following characteristics:

• They are large, and (like Nagas in some shifted forms) they sometimes can't fit into small areas. However, all giants have the ability to shrink themselves down to tiny size at will.

• They are incredibly strong and can carry far more than the other races.

• They can wield 2-handed melee weapons with one hand, allowing them to use a shield and a powerful weapon simultaneously.

• They have extremely limited magical ability. However, each of them has some special powers, described below.

• They do extra damage in combat because of their strength, but they attack somewhat more slowly than other races.

• They must wear specially-made Giant Armor for most armor types. They can wear all Rings, Amulets and Girdles.

When giants are shrunken into their tiny form, they are very weak, much weaker than humans. Their magic allows them to continue carrying their current inventory, but they will not be able to pick up new items unless they're not carrying very much at all.

Their other abilities are very limited when in tiny form, as well. Their hit points and damage per attack are reduced, so giants should try to avoid combat when shrunken. A giant's ability to shrink is usually only useful to get into game areas the giant wouldn't otherwise be able to enter.

Fire Giants

Fire giants have the following special abilities and restrictions:

• They are highly resistant to heat and fire attacks.
• They are naturally skilled at casting fire spells.
• They are vulnerable to extreme cold.

Frost Giants

Frost giants have the following special abilities and restrictions:

• They are highly resistant to cold and frost attacks.
• They are naturally skilled at casting water and ice spells.
• They are vulnerable to extreme fire.

Storm Giants

Storm giants have the following special abilities and restrictions:

• They are highly resistant to electrical attacks.
• They are naturally skilled at casting air and shock spells.
• They are vulnerable to both extreme cold and fire.
• Storm giants can cast a lightning bolt spell that increases its damage with the giant's level. Type cast thunderbolt to cast the spell.

Stone Giants

Stone giants have the following special abilities and restrictions:

• They are stronger than the other three giant races, so they can carry more, and their attacks do more damage.

• They have the most hit points per level of any race, but also the fewest spell points per level.

• They are highly resistant to petrification.

• They can dig through walls as fast as dwarves.

• They have natural jeweler skill and can appraise gems.

• They have a natural weapon bonus when using clubs.

• They are vulnerable to confusion and paralysis.

• They move and attack more slowly than any other race, although the power of their blows has been known to send dragons scurrying in fear.