Ten Nights of Killing and Mayhem: Elitist Handbook

Da Intro

What's All This Then?

Ten Nights of Killing and Mayhem at FJB, is a turn-based strategy game with a top-down perspective in which you control a party of students ("Elitists") in a deadly battle to victory against an army of demonic teachers led by the high school's sadistic prinicipal ("The Dark Queen").

What Kind Of Sickos Are You, Anyway?

The best kind? This game started during high school as a board game in the early 1990s. Teacher names were changed to protect the incompetent 😐. It later became a DOS-based game, then a Windows-based game. Decades later I decided to rewrite it for the browser. It just won't die.

Do I Really Need A Manual On How To Kill Baddies Tho?

If you're a gamer, you'll figure most things out. There are tooltips and help screens throughout. However there are several game mechanics that deserve proper explanation, as well as some important strategy tips. You'll find some of that stuff here.

The original "Elitist Handbook" was written, then re-written by Jeff Sinasac in Microsoft Word. That document was fun to read, but it was 77 pages, and while most of the strategy and tips are still relevant, I don't think people really sift through lengthy game manuals anymore. So I decided to try and keep this one as succinct as possible. And yes, I'm already failing because I'm trying to be clever.

Fine. What's With The Name?

The battle for the soul of the FJB high school, and the ultimate fate of the planet, takes place over the course of ten nights. School nights, naturally - you did do your homework before playing, right?

Game Mechanics: Lotta Ins, Lotta Outs

Bounties. The Quicker... Student... Upper? #

   $$   

Each night you will be tasked with defeating five randomly selected teachers from the Dark Queen's army. With each victory, you are awarded cold hard cash from the bounties placed upon the teacher's heads. The money is immediately deposited into a joint checking account that the entire party has access to. Between nights, you can do some shopping and bling your students out.


Shopping. It's Not Just For Addicts Anymore. #

Your students will start with very simple weapons collected from their parents' garages: a bicycle chain, a Swiss Army knife, or a baseball bat. However, as your spending power grows, you'll be able to purchase much MUCH better weaponry (pistols, chainsaws, assault rifles, cattleprods) along with ammo and other useful buffs. There is even a backpack-sized Tactical Nuke. That's right.

eBay Tip: While shopping, don't forget to use the Hawk tab to see what items your student is currently carrying. It's also where you can sell items that you no longer need. This is important because your students can only carry so much (determined by their Strength attribute).

 

Blinged-Out Tip: Another big one - don't forget to shop for every Elitist! Cycle through each student to make sure they are all properly equipped before leaving the Shopping screen. You don't want to get to the school for the nightly teacher bonfire only to realize you forgot to buy someone sunglasses!


Hide And Go Seek... Then Destroy. #

At the beginning of each night, students start at a random entrace to the school. I guess they didn't think to coordinate. Speaking of coordination, you should take a few solid moments to thoroughly read your Combat Ops (the clipboard button). On these scant few pieces of paper are written the crucial details that will make the difference between a great night and a disastrous one.

Seriously, read about each Teacher carefully. First, understand how many Body (Health) points each teacher has and their Home Room (starting location). Next, click into each teacher to learn how fast they move (MV), how hard they are to hit (Def), how well they do in melee (Mel) and missile (Mis) combat, and most importantly their special powers and abilities. Each of the 55 teachers are unique - essentially a "boss" character - and you must figure out how to defeat each one with your rag-tag band of students and meager resources.

Always Remember: This is a strategy game, not a hack-and-slash. Non-thinkers will be punished.

Dear Prudence Tip: Some teachers may be nearly impossible to defeat in early nights, so use prudence. In certain circumstances, it may be better to flee the school at the end of the night with some teachers alive than to needlessly risk student death. Dead is dead. Ain't no resurrection in this game. Ain't no way to add students to your party once the campaign starts neither. Generally speaking, the larger your party, the better chance you have to survive to the end of the campaign.

However, note that any teacher left alive at the end of a night will resurface on night 10. The Dark Queen is shrewd and will throw all her remaining forces at you on the final night (though only 5 teachers will be wandering the school at any given time).

Predator Tip: When trying to find a teacher, use the Mini-Map (the map button in the bottom of the game screen). The layout of the school map does not change from game-to-game, but a lot of additional important information is captured in the Mini-Map, including the location of special squares.

The teacher's Home Rooms will be marked with spinning purple diamonds. Your student's current locations are also marked with blinking numbered circles. Hover with the mouse to learn more things about the map (like Drinking Fountain locations).

Prey Tip: Starting in their Home Rooms, your enemies wander around the map randomly until they discover you. At this point, they will chase you down and try to kill you. If you are being chased down by someone you are not ready to fight, try ducking around a bunch of corners or through a series of doors to lose them.


Movin' and Shakin': Getting Around The Map #

Move your students around the school using either the keyboard or by clicking the destination to which you wish to move. Your students get a random # of movement points each turn (based on the Move Dice attribute). All students move, then all the enemies get a chance to move. No entity can move through a square that has another living entity on it.

If you want to defer moving a student until the end of the student round (for example, if a student is blocking another student's way), click the Wait button.


If you want to prematurely end a student's turn, click the End Turn button.




If a student is injured, they can heal at a Drinking Fountain or by Eating a Meal. Between nights Meals are replenished, as are your Elitists' Body Points, so don't worry about being at full health once all enemies have been defeated. But don't leave a student with so few Body points that they will die if they accidentally step on a hidden Landmine while trying to leave!

Other squares (like Telephones and Fire Extinguishers) can be similarly used for different effects that you'll have to discover. Note that to use various squares and to attack enemies, students need to be facing the correct direction. Pay attention to which direction your students are facing and turn them, if necessary. Turning a student 90 degrees costs 1 Movement Point.


There are two levels to the school: the ground floor, and a smaller upstairs section. Some teachers have Home Rooms on the upper floor (Room #s starting at 200+). To traverse between these sections, you need to climb the stairs. Each stair square requires two movement points. The transition point is marked with a blue arrow that points either up (for ascending) or down (descending) and shifts the student into the other level. Both sections are visible simultaneously in the Mini-Map. If your student is standing on the transition square, you can Flip between floors by pressing the "F" key.


To flee the school for a night, maneuver your students towards Exit squares. You will be asked to confirm if you want to flee the school. If you're feeling shame about fleeing prematurely, remember Dear Prudence!





How To Resolve Conflict... Successfully. #

Combat is the main source of action in the game. When a student is able to attack, the Attack button will appear in the bottom right. Click it and (if there are multiple targets), choose the enemy that the student should attack this turn.

During the intense frenzy of combat, keep an eye on each student's Body point values by monitoring the Info tab. If you need to equip a different weapon or check on Ammo, toggle to the Items tab using the "I" key. Switching weapons mid-combat does not cost any Movement Points.

Sun Tzu Tip: It's a good idea to try and isolate your enemies before heavily engaging in combat. Starting a skirmish in a major thoroughfare where other enemies are likely to wander through... well it's not the brightest idea you've ever had.


Other Important Actions #

As students accumulate items, you will need to manage inventory. There are a few options available to the savvy Elitist:

If a student moves next to another student, they will have the ability to trade items. Select the Trade Button, then choose the student, and then the item to give. Trading costs the trader 2 Movement Points. Of course the receiving student must have enough Strength Points to be able to carry the new item.

Face Palm Tip: Don't forget to equip items when a student receives them (either through trading or through shopping)!

If the student wants to drop an item on the floor, switch to the Items Tab and click the 'x' button. Items will drop to the floor and remain across nights. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The Janitors are lazy. Dropped items can be picked up again at any later point. In fact, stock-piling items for future nights is a decent strategy.


Picking up an item involves clicking the Grab Button. It looks like a green backpack.



Accepting The Consequences Of Your Actions #

As you engage in combat, you might notice something happening: Blood splatters on the floor. How charming! I bring this up not because it's cute, but because as you engage in hacking, slashing, and generally blowing things up, you will notice the school terrain changing in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

If we accomplish nothing else at Little Devils Inc, we hope to impart some harsh lessons about the real world: Violence has permanent consequences. In the game, this manifests not just as rubble on the floor, or a dead body haphazardly strewn here or there, but occasionally shattered walls and broken doors. This destruction is not repaired across nights (remember those lazy janitors?), which means as it accumulates across the nights, you are opening up more sightlines for your enemies to peek through and see your movements. You've been warned, chief!



Stats for the Nerds #

"But wait!" I hear you ask. "What do all these statistics mean?".

In general, most things are self explanatory and you can hover over statistics in the game to get more information. However, if you are really seeking to learn as much as you can about each and every statistic, here's a short table that you can print out and frame:

Stat Description
Body These are health points. If they reach zero or lower, that student or teacher is dead.
Melee / Mel A measure of combat proficiency in hand-to-hand combat (fists, knife, sword, chainsaw). The higher the better, with zero (0) as average. Effects can modify the Melee score. For example, a student wielding a sword might show "1(+1)" which means "this character has a melee score of 1 as a result of a +1 bonus".
Missile / Mis A measure of combat proficiency in ranged combat (bows, guns). The higher the better, with zero (0) as average. As with Melee, effects can modify the Missile score.
Defense / Def How well they are protected. The higher the better, with zero (0) as average. Negative scores means the character is easier to hit. As with Melee and Missile, effects can modify the Defense score.
Move Dice How fast they are. This is the number of six-sided dice rolled to generate Movement Points each turn. As with other stats, effects can modify the Move Dice.
Strength Strength has two effects in the game: 1) How many items the Student can carry and 2) How far grenades can be thrown.
Scholastic Book smarts. Some teacher abilities require a Scholastic check to succeed. Use your smarter students for those pop quizzes.
Attitude Street smarts, savvy. Some teacher abilities require an Attitude check to succeed.
BS Bull Shit. Each student has some BS Points per evening. They may be able to use these points to bluff their way out of sticky situations.
VP Victory Points. Each student gains 1 Victory Point when they make a Teacher kill. There is no limit to their VP total, and these points can be saved across nights. Students can use these points throughout the game to perform various heroic actions.
HR Home Room. This is where the Teacher starts at the beginning of the night. Players can use this and the Mini-Map to start their search.

That's Not All, Folks! #

Ok, that about covers all the potentially confusing things you might encounter. It's not everything - I've left out at a few game mechanics as surprises. You can learn about them as you explore the game. We don't want to give away everything!

- The Little Devils Team 

                   Our School Song

        Oh, we the F.J.B. Elitists
        
        go marching along,
        
        with our red and bloody chainsaws held on high!
        
        To kill the teachers of
        
        the school we love,
        
        forever and ever they'll die!
        
        Kill!  Kill!
        
        Our flamethrowers
        
        give us the spark
        
        to ignite each and every part!
        
        Let Live, Learn, Love, Launch, our motto be
        
        and lead us to victory!
        
        Kill!  Kill!

Boring Stuff

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