[h1]8. Items[/h1]

The party is in possession of a magic bag of carrying, which can hold an unlimited number of items. All items from the bag are accessible by any party member.

However, the equipment they wear and use in combat is not supported by any magic, so what they can wear is limited by Maximum Encumbrance. Exceeding Maximum Encumbrance is possible but results in significant penalties.

[b]Equipment Slots[/b]

Each character can wear 1x Headwear, 1x Body armor, 1x Weapon, 1x Shield, and 3x Accessories (but a maximum of one of each accessory type, so you can't wear 2 girdles).

[b]Maximum Encumbrance[/b]

There are no class limits to what each character can wear, so in theory, there can be a wizard with heavy plate armor wielding a long sword. However, class determines the maximum allowed encumbrance, so in practice, knights will end up with full plate armor and a large shield, while wizards will tend to wear robes or leather armors. Of course, you can always use the rare Girdle of Carrying to boost the Maximum Encumbrance of the feeble wizard. Maximum Encumbrance is also affected by race, with dwarves having it higher and elves lower.

There are two grades of penalties for exceeding Maximum Encumbrance:
1) Overburdened (the encumbrance turns yellow), resulting in a 50% penalty to melee combat and magic use.
2) Crushed (the encumbrance turns red), resulting in a 75% penalty to melee combat and magic use.

How to increase Maximum Encumbrance?
1) Choose a strong fighter class (especially Knights are masters of Encumbrance, which allows them to wear the heaviest equipment).
2) Choose dwarves (they get +1 to Maximum Encumbrance) and avoid fragile Elves (they get -1 to Maximum Encumbrance).
3) Invest in Strength (every 10 points of Strength the character gets +1 Maximum Encumbrance).
4) Equip rare items that boost Maximum Encumbrance (like the famous Girdle of Carrying or items with Levitate ability).

[b]Item properties[/b]

Equipment can improve statistics (Damage, Arcane, Armor).
Equipment can improve attributes (Strength, Toughness, Dexterity, Knowledge, Willpower).
Equipment can grant resistances to damage (Fire, Cold, Lightning, Sorcery).
Equipment can grant resistances to effects (Poison, Fear, Paralysis, etc).
Weapons can have special attack properties (Elvenblade, Whirling, etc).
Equipment can have special effects (Protect, Carry, etc).

Each item (except accessories) has encumbrance that determines how heavy and troublesome it is to wear and use. Exceeding the allowed encumbrance yields penalties. Note that Mithril items are lighter and use fewer encumbrance points than similar items made from other materials.

Items have a quality rating (tier) that does not affect the item properties directly but serves as an indication of the relative power of the item compared to items with the same name. For example, a Long Sword (quality I) deals less damage than a Long Sword (quality II). All these stats are listed in the item properties, so the quality tier functions only as a quick indication for you to evaluate the item.

Many items come with a suffix, which affects the base item properties. Again, all these modifiers are included in the item description.

[b]Shops[/b]

There are four types of shops in Amberland. Regular shops, which sell an unlimited number of basic items. Guild shops, which have a limited stock of higher-quality items, with the stock differing from town to town. Pawn shops, where you can sell (and buy back) items you don't need anymore, and a single magic shop, which sells a limited number of very rare items. For example, it might have the famous "Girdle of Carrying." The magic shop only accepts crystals as payment.

The tier of items in shops depends on the town, late-game towns have higher-quality items. In addition, as you explore the land, you will stumble upon imprisoned master craftsmen. Each time you free a master craftsman, new items will appear in the local Guild shop (each craftsman is associated with a certain town).