Here's some Swords of Chaos Q & A:

Q: I always come close to killing a monster, but wind up getting killed
   or running away. What can I do?

A: Try varying your combat method. First try using the "parry" command. 
   Parrying is the safest way to fight since it makes you harder to hit in 
   return. Otherwise, try using "greatblow". Greatblowing, though dangerous 
   insofar as it leaves you vulnerable, also deals out damage much quicker, 
   giving your opponant fewer chances to hit you before you kill it.

Q: I'm questing for a psychic ability increase, why am I not getting any 
   experience points when killing monsters?

A: In order to get experience for a psy quest, you have to be successful in 
   using an offensive spell on the monster some time in the fight. Offensive
   spells are spells that hurt the monster, like weakness, langour, blast
   lightning, and so forth.

Q: Why do I keep getting swarmed by monsters when I only want to fight one
   at a time?

A: You're probably doing too much "yelling". Yelling drastically increases
   the rate at which monsters show up in a room. If you're going to fight
   in the room where you're doing your yelling, then you should only yell
   in rooms where most of the monsters that show up are lawful. Don't yell
   in the presence of monsters, they'll attack you!

Q: Yeah, but if I don't yell I get bored waiting for monsters to show up.
   Is there some other way to use yelling?

A: You can use yelling and "luring". Yell, then when the first monster comes
   in, attack it and then leave the room. Monsters have a 50% chance of
   pursuing you into the next room. If you set it up correctly, you will
   have the monster pursue you into a room where there are no encounters.
   Then you can beat it up at your leisure.

Q: When I'm waiting for monsters to show up, the first one always attacks
   me right away before I get a chance to check it out.

A: Try hiding. When in hiding, monsters that enter the room won't be aware
   of you (and won't attack you) until you perform some overt action. If
   after examining the monster from your hiding place you decide it's too
   much for you, just leave.

Q: Monsters in the mall have started fleeing from me, what should I do?

A: When monsters start fleeing from you it is the game telling you that 
   you've become too big for that room. It is time to find other rooms that 
   you can fight in. A good next room is the "general" room outside the
   palace.

Q: How can I pick up items in the general room without the officers using me 
   as a battering ram against the palace door?
 
A: Invisibility is the answer. After all, monsters can't block what they 
   can't see. Crystal orbs cast the spell invisibility. Besides making you 
   invisible, it also gives you a +5 to armor class and a +5 to "fighting 
   as". Agents carry crystal orbs and can be found near the Palace. 
   Look out for assassins, they live up to their name.

Q: Invisibility is great, are there any other items that will help me in 
   combat?
 
A: There are quite a few items that will help you in combat. But the item 
   that you want now is the amulet of destiny. Amulets of destiny cast the 
   spell "haste" which makes all of your actions twice as fast. You can get 
   amulets of destiny from marines which are located on the docks. To get to 
   the docks, head to the southwestern part of Elfhelm. Marines and tars are 
   the highest level monsters in the room and they are also the only two evil 
   monsters in the room.
 
Q: Agents run from me, now where can I get crystal orbs?
 
A: The next place to get crystal orbs would be from phantasms. They are in an 
   area of the game known as "The Graveyard". To get to the graveyard, go 
   to the southeastern part of Elfhelm. Once in the graveyard, phantasms are 
   east then south.
 
Q: I'm getting sick of fighting in the general room, where can I fight now?
 
A: The most common place to go after the general room is to fight by the 
   west gate in the trader room. You can now get amulets of destiny from 
   traders. 
   
Q: I'm starting to explore around and am having trouble in rooms with evil
   monsters.

A: Try the luring method. Most rooms where there are evil monsters have
   an adjoining room where no monsters show up. Hit the monster you want
   to fight and then leave the room, half the time the monster will follow
   you into the next room. Then you can fight without worrying about new
   monsters coming in and attacking you.

Q: What should I be questing for?

A: That's a hard question to answer, everyone has different preferences.
   One rule of thumb is to quest for your 5 basic physical attributes
   until they're all around 12, then start questing for weapon-related
   bonuses.

Q: I keep hearing about a monster's "level", what does that mean and how
   do I find out what level a monster is?

A: A monster's level is basically how powerful it is. The higher the level,
   the more dangerous the monster. Also, the higher the level the more
   experience you earn for killing it and the better the treasure that the 
   monster carries. Just look at a monster to see what level it is.

Q: OK, I know where to find a couple of magic items. How do I find magic
   items for all the other spells?

A: You explore the realm! Try killing monsters that are of a level you can
   deal with and see what they have.

Q: Thanks, that's a big help. Are there any shortcuts?

A: Try talking to "the oracle". The oracle is a permanant monster that
   lives in Elfhelm, not too far from Town Square. To interact with the 
   oracle type "talk oracle". For a price, he will ask you what spell you're 
   interested in and then tell you the name of a monster that carries a magic 
   device or scroll of that spell.

Q: There are some monsters that I want to kill because they have stuff that
   I really want, but they're too hard for me to take on by myself. Can my
   friends help me?

A: Absolutely! Two people fighting together can take on much more powerful
   monsters than they could fighting alone. For example, one person could
   hit a monster while the other one either bashes it, mesmerizes it, or
   just sits there and casts healing spells on the guy doing all the fighting.

Q: OK, I'm starting to roll now, but I'm sick of burning up all these magic
   items. How can I learn spells so I can just cast them whenever I want?

A: Casting spells that you have learned is a very powerful ability. So, it's
   not something that's easy to achieve. What you must do is track down the
   monster that carries the scroll for the spell you want to learn. Then,
   you must kill the monster all by yourself (no one else can help you
   kill it). Once you've killed the monster, you automatically learn the
   spell from the scroll and can cast it forever afterwards.

Q: I have more cool stuff than I can carry around with me. What can I do
   with it?

A: Every player has access to a storage closet. There are a number of
   entrances into your closet, but the easiest one to reach is inside
   of the mercantile. Items left in there will stay in there forever (or
   until you take them out). There are also containers which you can use
   to hold multiple items. These can be found off of monsters. For
   example, plainsmen out west of town carry bags.

Q: I keep getting killed and losing my stats. What's up with that??

A: The penalty for death is losing a point from each of your main
   attributes. However, there are special items called Talismans that will
   prevent this loss of stats when you die. Talismans can be found on
   assassins and nomads (among others).

Q: I'm having trouble finding Talismans, is there any other way to get them?

A: Yes, but it's pretty dangerous. If you really feel like you know what
   you're doing, go find "The Huntress" and talk to her. She'll give you
   some missions to complete and if you fulfill her needs, she'll reward you
   with a Talisman. Hint: The Huntress lives in a cave east of town, look
   for the loose board on the eastern wall of Elfhelm.

Q: OK, I have Talismans. Now when I die I don't lose my stats but I still
   lose all my items!

A: Right, the gods take your items instead of your stats as your penalty
   for getting killed. If you're getting killed all the time you're either
   fighting monsters that are too powerful for you or you're not making
   enough use of the "flee" command. Tattoo this word on your forehead in
   huge block letters: "FLEE". When the action is getting too hot and heavy
   for you all you have to do is type "flee" to escape. That's it, it's
   that simple, and it's guaranteed! Sure, you lose the weapon and/or shield
   you're currently wielding, but that's usually a lot better than taking
   the coffin express back to town square!

Q: What's this business with eclipses and halos and wailing?

A: It's time to cook, each of those different special events means that
   monsters are either weaker or worth more experience. When they happen
   it might not be a bad time to try fighting a little bit over your head.

Q: I'm starting to figure out how to play but there's still a lot of stuff 
   happening in this game that I don't understand.

A: Take the time to sit down and read *all* of the help files. An informed
   Chaos player is a dangerous Chaos player. Face it, Swords of Chaos is
   not checkers, you can't expect to dive right in and succeed if you
   don't understand how the game works. In Swords of Chaos, knowledge is
   power and power is everything!
